Saint Clair Vicar's Choice Pinot Noir

2007 Bright ruby color. Lifted notes of raspberry, strawberry and red cherry are complemented by subtle savory notes. Medium-bodied with a round, soft, full palate, supple tannins and well-balanced acidity. Cherry and raspberry flavors dominate and are supported by hints of redcurrant. Rich savory notes create a long lingering finish. An ideal wine with succulent red meat dishes, mushroom and tomato pasta or fresh pan-fried fish.

Additional Information

Everyone knows that great wines come from great vineyards, so it only follows that great growers should create great wineries. Saint Clair winery is proof of that. Owners Neal and Judy Ibbotson got their start in the business as viticulturalists. They grew grapes for 15 years before venturing into the winemaking business. Their extensive experience allowed them to identify the best areas and sites in Marlborough. They gradually purchased land at five different Marlborough locations and built up an excellent knowledge of what varieties do best in each of the sites. This enables best quality fruit from the best site to be selected by Saint Clair for use in their award-winning wines.

1994 was their first vintage as winemakers. In 2006 a new winery was inaugurated. The new winery features state of the art equipment including high-tech refrigeration control and monitoring software as well as a large temperature controlled barrel cellar which holds up to 650 oak barriques for barrel aging.

Saint Clair’s winemaking team is one of the best in the country. Matt Thomson has been Chief Winemaker since the winery’s inception in 1994. Matt is seconded by Hamish Clark who is the winery’s senior winemaker and has worked for Saint Clair since 2001.

This Pinot Noir is sourced from several vineyard sites throughout Marlborough including the Ure Valley, the Awatere Valley, Doctor’s Creek and Southern Valleys. Each block of fruit was harvested at optimum ripeness in the cool of the evening. At the winery, each batch of fruit was held cold for four to five days prior to ferment to help extract maximum flavor and to enhance colour stability. At dryness each batch was pressed to tank and then racked off gross lees to stainless steel tanks and a mixture of new and aged French oak. The wine then underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged for seven months before being blended and prepared for bottling.