Saint Clair Pioneer Block 14 Doctor's Creek Pinot Noir 2021

The grapes harvested for this wine are from clones 115, 667 and 777.

Colour: Dark garnet

Aroma: Perfumed ripe red fruits combine with aromas of toasted oak.

Palate: Full bodied and elegant in style with flavours of fresh ripe raspberries and wild bramble notes. The palate has a silky smooth texture with hints of charred oak and cream on the lingering finish.

Ageing potential: Perfect for drinking immediately this wine will continue to develop for at least another five years from vintage date.

Soils: Clay rich, vigour moderating soil. Topography: Flat, even land. Climate: Slightly cooler nights than further up the Wairau Valley with a slower, longer ripening period.

The fruit was harvested when it had reached full physiological ripeness and maximum flavour maturity. At the winery the fruit was held cold for five days prior to fermentation to help extract maximum flavour and to enhance colour stability. A small amount of whole cluster (5 per cent) was added to the fermentation to add a stems component to the mix. Specially selected cultured yeast were used to carry out the primary alcoholic fermentation, during which the fermenting must was hand plunged up to six times daily at the peak of fermentation. At dryness the wine was pressed, then racked off gross lees to a mixture of 22 per cent new French oak and older seasoned 225 litre oak barriques.

During maturation the barrels were regularly tasted until the right balance was achieved (eleven months). During this time in oak, the young wine completed malolactic fermentation. The wine was then carefully extracted from oak, blended and prepared for bottling.