Saint Clair Vicar's Choice New Zealand Merlot 2021

Saint Clair Vicar's Choice New Zealand Merlot 2021French oak Ripe red plum Cinnamon spice Savoury finish Dark ruby red. Lifted aromas of ripe red plum with notes of spice and liquorice. Bright and fruit forward in style with generous offerings of red cherry, blackcurrant and cinnamon. The palate is silky with a fine tannin structure and a long savoury finish. Drinking well now this wine will continue to develop and impress for up to five years from vintage date. Fruit was harvested from a number of

• French oak
• Ripe red plum
• Cinnamon spice
• Savoury finish

Dark ruby red. Lifted aromas of ripe red plum with notes of spice and liquorice. Bright and fruit forward in style with generous offerings of red cherry, blackcurrant and cinnamon. The palate is silky with a fine tannin structure and a long savoury finish. Drinking well now this wine will continue to develop and impress for up to five years from vintage date.

Fruit was harvested from a number of specifically chosen, naturally low cropping vineyards from both Marlborough’s Wairau Plain and the Hawke’s Bay wine growing district. The vineyards were carefully monitored as they ripened to full maturity and harvested mid-April.

Grapes were de-stemmed into small stainless steel fermenters for a five-day cold soak to help maximise flavour and colour extraction. The juice was inoculated with specialised yeast to complete fermentation and then hand plunged and pumped over for gentle extraction of flavour colour and tannin. The young wine was kept in contact with skins and tasted daily until the right extraction and balance was achieved then gently pressed. Once settled it was then racked to seasoned French oak where it underwent secondary fermentation (malolactic fermentation). After ageing on light lees the wine was blended, fined, balanced and carefully prepared for bottling.

Food Pairing: A perfect match for beef bourguignon with sweet potato.