Saint Clair 'Barrique' Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Saint Clair 'Barrique' is a limited release Sauvignon Blanc fermented and aged in seasoned oak barriques. The grapes for this award-winning wine come from three rows of vines in one of Saint Clair’s best vineyards in the lower Wairau subregion of Marlborough. The fruit is left to hang a week longer than the fruit for Saint Clair’s traditional Sauvignon Blanc and the grapes are hand-harvested, with only the highest quality bunches being selected. At the winery, the grapes were whole bunch pressed, briefly settled then racked into seasoned French oak barriques. The juice was inoculated with a selected yeasts. Post fermentation, the wine was aged on its lees for nine months, with twice weekly barrel stirring where it underwent spontaneous malolactic conversion. Each barrel was tasted regularly by the winemaking team and only the very best and most interesting barrels were selected for the final blend. The wine was lightly fined and filtered prior to bottling. The Saint Clair Barrique Sauvignon Blanc offers complex aromas of green coffee bean, vanilla pod and maple syrup, that are complemented by notes of wild flowers, crushed herbs and a hint of gunflint. The palate is rich and unctuous with delicious layers of ripe papaya, nectarine, cocoa powder and toasted hazelnut.
