Saint Clair Estate Merlot 2010

Grapes:   100% Merlot from Saint Clair’s Estate vineyard at Rapaura, one of the warmest in the district.

Winemaking:   The fruit for this wine was harvested from several low cropping vineyards within Marlborough, primarily Saint Clair’s Rapaura Road Vineyard.  From warm sites, the fruit was carefully monitored as it ripened to full maturity and harvested at the end of April.  The fruit was then de-stemmed into small stainless steel fermenters for a four-day cold soak before being fermented with selected yeasts and hand plunged up to six times daily during the height of fermentation.  After pressing, the wine was racked and underwent malolactic fermentation for enhanced integration of tannin and flavour.  After ageing on the lees for six months the wine was blended, lightly egg-white-fined, balanced and carefully prepared for bottling. 

Colour:   Dense ruby red.

Taste:   Medium-bodied with flavours of ripe plums, cherries and boysenberries layered with hints of spicy oak.  It is an elegant and stylish wine with well-balanced acidity and a warm, lingering finish.