"An elegant and silky Pinot Noir with aromatic notes of fresh ripe raspberries, red plum with leafy overtones and dried thyme. Fresh and bright with red fruits on the palate, smooth and round with a long, toasty finish. Delicious with tender roast duck or wild mushroom dishes. 100% Pinot Noir."
Lake Chalice was established in 1989 with a vision of producing internationally recognised wines from the heart of the Marlborough region. It is owned by the Ibbotson family who are world renowned for their Saint Clair wines. At Lake Chalice they give their talented winemaker Chloe Gabrielsen free reign to produce her own distinct multi award winning wines. Taking a boutique approach she handcrafts parcels of fruit from single vineyards and crafts them into elegant, aromatic, fruit driven wines with a savoury touch. The property is certified as a ‘Sustainable Winegrower of New Zealand’.
The fruit for this wine was harvested from vineyards across the Wairau and southern Waihopai Valleys in Marlborough. The vineyards situated in the sheltered southern Waihopai Valley have well-draining clay over gravel soils, which offer good drainage and aeration. The clay soils have the capacity to retain positively charged nutrients, which are beneficial to plant health and add an element of growth restriction, keeping the Pinot Noir balanced in its growth. The clay and gravel soils also help to restrict berry size, creating thicker skins, which in turn leads to more flavour and better concentration. The vines are trained with two canes which further helps to obtain concentrated fruit flavours.
2018 saw a change to the regular weather patterns, with January recording the hottest temperatures Marlborough has experienced, followed by a month of rainfall. Despite these challenging weather conditions the fruit ripened well and harvest took place 10 days earlier than normal, producing slightly lower yields of clean, ripe and intensely flavoured fruit.
The grapes were delivered to the winery immediately after harvest retaining the freshness of the fruit. Afer the fruit was cold soaked, fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks to retain the purity of fruit and during the peak of fermentation the must was hand-plunged up to eight times per day, in order to ensure the desired levels of fine tannins, colour and flavours were extracted. The wine went through malolactic fermentation resulting in a silky texture. Maturation for six months in seasoned French oak barriques followed, imparting subtle complexity to the wine
