Saint Clair Family Estate - Pioneer Block 1 - Sauvignon Blanc 2022
Saint Clair Family Estate is located in Marlborough , on the South Island of New Zealand . The owners, Neal and Judy Ibbotson , pioneered viticulture in Marlborough in 1978. They originally supplied their grapes to local wine companies. Convinced of being able to enhance the quality of their vineyards, they decided to create Saint Clair Family Estate in 1994. The vineyard now extends over six wine-growing sites, notably in the Awatere and Wairau valleys, as well as in the Gimblett Gravels area in Hawke's Bay. The plots are vinified separately to give winemakers plenty of options when blending. Saint Clair also sources its grapes through relationships with local producers. These vineyards take advantage of Marlborough's cool, dry climate, and a grading system allows growers to gauge which plots produce the best fruit each year. The vineyard is conducted using sustainable and environmentally friendly cultivation methods.
Saint Clair's Pioneer Block range includes plot cuvées to reflect the unique influence of terroir on varietals grown in the same region. The wines are numbered according to the vineyard from which the grapes are harvested.
Saint Clair Pioneer Block 1 Foundation is made from Sauvignon Blanc whose fruit comes from a single vineyard owned by the Sowman family, grown on the fertile, well-drained soils of the lower Wairau Valley. The climate is slightly cooler than most of the Marlborough Valley with a slower annual ripening period. The grapes were carefully monitored during ripening and harvested in the cool of the evening at peak flavor maturity and physiological ripeness. They were pressed directly after harvest to minimize contact with the skin and oxidation of the juice. After decanting, the must was fermented using a selected strain of yeast in stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures to retain the flavor and freshness of the fruit.
Grape variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
