The gold is flowing at Saint Clair Family Estate with recent success at the Aotearoa Regional Wine Competition. The team at Saint Clair are pleased to announce that the 2021 Saint Clair James Sinclair Cabernet Merlot took out a gold medal and trophy win for ‘Best in Class – Champion Red Blends’ at the 2024 competition.
The Aotearoa Regional Wine Competition (ARWC) sponsored by The George Hotel consists of two panels of judges, hosting Sam Kim (Chairman of Judges), Simon Nunns, Paul Harré, Sam Smail, Terry Copeland, Petter Evans and Mitchell Ryder. The 2024 competition was recorded as the largest number of participants in 10 years with over 392 wines entered from around Aotearoa, New Zealand.
About the Winning Wine
The Saint Clair James Sinclair Cabernet Merlot 2021 is a full bodied and complex wine sourced from the renowned Gimblett Gravels wine growing district in the Hawke’s Bay region. This wine has dark fruit, tobacco and vanilla aromas with a concentrated and toasty palate.
Saint Clair Senior Winemaker Kyle Thompson comments on this trophy win, “We are thrilled to receive news of success at the Aotearoa Regional Wine Competition. It’s always a buzz and a great boost for the team to get recognition for Cabernet Merlot blends – it’s a challenging varietal blend to get to get right, so we’re very pleased with this award.”
Click here to view the 2021 Saint Clair James Sinclair Cabernet Merlot Tasting Note.
Saint Clair are also proud to share several other gold medal winning wines from the show:
Gold Medal – Saint Clair Pioneer Block 10 Twin Hills Chardonnay 2021
An elegant French barrique fermented Chardonnay with flavours of ripe citrus, roasted hazelnut and toasty oak.
Gold Medal – Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Bull Block Gruner Veltliner 2021
Rich and sophisticated with a fusion of stone fruit and spice. The palate is focused and well-structured with a lingering fresh finish.
Gold Medal – Saint Clair Barrique Sauvignon Blanc 2021
A limited release Sauvignon Blanc fermented and aged in seasoned oak barriques.
Gold Medal – Saint Clair Sparkling Rosé NV
A delicious sparkling Rosé with a rich round palate incorporating flavours of crushed strawberries with a fine, lively bubble.
Saint Clair Senior Winemaker Stewart Maclennan takes a lot of pride in producing high quality wines and the 2021 vintage was no different, “It's a thrill to see these wines and varietals from the ‘21 season receiving these accolades. The ‘21 season was phenomenal quality, and these wines feature the character of the season particularly well, speaking to the calibre of the regional wine competition.”
The team at Saint Clair Family Estate would like to extend thanks to the expert panel of judges, the show organisers for 2024 and all the other outstanding producers that took part in this year’s competition.
