The Lake Chalice The Raptor 2017 Pinot Noir has had great success at this year’s International Wine Challenge, taking out the Marlborough Pinot Noir Trophy!

We are incredibly honoured to have received this accolade and are very proud of our winemakers Chloe Gabrielsen and Kyle Thompson who made this stunning wine.

Some background information about the IWC:

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) is not the usual wine competition. Each entry is rigorously judged by a panel of judges who blind taste the wines to assess its faithfulness to style, region and vintage. Wines are grouped by Type, Region, Alcohol & Sugar %, ensuring similar wines are judged together.

All wines that win a medal are tasted by at least 8 judges on 3 separate occasions by a minimum of 2 panels of judges and then 2 co-chairs to verify the panels results. Judges are a mix of experts and influencers from the international wine industry, commercial decision makers, buyers and MWs working in unison to find the highest quality wines each year from the 52 wine producing countries represented in the competition.

A little background on The Raptor 2017 Pinot Noir:

It’s a limited release expression consisting of small parcels of fruit from our flagship vineyard, the Eyrie Vineyard in the Waihopai Valley Marlborough. We selected fruits from only the finest of our harvest, integrating elements of barrel fermentation for a fuller body and increased complexity.

It’s bouquet is dark berries with chocolate, coffee, and wild flower aromas, with a hint of violets. The palate is round and seamless showing delicious ripe leafy raspberries, dark plums, and coffee flavours. Fine grained structure and seasoned French oak lead to a long savoury finish.

This wine was hand harvested and fermented in small open top fermenters. Matured in French oak barrels for 7 months. Enjoy now or if you’re a patient appreciator of wine, over the next 5+ years.

What the co-chairs had to say about The Raptor 2017 Pinot Noir:

Impressive wine with a lovely texture and structure to the palate. Scented floral with a hint of intense, lovely, raspberry and dark red fruit. Spices and sous bois, supple yet fresh. Generous finish with lovely harmony. 

Panel Chair: Angela Mount | Co-Chair: Tim Atkin MW

We look forward to seeing what next year’s IWC brings for Lake Chalice!