Lake Chalice, 'Skye', Marlborough, Rosé 2021

Lake Chalice was established in 1989 with a vision of producing internationally recognised wines from the heart of the Marlborough region. New Zealand’s native falcon, the ‘Kārearea’, is proudly displayed on every bottle of Lake Chalice wine. Kārearea favour the remote mountains and foothills of the upper Awatere and Wairau Valleys and these valleys are home to Lake Chalice’s three unique vineyard sites. Each vineyard has a diverse microclimate, biodiversity and terroir which are seamlessly translated into multi award winning wines by talented winemaker Chloe Gabrielsen. Taking a boutique approach, she handcrafts parcels of fruit from single vineyards into elegant, aromatic, fruit driven wines and has garnered a global reputation of outstanding quality. Certified ‘Sustainable Winegrower of New Zealand’.

2021 was characterised by a lower yield, as it was a very dry year. Springtime flowering conditions were not favourable, with cool weather leading to a large reduction in yield. Additionally, late spring frosts affected small pockets of vineyards, resulting in smaller bunch weights, smaller berries and lower numbers of berries. However, while the quantity was down, the quality was excellent. Early March produced typical Marlborough weather of warm days and cool nights: perfect ripening conditions.

A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec varietals sourced from selected vineyard sites in the Marlborough region, which ensured the fruit reached the optimum flavour intensity before the sugar levels became too high. The vines are cultivated using a sustainable approach with minimal use of vineyard sprays, open canopy management to provide good light and airflow, leaf plucking, fruit and shoot thinning. The fruit was carefully selected and machine harvested in the cool of the night in order to retain fresh fruit flavours.

The grapes spent a few hours macerating on the skins to extract the soft pink colour before being carefully pressed. After settling, the juice was fermented in 100% stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures to retain fruit flavour and freshness. At the end of fermentation, the wine was stabilised, filtered and carefully prepared for bottling.