History - Along the way

Almost immediately it became apparent that the Martinborough appellation was capable of producing not just good wine but great wine. Under Larry\'s expert guidance gold medals started tumbling through the door. Not only for the now famous Pinot noir, but also for every other variety that was lovingly placed in a bottle.

The list of awards is too great to mention here, all of the Martinborough Vineyard varieties have won gold medals here and in Australia with a strong showing in the United Kingdom as well. Perhaps the crowning glory to date has been the award of the Bouchard Finlayson Trophy for "The Best Pinot Noir Worldwide" at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Challenge in London in 1997.

A worldwide search for a new winemaker took place in 1999 after the departure of Larry McKenna to start his own winery on the nearby Te Muna Road district of Martinborough. Claire Mulholland, born and raised in Central Otago and ex Assistant Winemaker for Gibbston Valley Wines was appointed to this enviable position in early 2000.

With a penchant for cool climate grape growing and winemaking, and a special interest particularly in Pinot Noir, much of Claire’s winemaking history has revolved around this unique variety.

Claire works with a Martinborough Vineyard team focused on sustainably producing small quantities (average of 100 tonnes between 1999 and 2002) of exclusive fine wine. The company’s philosophy is to produce the finest Pinot Noir in the New World with the focus on “Handcrafted Excellence in Wine”. Low-cropped, hand tended vines are managed to produce the highest quality fruit possible, and minimal intervention in the winery is only where necessary, to guide the wines to reflect the intrinsic characters of their site.

Claire’s first full flight of wines with Martinborough Vineyard was the 2000 production. In November 2001 the 2000 Pinot Noir took the Chairman of Judge’s Trophy at the Sydney International Wine Competition for the Chairman’s (Huon Hooke) choice as best wine of the show (chosen from 1600 wines across all varieties from 16 countries).

The winery is in very capable hands.

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