Aotea Nelson Cabernet Franc 2019

5 Stars - Wine Orbit, July 2020
94 Points - Decanter Magazine “Beyond NZ”, August 2023
93 Points - Cameron Douglas MS, World of Wine, Winter 2022
92 Points - Bob Campbell MW, © The Real Review, therealreview.com

Vineyard: Seifried Brightwater vineyard
Date of Harvest: Early April 2019
pH of Wine: 3.54
T.A of Wine: 6.1g/L
Residual Sugar: Dry <1g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

Our Brightwater vineyard lies about 15 km from the sea (10 km from the winery) and is nestled under the Richmond Ranges on the southern end of the Waimea Plains. The temperature at this site fluctuates more than any of our other vineyards due to its distance from the coastline. The vineyard is exceptionally stony with free-draining soils, which is very hard on farm equipment. The large stones, however, are vital for holding the warmth of the Nelson sun and ripening the grapes. Lively fruit characters are evident in fruit harvested from this block.

2019 was an outstanding vintage in Nelson with a very warm and dry growing season. This resulted in some outstanding parcels of fruit including our Brightwater Cabernet Franc. Our team was so impressed with the ripe, flavoursome Cabernet Franc that we decided to keep it separate and bottle this outstanding parcel as a single varietal. The grapes were picked in April at the peak of ripeness and then promptly de-stemmed and transferred to open-top fermenters. A three day cold-maceration period preceded inoculation for fermentation. Hand-plunging was carried out two times a day during the ten day primary fermentation, followed by five days of post-fermentation maceration. After pressing, the young wine was drained into French barriques to undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing. The wine was blended and bottled in June 2020.