Aotea Nelson Chardonnay 2022

Vineyard: Seifried Rabbit Island vineyard
Date of Harvest: Mid March 2022
Sugar at Harvest: 23.2°Brix
pH of Wine: 3.41
T.A of Wine: 5.4g/L
Residual Sugar: dry <1g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

The fruit for the Aotea Nelson Chardonnay comes from our Rabbit Island vineyard which is situated on a wide river flat. The soil is gravelly sandy loam, which marks the sites of Māori kūmara (sweet potato) beds prior to European settlement in the early 1800s. The Māori transferred and spread fine gravel and sand over the land to provide suitable soils for their kūmara plantings. Scrub was burned to give ash and charcoal, which increased soil fertility and characteristic topsoil. This fertility is now considerably reduced due to modern farming. The soils are however, very sandy and free-draining. The water table is relatively high ensuring adequate underground water. This vineyard is about 1.5 km from the sea, which helps moderate temperatures.

The ‘hen and chicken’ berries of the Mendoza clone of Chardonnay give full tropical flavours. Fruit was harvested and brought to the winery where it was immediately pressed and cooled for a 24-hour settling period. Following this the juice was racked and warmed before inoculation. Once the ferment was active it was gravity fed to new, one and two-year-old French barriques. The wine completed primary alcohol fermentation in oak before undergoing malolactic fermentation. During these alcoholic fermentations the barrels were hand-stirred periodically to build palate weight and structure. Following this, the wine was left sitting on its yeast lees for a further 10 months before being racked from barrique and prepared for bottling.