Aotea Nelson Pinot Noir 2018

91 Points (4.5 Stars) Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, October 2022, New Zealand

Vineyard: Seifried Brightwater vineyard
Date of Harvest: Late March 2018
pH of Wine: 3.53
T.A of Wine: 5.0g/L
Residual Sugar: <1g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

The Brightwater Pinot Noir vines are grown in an extremely stony area of the vineyard where water and nutrient levels are low. This helps us to restrict plant vigour and to crop at low levels. To further enhance the aromatics we removed leaves to allow light penetration and air movement around the fruiting zone. Our Brightwater vineyard is situated 15 km from the coast and is sheltered from the south by the Richmond ranges. The ‘soil’ is a combination of rocks and boulders, which is very hard on farm equipment, but vital for holding the warmth of Nelson’s sun and ripening grapes.

The Aotea Pinot Noir 2018 is a barrel selection of wine that our winemakers consider the best Pinot Noir from the 2018 vintage. The grapes were hand-picked in March at their peak 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 three days of post-fermentation maceration. After pressing, the young wine was drained into French barriques where it underwent malolactic fermentation and ageing. The wine was blended and bottled in August 2019.