Aotea Nelson Pinot Noir 2019

‘Best Wine from New Zealand’ - Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2020
Gold - Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2020
93 Points - Bob Campbell MW, © The Real Review, therealreview.com
Silver - AWC Vienna, 2020

Vineyard: Seifried Rabbit Island and Brightwater vineyards
Date of Harvest: Mid-late March 2019
pH of Wine: 3.64
T.A of Wine: 5.7g/L
Residual Sugar: dry <1g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

Our Rabbit Island vineyard is situated on a wide river flat. The soil is gravelly, sandy loam which is very free-draining. This vineyard is about 1.5 km from the sea which helps moderate temperatures.

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 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.

The Aotea by the Seifried Family Nelson Pinot Noir 2019 is a barrel selection of wines that our winemakers consider the best Pinot Noir from the 2019 vintage. The grapes were hand-picked in March at their 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 where it underwent malolactic fermentation and ageing. The wine was blended and bottled in June 2020.