Old Coach Road Nelson Chardonnay 2024

87 Points (4 Stars) - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, April 2025

Vineyard: Seifried Brightwater and Rabbit Island vineyards
Sugar at Harvest: 22.8 Brix°
Date of Harvest: Mid March 2024
pH of Wine: 3.49
T.A of Wine: 5.1g/L
Residual Sugar: 2g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

Our Brightwater vineyard lies about 15km from the coast and is nestled under the Richmond Ranges on the southern end of the Waimea Plains. The soil is a combination of rocks and river boulders, which is hard on farm equipment but vital for holding the warmth of Nelson’s sun and ripening grapes. Low nutrient and water levels in the vineyard help to restrict plant vigour, producing fruit with lively, concentrated flavour. To further enhance aromatics, we remove leaves to allow light penetration and air movement around the fruiting zone.

Our Rabbit Island vineyard is situated on a wide river flat, about 1.5km from the sea, which helps moderate temperatures. The soil is gravelly sandy loam, which marks the sites of Māori kumara (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

Careful canopy management and leaf removal around the fruit zone allowed the sun to fully ripen the grapes. After picking, the grapes were transported to the winery where they were gently de-stemmed and pressed. The juice was settled and fermented at a cool temperature to retain fruit aromas. On completion of the primary fermentation, 70% of the wine was aged in French oak for several months. Malolactic fermentation was then completed on 80% of the blend. The wine was blended, stablised and bottled in April 2025.