Old Coach Road Nelson Merlot 2020

Vineyard: Seifried Edens Road vineyard
Sugar at Harvest: 23.9°Brix
Date of Harvest: Early April 2020
pH of Wine: 3.59
T.A of Wine: 5.5g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

Our 2020 Old Coach Road Merlot comes from our Edens Road vineyard. This vineyard is bordered by the Wairoa River and is notable for its exceptionally stony soil. The bouldery, free-draining soil is very harsh on vineyard equipment, but vital for holding the warmth of the Nelson sun and for ripening grapes.

The fruit was harvested in early April 2020, and was fermented in stainless steel open-top fermenters, over a two-week period. The fermenting grapes were plunged twice daily throughout fermentation to help extract colour, tannin and to build structure into the wine.

The young wine was drained into oak barrels immediately following primary fermentation to begin malolactic fermentation. It was aged in one, two and three-year-old French barriques for an extended period. The final wine was blended, stabilised and bottled in December 2020.