Seifried Nelson Chardonnay 2025

90 Points (4.5 Stars) - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit May 2026

Vineyard: Seifried Rabbit Island & Brightwater vineyards
Date of Harvest: mid March 2025
pH of Wine: 3.58
T.A of Wine: 4.9g/L
Residual Sugar of Wine: Dry
Alcohol: 13.5%
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

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 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.

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.

The 'hen and chicken' berries of the Mendoza clone of Chardonnay used in this blend gives full tropical flavours. The fruit was harvested, brought to the winery and pressed immediately then cooled for a three day settling period.

Following this, the juice was racked and warmed for inoculation. Primary alcoholic fermentation was initiated in stainless steel tanks, then the young wine was gravity fed into one, two and three-year-old French barriques. In spring 2025 the Chardonnay then underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel. Barrels were hand stirred regularly to build palate weight and structure. The wine then sat on its yeast lees for a total of 12 months before being racked from barrique, blended and prepared for bottling in April 2026.