Old Coach Road Nelson Chardonnay 2017

Wine Analysis

Vineyard: Seifried Rabbit Island and Brighwater Vineyards
Sugar at Harvest: 23.4°Brix
Date of Harvest: Early April 2017
pH of Wine: 3.59
T.A of Wine: 6.6g/L
Residual Sugar: >1g/L (dry)
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

The Vineyard

Our Rabbit Island Vineyards are situated on a wide river flat. The soil is made up of gravelly sandy loam, which marks the sites of Maori kumara beds (sweet potato) prior to European settlement in the early 1800’s. The Maori transferred and spread fine gravel and sand over the land to provide suitable soils for their kumara plantings. Scrub was burned to give ash and charcoal, which increased soil fertility and gave 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.

The Brightwater vines are grown in an extremely stony area of the vineyard where water and nutrient levels are low. this helps us to restrict the plants vigour and to crop at low levels. Our Brightwater Vineyard is situated 15km 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 the farm equipment but vital for holding the warmth of Nelson’s sun and for ripening the Pinot Noir grapes.

Winemakers Note

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 60% of the blend.

Tasting Note

The 2017 Old Coach Road Nelson Chardonnay is warm, toasty and inviting. Summer peach characters define the nose, while toasted muesli and ground hazelnuts linger on the palate.