$82.00
Vineyard: Seifried Brightwater Vineyard
Sugar at Harvest: 22.8°Brix
Date of Harvest: 22 March 2018
pH of Wine: 3.52
T.A of Wine: 5.7g/L
Residual Sugar of Wine: dry
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes
Our Brightwater Vineyard lies about 15km from the sea (10km from the winery) and is nestled under the Richmond Ranges on the southern end of the Waimea Plains. The temperature at this site fluctuates more than any of our other vineyards due to its distance from the coastline. The Vineyard is exceptionally stony with free draining soils, which is very hard on the farm equipment. The large stones however are vital for holding the warmth of the Nelson sun and for ripening the grapes. Lively fruit characters are evident in fruit harvested from this block.
Fruit was hand harvested and brought to the winery where it was immediately whole bunch pressed. Following this the juice was drained using gravity directly to just four new oak french barriques. The wine gradually completed primary alcohol fermentation in oak before undergoing malolactic fermentation. During these alcoholic fermentations the barrels were hand stirred periodically to build palate weight and structure. Following this the wine was left sitting on its yeast lees for a further 12 months before being racked from barrique and prepared for bottling as a tiny batch.
Chardonnay looked great in 2018 and this small parcel of hand-picked Chardonnay was outstanding. Our winemakers were inspired to do something special and left the juice in barrel to ferment using indigenous yeast. The wine is rich, expressive and flavoursome. Oak is nicely integrated with ripe fruit characters and bottle age. Enjoy!