Aotea by the Seifried family Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2023

The 2022 Aotea by the Seifried family Nelson Sauvignon Blanc is from a parcel of fruit which looked simply sensational even before it was off the vine. Our Queen Victoria Sauvignon Blanc block really shines with intense varietal flavours. Punchy citrus, fragrant basil and a hint of fresh hops come through with lovely lingering flavours and acidity.

The Rabbit Island vineyard is situated on a wide river flat. The soil is 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. These vineyards are about 1.5 kilometres from the sea, which helps moderate summer temperatures. 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 grapes.

Aromatic and fresh Sauvignon Blanc flavours were encouraged prior to vintage through careful canopy management. The fruit was de-stemmed and pressed immediately after harvest and a cool fermentation was initiated in stainless steel tanks to retain the clean, fresh aromatic fruit characters.