Seifried Aotea Pinot Noir 2019

The 2019 Aotea by the Seifried Family Pinot Noir is rich and inviting. The nose has ripe berry and plum notes together with hints of mocha. Palate entry is full, generous and ripe with supple tannins running the length of the palate leaving a long finish.

Our 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.

Our Rabbit Island vineyard is situated on a wide river flat. The soil is gravelly loam which is very sandy and free draining. These vineyards are about 1.5 kilometres from the sea which helps moderate temperatures.

A barrel selection of parcels the winemakers consider the best of the best. Handpicked grapes, harvested at their peak of ripeness are destemmed and transferred to open-top fermenters. A three day cold-maceration period preceded inoculation for fermentation. Hand plunging was carried out twice a day during the ten day primary fermentation, followed by a five day period of post fermentation maceration. After pressing the young wine was drained into French barriques where it underwent malolactic fermentation and ageing. The wine was blended and bottled in June 2020.