SEIFRIED WINEMAKERS COLLECTION BARRIQUE FERMENTED CHARDONNAY 2022

Gold Medal – The New Zealand International Wine Show 2023
Gold Medal – New World Wine Awards 2023

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"The 2022 Seifried Winemakers Collection Barrique Fermented Chardonnay is the “pick of the bunch”. Our winemakers hand select the best barrels from the season to piece together this gorgeous wine. This wine is rich, warm and spiced with loads of varietal fruit wrapped in smooth savoury oak. Toasty hazelnuts, brioche and melon flavours leave a lovely long finish.

Fruit was harvested and brought to the winery where it was immediately pressed and cooled for a 24 hour settling period. Following this, the juice was racked and warmed before inoculation. Once the ferment was active it was gravity fed to new, one and two year old French barriques. The wine 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 10 months before being racked from barrique and prepared for bottling in February 2023.

This single vineyard Chardonnay comes from the stony soils of our Rabbit Island vineyard in the heart of Nelson’s fruit growing district, and on the same property that is home to the Seifried winery. The ground is free draining, friable and easy to work, giving a light and intensely varietal crop. The canopy was extensively leaf plucked during the summer while the grapes were developing, allowing light and air movement around the fruiting zone and helping to develop lovely citrus and passionfruit flavours."

5 Stars & 94/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, September 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Rich and opulent, this is gorgeously expressed on the nose with mango, yellow peach, French vanilla and cedar characters with a hint of butterscotch. The palate is concentrated and sumptuous, offering creamy texture with velvety flow, finishing long and expansive. Delectably styled and highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2028."

Gold Medal – Dish Magazine Chardonnay Tasting, September 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Subtle oak and peaches and cream complexity combine with mouthfilling textures, sherbet-like citrus, elegant use of oak adding soft, nutty layers to the mid-palate. The finish is clean and bright, with great energy and length. Stunning stuff."

4 ½ Stars & Top 10, Cuisine Chardonnay Tasting, September 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"A full style of chardonnay with ripe aromatics of quince and white peach on the nose with yellow grapefruit and just a hint of toast. The palate is rich with pastry and sweet spice alongside a good depth of fruit flavour with a moderate acid profile."