Tasting Notes for Seresin Chardonnay 2022 from the Winery

A tantalising, complete expression of Chardonnay that brings together both savoury structure, elegance and depth of concentration. Considered picking and use of oak has created a wine that leans towards the more complex, savoury styles of Chardonnay. Lifted mealy, flinty notes on the nose, develop into a smoky complex flavours on the palate. The wine remains poised with a slaty, mineral acidity on the finish and is bone dry.

Winemaking

Certified organic and biodynamic fruit was handpicked in three batches, between the 11-18th March. Picked by clone - commencing with Mendoza, then Clone 15 and finally Clone 95, each batch was directly whole bunch pressed. The Mendoza was pressed straight to barrel, both the Clone 15 and Clone 95 were pressed to tank for overnight settling before being racked to barrel. All batches went through 100% wild fermentation, and subsequently 100% malolactic fermentation. After seven months in French oak, both puncheons and barriques, the batches were blended, filtered and bottled. The resulting percentage of new oak in the blend is 20%.

Viticulture

Our clay rich Raupo vineyard, farmed following organic and biodynamic principles is located in the Omaka Valley. This vineyard has a gentle north-west facing aspect and enjoys high sunshine and minimal rain.

The fruit comes from both our clay rich hillside Raupo Creek vineyard in the Omaka Valley, which has a gentle north-west facing aspect, and also our home Noa vineyard that is settled in the western end of the Wairau Valley.

Vintage

2022 will be remembered for its challenging nature, which kept us on our toes after a run of remarkably effortless vintages in a row. Dry, stable weather over flowering led to an abundant fruit set, and with consistent small rain, we enjoyed fantastic vigour across the whole vineyard. Leading into the harvest period the region endured some significant rainfall, which increased berry and bunch size, but also disease pressure. Luckily, we had an excellent team working tirelessly in the vineyard to mitigate this and we cropped thin throughout the whole vineyard, with an extra focus on the Pinot Noir. We started picking Pinot Noir on 16th March and finished picking with a botrytis-style Riesling on 19th May. It must be said, after the early and fast and furious nature of the previous vintages, a vintage that started a touch later and spread out between each variety was really welcomed. With a great picking team and a focus solely on the Raupo vineyard, we were able to pick each plot before any real disease pressure took hold.

Wine Details

pH - 3.23

TA - 7g/L

RS - 0g/L

Alc - 13.0%

Total SO2 - 72ppm

Vineyard - Raupo Creek

Yield - 5-6 Tonnes/ hectare

Oak - 6 months

Certified Organic

Suitable for Vegans

(SKU: SR_CHA_CV)