Nautilus Estate Marlborough Albarino 2017

Description

On the nose, the 2017 vintage shows fragrant fresh apricots, honeysuckle perfume, hints of melon and mandarin peel notes. The palate is flavoursome and fleshy with a refreshing zingy finish. This is a limited edition, single vineyard wine. Albariño, one of the most distinctive varieties from Spain, is a recent introduction to the pristine winegrowing region of Marlborough.

2017 was a challenging season where attention to detail in the vineyards paid dividends. While spring and summer where kind with good growing conditions and healthy vines, a couple of significant rain events provided some challenges over harvest. Albariño has a reputation for being able to handle the rain and this certainly proved to be the case this year. While we did not get quite the quantity we wanted, we are delighted with the quality and it looks like Albariño has a bright future in the Marlborough region.

Fruit was hand picked and chilled overnight before being destemed and crushed prior to pressing. The racked and clarified juice was then cool fermented in a stainless steel tank using an aromatic yeast. A short period of maturation on yeast lees followed prior to bottling. Delicious upon release, this wine will improve for 3-5 years post vintage.

Food Pairing: Pancetta-Wrapped Scallops with Saffron and Herb Risotto