Nautilus Estate Marlborough Albariño 2023

Description

Dry, Floral, Melon

On the nose, this single vineyard wine shows fragrant ripe apricots, white blossoms, hints of honeydew melon and orange peel. The palate is flavoursome and mouth filling with a refreshing zingy finish. Delicious upon release, this wine will improve for 3-5 years post vintage.

The 2023 growing season was a challenging one, dominated by La Niña conditions that brought more overcast weather with regular rainfalls. It certainly kept the vineyard team on their toes. However, the rains stopped in January just in time for critical ripening period and thankfully the early autumn weather was kind - allowing us to get the grapes harvested in excellent condition.

After a couple of early harvests in recent years, 2023 followed a more ‘normal’ pattern. The harvest was orderly, in that one variety followed another, and enjoyable as our picking decisions were made on flavour, not logistics or pending weather events. Quality across the board is fantastic with Albariño a highlight, as our new planting comes on stream.

The fruit was machine picked, using a destemming harvester, before being crushed for a period of skin contact before 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.

Food Pairing: Pancetta-wrapped scallops with saffron and herb risotto.