(2025) Named after Anges Seifried, this is always a treat of a moderately priced dessert wine, fully luscious and sweet with a candied fruit quality, and yet nimble with its slicing core of citrus acidity keeps things fresh on the palate. The honey and lime of the nose translates to a delicate, fully sweet but light palate, shimmering acidity prolonging the finish. Price for a half bottle.
(2024) Pleasing floral and lime fresh aromatics, hints of spring flowers, no waxy/mineral notes to speak of. A fair bit of residual sugar here, pitching this firmly into off-dry to medium-sweet territory, plenty of peachy, ripe fruit against a balancing orange acidity. Aperitif style, and well done.
(2024) A very attractive wine from Nelson on the tip of the South Island, this comes from the stony Edens Road and Brightwater vineyards, around 15km from the ocean. It has plenty of exotic perfume, touching lychee and mango, a light smokiness and a squirt of grapefruit. On the palate it is that mango into peach that dominates, a wine that is easy to drink and though dry with only 1.6g/l of residual sugar, has a relatively soft, medium-acid drinkability.
(2022) From an organic certified Moutere vineyard of clay and gravel, this was fermented with wild yeasts and aged in barrels (15% New). Colour is dark but not thick. Very slick and velvetty on the nose, promising sweetness and plushness, a fine edge of minerals. The palate shows lovely poise, the fruit towards raspberry and blackcurrant, with very good freshness, a bite of cherry skin tang. Relatively easy-going, but lovely balance and a big enjoyability factor.
(2022) From one of New Zealand's best Chardonnay terroirs, Nelson at the northern tip of the South Island. This consists of fruit from Mendoza and UCD15 clones planted on clay and river stone soils, giving intense, concentrated bunches. Fermentation with wild yeasts and high turbidity is in French oak barriques (14% new) with 10 months maturation on the lees. The wine went through malolactic fermentaion spontaneously. A bit of depth to the colour and loads of flinty character, smoky and intensely perfumed by its complex sulphides. Nutty Cox's pippin apples come through, and on the palate it is searing with both ripe, deliciously juicy fruit and salt-licked lemon acidity. The axis of toastines, sweet fruit and saline acid structure makes for a very powerful rendition of Chardonnay.
(2022) The Seifried family have more than 320 hectares of vineyards in the Nelson region of New Zealand, and make this Sauvignon Blanc exclusively for Waitrose. Nelson is not that far from Marlborough, enjoying both coastal influences and the shelter of the Richmond Ranges, and this is a tropical but still vivacious style. There is pea-pod freshness on the nose, but lots of exotic mango and lychee fruit too. The palate has a spine of lemon and lime fruit and acidity that is not at all harsh, but does cut through the fruit ripeness to finish dry and tangy. Note that the price falls to £8.49 until 12th July 2022 and that's the price to be on. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.
(2022) A bit of a classic this, made from semi-raisined grapes picked very late, it is fully sweet with 198g/l of residual sugar. A burnished deep gold colour, the nose has notes of leaf tea, saffron and apricot, lots of honey and glycerine rich onto the palate. A beautifully sweet, luscious and limpid style, great balance with orange peel bite and great acidity into the finish.
(2021) From Nelson at the top of the South Island, this is fermented with wild yeast and spent 10 months in French oak, 20% new. Pleasing, pale garnet colour, and warming aromas with vanilla melting into summer red fruits, but there is depth too, a little briar or chestnut perhaps. In the mouth a lovely Pinot, filled with well-tempered and gently earthy fruit, and though there's tobacco and more vanilla, the firm edge of the tannins and crispness of the acidity give lovely balance.
(2021) From vineyards six kilometeres from the ocean, this is certified organic and comes from clay and gravel soils. It spends 12 months in French barriques, only 8% new, after fermentation with wild yeasts, and it goes through full malolactic. Quite a quiet, understated nose here, creamy ripe apple and pear, the merest touch of flint in the background. In the mouth an intense, concentrated wine in terms of both texture and flavour, a lot of salty, racing mineral acidity drives it at this stage, staying taut and linear. Should be better in a couple of years too.
(2020) From Nelson. Fermented in barriques. Creamy oak and slatey, flinty components to the fore. The fruit is sweet and ripe, but has a great thrust of lemon zest. Grapefruity and vibrant. No Uk stockists at time of review.
