Nautilus Albarino 2024

Nautilus is a small, family-owned winery based in the stunningly beautiful Marlborough region of New Zealand. Family ownership means they have the benefit of generations of experience - owner Robert Hill Smith is a fifth-generation vigneron – and also means that they take a long-term approach. The team is small and hands-on, with everyone fully involved in the winemaking from start to finish.

They began making Nautilus wines in 1985 and specialise in Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Albariño, and ‘Méthode Traditionnelle’ Sparkling Wines, sourcing grapes from carefully selected single-vineyard sites across Marlborough’s Wairau Valley and Southern Valleys. Their estate-grown fruit, small-batch winemaking, and sustainable vineyard practices ensure wines with depth, complexity, and distinct Marlborough character.

With a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, Nautilus is part of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) and employs low-intervention, wild fermentation techniques.

Harvest was early, but with good ripeness. The fruit was machine picked, using a destemming harvester and soaked for a period on skins, 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 before bottling.