Varieties & Styles 

Marlborough Wine is wine you know and love that continues to refresh and excite you. The sense of place in each bottle is palpable, full of surprise and delight. A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is a sophisticated wine that cannot be replicated. Its premium purity and flavour intensity has rightly earned its place on the world stage – the respect and care of our producers have kept it there. It is the anchor from which we curl exploratory tendrils of other varieties – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling – and show our range. It is the wine we can always lean on

Pinot Noir

While Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has dazzled wine critics and consumers alike, the region's Pinot Noir is creating worldwide excitement. Climatically, Marlborough has the most consistent weather patterns of all of New Zealand's most proven Pinot Noir areas, with a generally stable period around the critical flowering window in late November and December and also during vintage in April. Importantly Marlborough has also benefited by being a relative late starter in its pursuit of high calibre Pinot Noir meaning the region is well covered with the latest clonal material.

Still wines typically display cherry, plum and red berry fruit underpinned by spice and light herbal notes; wines are medium-bodied with excellent, expressive fruit ripeness, supporting fine French oak is common. Pinot Noir is a key component in many of Marlborough’s high quality Méthode Traditionelle sparkling wines, which combine rich fruit with crisp, finely-balanced acidity, and is also commonly used for the region's fresh, fruit-driven rosé wines.

Pinot Gris

An increasingly popular variety Marlborough’s high sunshine hours aligned with its long, fairly cool growing season and marked diurnal shifts allow very varietally expressive wines, and styles run from early-picked, light-bodied lower alcohol examples through to very sweet Late Harvest-style wines. The majority of styles fall somewhere in between, with residual sugars from 5-10g/L most common, which are balanced by Marlborough’s ability to deliver naturally crisp acidity.

The cooler temperatures of Marlborough produce tighter wines with great structure and persistence with a focus on pristine, pure aromatics and flavours of white peach, red apple skin and cinnamon.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is very well-suited to Marlborough’s relatively cooler climate, with wines retaining good levels of natural acidity and mineral notes alongside bright citrus and stone fruit characters. From all the bells and whistles to unoaked styles, Marlborough produces well-structured Chardonnay that critics and consumers adore for the citrus fruit, mineral intensity and superb length our climate enables winemakers to capture in the bottle.

Chardonnay is also used for premium quality Méthode Traditionelle sparkling wines, either solo or typically blended with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.

Riesling

Whilst plantings are relatively small, Marlborough’s high sunshine, long, moderately cool growing season, significant diurnal shifts and settled autumnal weather makes it very well suited to high quality Riesling production across a wide range of styles. Wines can range from bone dry to lushly sweet, depending on season, harvest timing and desired style. This may include Late Harvest or Botrytis styles. Common to all are vividly pure-fruited expression, with citrus and green apple plus honey and floral notes. Wines are balanced, with intense fruit and lively acidity.

The climate allows for fully ripe and delicately balanced wines at naturally lower alcohol as well as dry wines with compact palate structure.

Sparkling Wines

The regional stronghold of production, Marlborough’s cool climate and high sunshine enhance crispness, structure and defined fruit character. Benchmark quality and well established production has also attracted investment by French Champagne Houses to produce their own classically Marlborough sparkling wines.

Other Varieties

Gewürztraminer
Marlborough Gewürztraminers are highly regarded for their pure, fragrant aromatics and balanced palates with clean finishes. Several passionate producers make wines from older vines, teasing out extra complexity and nuance.

Rosé
Pinot Noir is the most common variety used for Marlborough Rosé, with characteristic aromatic intensity, ripe berry fruit and spice, and vibrant, well-balanced palates. There are also some interesting examples using less common varieties such as Syrah and Montepulciano. Excellent quality Méthode Traditionnelle Rosé is made in Marlborough.

Emerging Whites and Reds
Grüner Veltliner shows promise, Viognier and Syrah have their champions too; everything from Arneis to Tempranillo is being explored as Marlborough continues to push its boundaries. It could well be that the best is yet to come, especially given Marlborough’s wine history only goes back to 1973. Explore more Marlborough varieties from the Marlborough Wine Show.