Marlborough

The Wine, in Brief

For many, Marlborough is New Zealand, and for good reason.  Two out of every three vines grown in New Zealand are planted in Marlborough, which is especially stunning when you consider that Brancott Estate was, until 1978, the only grapegrower in Marlborough.  Furthermore, Sauvignon Blanc comprises 58% of the national vineyard area, with plantings no doubt inspired by Marlborough’s success with the grape.

Marlborough revived interest in Sauvignon Blanc worldwide in the late 1980s by offering an exuberant counterpoint to Sancerre’s steely Sauvys.  Aromatic intensity is the defining feature here, with flavors ranging from the herbaceous to the tropical – grass, green pepper, tomato stalk, mango, and passion fruit can all be readily identified in Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blancs.

Location

The region of Marlborough lies at the northeastern extremity of New Zealand’s South Island, immediately adjacent to the Cook Strait.  Vines are planted primarily within the Wairau Valley, which follows the Wairau River and terminates at Cloudy Bay, and the Awatere Valley, which follows the Awatere River and terminates at Clifford Bay.

Historical Background

Prior to human settlement, the Wairau Plains was a vast swampland, periodically inundated by floodwaters from the Wairau River and its tributaries, but in the nineteenth century the swamps were drained and the rivers were diverted and stop-banked.  Meadowbank Farm station manager David Herd planted the first vines (Brown Muscat) in Marlborough in 1873 in the Ben Morven Valley, on his own Auntsfield property.

Brancott Estate (Montana Wines) planted the first vines in the modern era – Müller-Thurgau and Cabernet Sauvignon – exactly one century later, in 1973. Sauvignon Blanc followed in 1975, yielding the first Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in 1979.  For five full years Brancott Estate was the only grapegrower in Marlborough – in 1973 Brancott purchased nine blocks of land (2900 acres in total) in a period of ten days using mystery intermediaries, but no one else followed suit until 1978.

By the late 1980s, a string of triumphs in London wine competitions had established New Zealand as a world-class wine region.  A Sauvignon Blanc from Hunter’s, in Marlborough, won the popular vote three years running at the Sunday Times Wine Club Festival – in 1986, 1987 and 1988.  At the International Wine and Spirit Competition, Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc won best Sauvignon Blanc in 1990, followed by Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in 1991, and Hunter’s Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in 1992.

Climate and Weather

Marlborough enjoys a moderate maritime climate with a marked diurnal range (10°C at least on most days, relatively high by maritime standards) and reliably sunny summers and dry autumns.  The region experiences 1147 growing degree-days, with a mean annual rainfall of 730 mm.  Marlborough is protected from rain throughout the year by the Richmond Range to the northwest, and by the North Island.  Late spring frosts are a risk, especially in the Southern Valleys.

Soils and Topography

The Wairau Valley is generally characterized as an alluvial flood plain of the Wairau River, with a variety of soil types determined by the historical extent and course of the Wairau River.  The soils on the northern side of the flood plain, near to Rapaura and the Wairau River, are young, silty, alluvial soils that are heavily laden with round greywacke river stones.  Greywacke forms the bedrock of New Zealand and consists of layers of hard, muddy grey sandstone alternating with thinner layers of darker mudstone, or argillite.  These soils to the north have a low water-holding capacity and are extremely free draining.  To the south is a series of tributary valleys collectively known as the Southern Valleys, which run perpendicular to the Wairau and become progressively cooler with altitude and distance from the coast.  From the east, these valleys are named Ben Morven, Brancott (alternatively known as Fairhall), Omaka, and Waihopai.  Soils here clay loams with varying levels of weathered gravel that hold more soil moisture, and are much older than the soils of the main valley.

The Awatere Valley lies south of, and parallel to, Wairau Valley.  The Awatere Valley is cooler, windier, and drier than the Wairau.  The Awatere’s soils are varied, but often consist of wind-blown loess over stony river gravels with deep sub-soils of papa – a blue-grey, muddy sandstone.

Grape Varieties

Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest growing region by far, with a producing area of 22,861 hectares (66% of the national producing area) across 972 vineyards, giving an average vineyard size of 23.1 hectares.  Marlborough is planted primarily to Sauvignon Blanc (77%), with significant plantings of Pinot Noir (10%), Chardonnay (5%), and Pinot Gris (4%), among others.

Viticulture

Access to Marlborough’s finite water supply is a major issue affecting land prices and the direction of Marlborough’s development.  While vineyards on the Wairau Plain draw water from the huge Wairau River-fed aquifer, the Awatere Valley has no large aquifer.  Most vineyards have resource consent to draw water directly from the Awatere River, but all the reliable Class A water permits have been allocated.  A number of those holding less reliable Class B permits are planning storage dams to collect higher winter waterflows from tributaries fed by the Awatere River which can be use to augment irrigation during winter months.  As one progresses inland, frost and sufficient heat also become significant challenges to viticulture.

Sources

Michael Cooper, Wine Atlas of New Zealand (Auckland, NZ: Hodder Moa, 2008).

Caroline Courtney, Wine in New Zealand (Auckland: Godwit, 2003).

Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, The World Atlas of Wine Sixth Edition (London: Octopus Publishing Group, 2007).

Kevin Judd and Bob Campbell, The Landscape of New Zealand Wine (Nelson, NZ: Craig Potton Publishing, 2009).

Kevin Judd, Greywacke, http://www.greywacke.com.

New Zealand Winegrowers, “Vineyard Register Report 2012,” http://www.wineinf.nzwine.com.