Marlborough may be famous for searing Sauvignon Blanc, but the region has also firmly established itself as a world-class Pinot Noir producer.
Marlborough Pinot Noir
Marlborough turns out vibrant and intensely aromatic wines. With its explosive tropical fruit, green herbaceousness, and racy acidity, Sauvignon Blanc is the region’s (and NZ’s) signature wine, but other varietals flourish in this vinous paradise.
A potent Pinot culture now anchors Marlborough’s identity and commands national and international recognition. Marlborough Pinot Noir is celebrated for pristine fruit, with additional layers of minerality and exotic spices.
Lush, fleshy Pinots with spicy depth come from the clay-soiled Southern Valleys, while vibrant, savory-herbal styles consistently spring from the river gravels of Awatere.
Across this diverse winescape, polished tannins and maritime acidity structure Pinots of power and elegance.
Good examples of Marlborough Pinot typically display bright red fruits like maraschino or morello cherry, and boysenberry with perfumed rose petal, lavender, and violet notes.
Lifted bouquets are brought down to earth by brambly, smoky, and truffle undertones, and a layer of stony minerality. Seductive spices like anise, clove, sarsaparilla, and liquorice tend to appear, along with sweet tobacco, fresh ground coffee, and dark chocolate.
These multi-layered, ethereal concoctions display classic cool-climate vibrancy and abundant ripe acidity that drives a long, clean finish. Like all top-notch New Zealand Pinot Noir, these wines have deep concentration without being big or heavy. They clearly reflect Marlborough’s terroir.
Marlborough Terroir
Marlborough remains exceptionally generous from a grape-growing perspective. At 41.3 latitude, it’s the antipodean equivalent of central France, only with a deep oceanic influence.
In terms of Heat Degree Days (HDD) and rainfall, the region is almost identical to Sancerre and Burgundy, so it’s no surprise that Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir thrive here today.
New Zealand is a windswept archipelago that receives frequent batterings from the Roaring Forties. On the edge of this weather world, Marlborough’s geographic positioning is key.
The Southern Alps and the Richmond Ranges block rain that blows in from the Tasman Sea, while the Wither Hills buffer against southerly blasts direct from Antarctica. The temperate amphitheatre keeps clouds at bay and the sun shining over Marlborough.
Warm days allow grapes to ripen and concentrate, while cool nights seal in the flavors and preserve naturally high acidity.
These yin-yang conditions contribute to a long, leisurely growing season without the high sugar levels that translate to overripe, over-alcoholic wines. Epitomizing cool-climate winegrowing, Marlborough yields wines of intensity and finesse.
The varied environment allows Marlborough vignerons to produce a wide range of wine styles and varietals, including that most site-expressive of grapes: Pinot Noir.
With its renowned ability to express terroir, more than any other New Zealand wine, Pinot continues to catalyze conversations — and, increasingly, practices — around turangawaewae (sense of place) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the land).
Marlborough Sub-Regions
Marlborough has three key subregions, each offering specific expressions of Pinot Noir:
- Wairau Valley: Light, bright, aromatic Pinot that grows on old, gravelly, riverbed soils.
- Southern Valleys: Fleshy, round, and spicy Pinot thanks to heavy clay soils, hillside vineyards, and low rainfall.
- Awatere Valley: Lean, vibrant, perfumed Pinots that grow on alluvial gravels in a slightly cooler, windier climate.
Each valley has distinct soils and climate characteristics, though diversity and microclimate exist within (i.e. sub-sub regions and special plots, like the climats of Burgundy). Remember, a terroir can span a region or be as specific as a small part of an estate.
Clos Henri, for instance, which lies at the crossroad of the Wairau and Southern Valleys, contains three distinct soil types in a relatively small area (Broadbridge clay, clay, greywacke river stone).
The diverse dirt is a product of ancient geological movements and a seismic fault line running straight through the property. In both their Sauvignon Blancs and Pinots, you can literally take ten steps and taste a distinct difference.
Even more specific, Deep Down Wines produces an organic Pinot from 35+ year old vines at the mouth of the Brancott Valley.
The soil here is heavy silt and loess over gravels. According to proprietor Peter Lorimer, this site was chosen because they were looking for lifted aromatics and fine texture; a sweet spot between the robust structure clay imparts and the thinness of gravel-grown Pinot.
Moreover, the 10/5 clone they use offers natural preservative qualities within the tannins and acidity, allowing them to forego the use of sulphur.
Marlborough’s Coming of Age
Pinot Noir is New Zealand’s second most planted varietal after Sauvignon Blanc and Marlborough has the largest plantings of both. For a long time, however, Pinot was a secondary consideration to the easier-to-grow and hugely popular Sauv Blanc.
Until the late 1990s, most of the Pinot fruit was grown on the Wairau Valley floor and used to make sparkling wine.
It was only when astute growers took to the hills and ridges of the Southern Valleys that Marlborough’s Pinot potential became apparent.
There, they discovered the elevation, aspect and heavier clay soils were well suited to growing quality Pinot Noir. A deeper understanding of this distinct terroir, maturing vines farmed organically and/or biodynamically and honed clones means the wines have already proven their quality, with each vintage reinforcing the region’s growing prestige.
No longer defined solely by Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough now commands respect for Pinot Noir as well.
Central Otago, Waipara, and Martinborough are the regions generally seen as New Zealand’s Pinot Noir strongholds.
Situated between New Zealand’s Pinot strongholds, Marlborough has proven it was never overlooked — just waiting to be fully appreciated. The terroir was there all along; it just took some digging.
Final Thoughts
The world of wine opens the mind and can pull back the curtain on wine regions that seem to have only one offering.
Marlborough is no longer solely about Sauvignon Blanc — its dedicated, inquisitive winegrowers now deliver Pinot Noir of genuine grand cru stature.
In the spirit of collaboration and contamination, strong bonds have formed with international Pinot communities, especially Burgundy and Oregon. New Zealand is the southern tip of the great Pinot Triangle, with Marlborough now firmly established among the world’s great Pinot regions.