Vintage Report 2024

Mother nature was smiling upon Marlborough in what has been one of the smallest and ‘most serene’ vintages in recent history.

Sunny, settled conditions allowed us to ditch the usual weather-forecast watching and leave the grapes to take their time ripening on the vines until they reached optimum flavour, leading to a much more leisurely harvest.

Low winter rainfall and cooler temperatures at flowering led to a significantly reduced fruit set, with yields of sauvignon blanc, Marlborough’s flagship variety, down by as much as 20-30% across the region.

Warm, windy El Nino conditions persisted through summer and with just 161mm (6.3 inches) of rainfall from September to March, it was the driest season since records began 94 years ago.

A medium-scale drought was declared by the government in mid-March and while local sheep farmers were struggling to find grass to feed their sheep, we relished the dry conditions.

Harvest commenced two weeks earlier than last year and with the help of friends and family, The Marlborist team harvested 0.5 ton of chardonnay in the Awatere Valley for sparkling base on the 4th of March.

Initial concerns about a condensed harvest were allayed with a period of cooler weather in the first half of March, slowing down the ripening process and extending vintage out to our last pinot noir pick at The Wrekin Vineyard on the 29th of March.

Low yields and pristine fruit have resulted in wines that, at this early stage, are exhibiting beautiful, ripe flavours of great intensity. We are incredibly excited by the quality of what we now have in the winery and have no doubt 2024 will be remembered as one of Marlborough’s finest.

Richard Ellis, winemaker.