Stoneleigh is a leading still bottle wine brand in New Zealand, present in most main international wine markets and owned by French global wine and spirits company Pernod-Ricard.
Stoneleigh vines are planted in ancient stony riverbed soils of the Rapaura area of Marlborough. The Rapaura region is known for its distinctive sunstones soils that play an important role for the local meso-climate, making it slightly warmer than other areas of Marlborough.
During the day, the sunstones reflect the intense Marlborough sunshine up into the vines, the canopy and grapes. Bathed with heat from above and below, the grapes ripen faster and concentrate flavors. It is also believed strong exposure to UV radiations plays an important part in intensifying flavors in grapes and eventually wines produced in Marlborough.
During the night, sunstone releases some heat keeping the vineyards warmer for longer, delaying the influence of cold air streams entering the area in the evening.
Local sunstone found at Stoneleigh vineyards therefore drives early ripening and often results in grapes being harvested earlier than in other areas.
Stoneleigh uses sustainable practices and is accredited under the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) scheme. Around the vineyards, the planting of more than 3,000 native trees, shrubs and flax has been carried out to attract the Tui, a native nectar-feeding bird, to return to the Marlborough region.
Jamie Marfell has been the winemaker for Stoneleigh since 2002. Winemaking was the inevitable career of choice for Jamie who grew up on a farm overlooking a valley of grapevines in Marlborough. He now concentrates on crafting distinctive Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wines: “Marlborough is the undisputed home of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and I’m thrilled to be focused on the Stoneleigh range of wines. It is exciting to be continually developing and differentiating styles while at the same time building sustainability of the varietal for the long term”.
There are four ranges in the Stoneleigh brand:
- standard Stoneleigh range
- Stoneleigh Wild Valley we have tasted a few below
- Stoneleigh Latitude
- Stoneleigh Rapaura Series.
Find out more about Stoneleigh wines with out reviews below:
Learn more about the producer on their website Stoneleigh.co.nz
Find all Stoneleigh wines to buy on Wine-Searcher