New Zealand · Marlborough

Stoneleigh Vineyards

Marlborough wines shaped by Rapaura’s ancient riverbed, where sun-warmed stones support ripe, fresh fruit.

The producer

Stoneleigh Vineyards works in Rapaura, Marlborough, on free-draining ground left by an ancient river. Its exposed stones reflect light into the vines, warm during the day and release heat after dark; alongside Marlborough’s cool climate and strong sunshine, those conditions support the producer’s fresh, crisp and aromatic style.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is Stoneleigh’s regional calling card, while Wild Valley is its minimal-intervention range, fermented with naturally occurring microflora. Wild Valley Rosé is a dry 100% Pinot Noir: strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant lead into citrus, light spice, fresh acidity, gentle phenolic grip and a peppery finish.

Known for

Ancient-riverbed Marlborough wines, including naturally fermented Pinot Noir rosé.

Notable facts

The story

From the first vines to a wider cellar role

Stoneleigh’s first vines were planted in 1981, when the property belonged to Corbans, then described as Montana’s main competitor in Marlborough. Decades later, Jamie Marfell became Stoneleigh’s chief winemaker; WineAlign recorded him in that role in 2013. By 2023, Marfell had moved into a Group Winemaker post spanning Stoneleigh and Brancott in Marlborough, alongside Church Road in Hawke’s Bay. The estate’s later Wild Valley line, launched in 2020, took Stoneleigh fruit in another direction: wines fermented with naturally occurring microflora rather than added cultured yeast. The original plantings and the later cellar work remain tied to Rapaura’s stony riverbed vineyards.

From the atlas

Stoneleigh Vineyards

At A Glance

Stoneleigh Vineyards works in Rapaura, a Marlborough sub-region whose vineyards sit on an ancient riverbed. Cool conditions and abundant sunshine meet free-draining, stone-studded ground, so fruit can ripen while the wines retain a fresh, crisp, aromatic profile. Its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and the naturally fermented Wild Valley wines show two supported routes into that setting.

The Producer

Stoneleigh presents Marlborough through minimal-intervention winemaking, with Rapaura’s sunstones at the centre of the picture. The stones reflect light into the vine canopy and hold daytime warmth; with a cool climate around them, the intended result is aromatic fruit with fresh acidity rather than heavy body. Wild Valley Rosé, a dry 100% Pinot Noir, puts that approach into a wine with clear shape and texture.

Place

Rapaura lies within Marlborough, New Zealand’s leading wine region, and Stoneleigh’s vineyards occupy the bed of an ancient river. That history left a stony, fast-draining floor beneath the vines. Water moves away readily, while sunshine and stored warmth support flavour development, helping Stoneleigh’s fruit arrive ripe enough for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir without losing the briskness associated with its house style.

Soil And Site

Stoneleigh calls the exposed stones in Rapaura “sunstones.” They reflect sunlight back into the canopy, then absorb warmth during the day and release it at night. In these free-draining riverbed soils, that daily heat cycle supports ripening; in the finished wines, the aim is aromatic fruit and fresh acidity rather than broad, sweet-feeling weight. The stones are therefore part of the growing conditions, not decoration on a label.

Story

Stoneleigh’s first plantings were made in 1981, when the property belonged to Corbans. Jamie Marfell later became the estate’s chief winemaker, a role independently recorded in 2013, before moving to a group winemaking post that included Stoneleigh, Brancott in Marlborough and Church Road in Hawke’s Bay. In 2020, Stoneleigh launched Wild Valley around spontaneous fermentation, taking the estate’s Marlborough fruit into a line where naturally occurring microflora, rather than cultured yeast, carry the ferment.

Vineyards And Cellar

The vineyard work extends beyond the rows that supply the wines. Stoneleigh reports more than 25 hectares dedicated to biodiversity and 60 hectares to regenerative-vineyard projects, with more than 10,000 plants established for those projects. Local beehives and native-falcon conservation sit alongside estate-owned vineyards described as certified by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand and ISO standards. Renewable electricity at the winery and free-draining Rapaura ground frame a cellar approach built around ripe, clean fruit rather than heavy handling.

Wild Valley makes that approach most visible in the ferment. Grapes are picked at optimum ripeness and fermented with naturally occurring microflora. For the Rosé, 100% Pinot Noir is made dry, so red fruit remains the centre of the wine while fresh acidity and a light phenolic grip keep the palate firm. The result is a rosé with more structure than a simple poolside pour, without moving into oak-driven weight.

Wines

Stoneleigh’s supported range has two distinct points. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the regional calling card: it was named Sauvignon Blanc of the Year and Best Wine by Value at the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards. The available record does not detail its fermentation or full tasting profile, but the awards place it at the crisp, aromatic Marlborough end of Stoneleigh’s work.

Wild Valley is the smaller, minimal-intervention line, defined by fermentation with naturally occurring yeasts. Wild Valley Rosé is its clearest documented bottle: pale salmon-pink, dry and medium-bodied, built from Pinot Noir rather than a mixed red blend. Its red-fruit flavour, fresh acidity, gentle phenolic texture and peppery finish give the Wild Valley range a more tactile expression than a wine chosen only for bright fruit.

In The Glass

Wild Valley Rosé opens with strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant, then moves through summer fruit and citrus on a medium-bodied palate. Pinot Noir supplies the red-berry core; dry fermentation keeps the fruit clean rather than sweet. Fresh, balanced acidity lifts the citrus, while a gentle phenolic texture adds light grip before the finish turns lightly spicy and peppery. Serve it cool enough to keep the acidity lively, but not so cold that the berry fruit disappears.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Stoneleigh Wild Valley Rosé. It is a dry, pale Pinot Noir rosé made with naturally occurring microflora, so it brings Rapaura fruit and Wild Valley’s cellar approach into one bottle. Its medium body and subtle phenolic grip make it more instructive than a soft, fruit-only rosé, while the producer’s stated zero-to-three-year cellaring window makes its role straightforward: drink it young, when the red berries, citrus and peppery finish are still bright.

Anecdote

In 1981, Stoneleigh’s first vines went into the ground while the property was owned by Corbans, then Montana’s main competitor in Marlborough. The planting came decades before Stoneleigh’s later Wild Valley wines and before Jamie Marfell’s time at the cellar. WineAlign identified Marfell as Stoneleigh’s chief winemaker in 2013; by 2023 he had become Group Winemaker for a portfolio including Stoneleigh and Brancott in Marlborough, plus Church Road in Hawke’s Bay. The original 1981 vines began on the same Rapaura riverbed where the exposed stones still take in daylight and release warmth after dark.

Final Word

Stoneleigh is easiest to understand through the physical facts of Rapaura: a cool Marlborough climate, strong sunshine and an ancient riverbed full of heat-holding stones. Wild Valley Rosé turns those conditions into dry Pinot Noir fruit, fresh acidity and a lightly peppery finish; the Sauvignon Blanc shows the estate’s more familiar Marlborough lane.

Sources

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