Kotare
Brand Profile
In 1997 two friends, who had met whilst farming in Scotland, started their quest for a top quality vineyard. Bruce Stapleton and Geoffrey Sprot came to Marlborough as a result of the area’s proven ability to produce wines of stunning distinction.
A combination of soils, long warm autumn days and cool nights produce wines of such aromatic intensity that they have become renowned the world over. It took a further two years of searching to find the right site with the right combination of soils and water that were needed to produce top quality grapes in the Wairau Valley. The 86 acres on Conders Bend Road near Renwick is right in the heart of the best that Marlborough has to offer with free draining stony soils close to the Wairau River.
Riversleigh Estate is dedicated to producing grapes of the highest quality from its plantings of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. To achieve this, each variety has been matched to particular soils within the vineyard and grown on differing trellis systems.
Riversleigh Estate follows the principles of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.
New Zealand has been recognised as producing some of the finest Sauvignon Blanc in the world, so this variety has been a mainstay of our plantings with 60% of the vineyard area planted to it.
Pinot Noir (30%) and Pinot Gris (10%) are rapidly gaining a reputation in Marlborough and throughout New Zealand, as varieties that also produce grapes of unique flavour when grown in Marlborough. Our aim is to make wines that will show this uniqueness with the same distinction as their more illustrious companion, Sauvignon Blanc.
Winemaker
We are delighted to have Fiona Buchanan MSc (Hons) as our winemaker working with Matt Thompson as Consultant. She worked in Marlborough for four years before leaving to work in Napa, California for two years, returning to Marloborough after a three year stint in Hawkes Bay. Her winemaking ethos is supportive rather than interventionist, allowing the qualities from the vineyard to show through in her wines.
Distinctively New Zealand
In choosing a name for our single vineyard wines we searched for something that reflected the terroir at Riversleigh Estate and that would remind us of the land and its heritage that we benefit so much from. A familiar sight on the Estate is the Sacred Kingfisher – Kotare, as distinctive as the wines of New Zealand. Often to be seen along Gibson’s Creek, which meanders through Riversleigh Estate, this native bird provides not only the name but the inspiration to produce that same distinction in our wines.
