AUNTSFIELD

The story of Auntsfield goes way back to 1842, when Rev Charles Saxton obtained the original land grant from The New Zealand Company. He is likely to have had some serious help in gaining the rights, as his brother in law, was Joseph Somes, the Governor of The New Zealand Company. However, Saxton was never to set foot onto his Marlborough station. Auntsfield Estate is nestled in the lower slopes of the southern hills of Marlborough's Wairau Valley.

The property occupies a unique elevated site with views over the valley and to the Pacific Ocean beyond. North-facing slopes and valley floor give the vineyard a diverse range of soil types and mesoclimates. This dramatic landscape has evolved over many thousands of years. This cellar was the first of its kind to be built in Marlborough in 1873. It was another 100 years before the first of the new era vines where planted in the region.

Luc Cowley

Luc Cowley - First and foremost, I believe that the most important element of wine is balance whether this be balance between fruit and oak, sweetness and acidity or weight and tannins. In today's modern winemaking environment quality itself is no longer an issue with the techniques and equipment made available to the winemaker. Quality should be something we take for granted and for a wine to stand out, it needs to be more than just varietal. My aim as a winemaker is to make exciting wines of individuality; wines with personality. I strive for the wines I make to be complex yet varietal and to reflect the terrior without being bound by it.