Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
The philosophy of Oyster Bay Marlborough is to produce fine, distinctively regional wines that are elegant and assertive with glorious fruit flavours - wines that drink well within a year or two of vintage, yet possess the balance of structure to reward cellaring.
The Oyster Bay label is owned by Delegat's Wine Estate, one of New Zealand's largest family owned and managed wine producers.
The first Oyster Bay vines were planted in 1988 and the label takes its name from the local Oyster Bay, situated in the picturesque headlands of the Marlborough Sounds, on the northern tip of New Zealand's beautiful South Island.
The natural siting advantages of the Oyster Bay vineyards are complemented by our intensive and careful viticultural practices including vine spacing, trellis configuration, canopy management and irrigation and vine monitoring systems.
The glorious result is consistently high quality grapes which, together with sensitive skilled winemaking, express the unique character of Marlborough.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.
