Why it matters
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.
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.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
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.
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.
In the cellar
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 to know
The range in view
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.
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.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
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.