The Ned Pinot Rosé 2017

O R I G I N

Waihopai River Vineyard and Leefield Station, Waihopai Valley, Marlborough, NEW ZEALAND.

VA R I E T Y

70% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Gris.

V I T I C U LT U R E

Vertical shoot positioned, cane pruned and 2525 plants per hectare. With land formed from the movement of massive shelves of glacial ice, the Waihopai Valley vineyard soils have been much less worked than the Wairau Valley it runs into. The soil is therefore ancient riverbed comprised of free draining stony silt and loam topsoil.

 The grapes grown for this exciting 2017 wine were chosen specifically for Rosé production.

V I N T A G E

 Vintage 2017 delivered a smaller than predicted crop for Marlborough’s wine industry, ensuring the vibrant, fruit-driven wines the region is so well known for, were achieved.

Summer started early with warm weather leading to good flavour development, indicating the potential for great wine. Our vineyard staff and winemakers spent plenty of time in those early days of the season, working out how to get the best balance from our vines – and ultimately into our wines.

 Nature threw in some challenges along the way, with a major November earthquake, a cool and windy summer and stints of rain in Autumn. Rigorous vineyard management and careful harvest decisions have ensured our Marisco wines have an exciting spectrum of flavours from our harvested grapes. A growing year of challenges – resulting in wines to remember!

W I N E M A K I N G

Gently pressed to minimise colour and tannin pick up; the resulting juices are fermented in temperature controlled, stainless steel tanks with select yeast strains, chosen for their ability to capture and enhance aromatic intensity whilst contributing positive palate texture attributes.

A N A LY S I S

Alcohol                   13.0%

pH                         3.36

Titratable Acidity     5.5g/L

Residual Sugar       3.7g/L

C O L O U R

Light salmon pink.

TA S T I N G N O T E

 The wonderful rose petal scented aroma dovetails into pure berryfruit charatcters with bright crisp acid edges and finishing with fleshy tangelo and watermelon flavours.

FO O D M ATC H I N G

 An ideal match with Mediterranean cuisine.

C E L L A R I N G   P O T EN T I A L

 Crafted to enjoy young and fresh; we recommend drinking this wine within 2 years of the vintage date.

Named after founder Brent Marris’s forebears who bore the original De Marisco surname, Marisco Vineyards combines a family history steeped in the very beginnings of grapegrowing in Marlborough with a bold entrepreneurial spirit.

Brent Marris grew up on some of the very first vineyards in Marlborough, planted by his father. As a young winemaker, he was responsible for the development of two major New Zealand wine brands – Oyster Bay and Wither Hills.  Tapping into this deep well of knowledge, Brent selected a number of outstanding local sites as base for a venture to create his own family legacy – Marisco Vineyards. These vineyards now produce world renowned brands such as The Ned and The Kings Series, as well as targeted niche brands such as The Craft Series. 

Marlborough’s first qualified winemaker

Driven by a love of viticulture and winemaking instilled in his teens, Brent was the first local Marlborough lad to become a qualified winemaker.  In 1994, after helping Delegats establish the Oyster Bay brand, he founded Wither Hills with his father, pioneering Marlborough viticulturist John Marris. Eight years later, the brand had grown dramatically and was sold to to multi-national beverage company Lion Nathan. Brent continued as managing director and chief winemaker until 2007. Marisco Vineyards was conceived in 2003, when Brent began his search for a special vineyard property to provide a base for his next venture. This time, the aim was to establish a family legacy that last for generations.

Home vineyard and The Ned

With the vast knowledge he built up as a youngster exploring the local area and what he had learned later as a Marlborough viticulturist and winemaker, Brent found an exceptional 268 hectare property on the banks of the Waihopai River. Here he planted the varieties that has won Marlborough fame the world over: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.  Using fruit from these vineyards, The Ned brand was launched in 2006.  Named after one of the tallest peaks to the southeast of the vineyard that he used to climb as a kid, The Ned is a deeply personal project for Brent.

Elegant, functional winery

In 2009, work started on a winery that was both aesthetically elegant and extremely functional, designed using innovations and technologies adapted from other industries where necessary. In the same year, The Kings Series range was launched. With this launch, it was decided to give the business a name that could be used across different wine brands. Brent researched his family tree and found that his name derived from William de Marisco, a descendant of King Henry I. He promptly resurrected the original family name for the business – Marisco Vineyards.

Find our wine here

In New Zealand, Marisco Vineyards wines are distributed by Lion Nathan. However, more than 80% of our wine is exported. Our first offshore sales were made in Australia in 2010. Marisco Vineyards moved into the USA, Canada and China in 2011, and we have since built relationships in Norway and Sweden.  Only five years after releasing its first wine, Marisco Vineyards was crowned New Zealand Winery of the Year at the 2011 International Wine & Spirits Challenge.  Since winning that prestigious accolade, Marisco Vineyards has continued to grow our vineyard resource, our winemaking expertise, our wine brands and our distribution.