Astrolabe Releases Two Small Production Wines from Beacon Hill Vineyard in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley
Astrolabe Releases Two Small Production Wines from Beacon Hill Vineyard in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley PRESS RELEASE: ASTROLABE WINES
Astrolabe Wines has announced the release of two small-production, hand-crafted wines from Marlborough’s Southern Valleys subregion. “The quality of fruit produced by our climate and geography here in Marlborough is a gift,” says Astrolabe owner and General Manager Libby Waghorn Levett. “We feel like it’s our responsibility as Marlborough winemakers to take that fruit and keep pushing to see how we can craft it into wines of the highest possible standard so that wine drinkers can see just how special this region is.”
The oak-aged 2024 Astrolabe Southern Valleys ‘Beacon Hill’ Sauvignon Blanc and the 2024 Astrolabe Southern Valleys ‘Beacon Hill’ Syrah are two of the first wines to have been released from Astrolabe’s urban Small Town Winery, which opened in March 2024. Both wines have new labels designed in house by Arabella Waghorn and Finn Scott-Kelly, which include a reference to Small Town Winery — “2024 was our first vintage in the new winery, so the timing seemed right to experiment a little with small batch wines from the Southern Valleys,” says Simon Waghorn.
The Beacon Hill Vineyard, owned by Jeff and Vanessa Hammond and under the guidance of Astrolabe viticulturalist Stephen Dempster, sits within the Waihopai Valley, where free-draining soils and a dry wind influenced climate contribute to low yields and concentrated fruit. Both wines were crafted at the Astrolabe Small Town Winery by winemakers Simon Waghorn and Hamish Clark.
“Sometimes a subregional style requires particular winemaking to complement the inherent fruit characters,” says Waghorn. “The Southern Valleys generally produce wines with great mouthfeel and persistence, which lends itself well to more winemaking intensive processes that build palate weight and richness, like extended maturation on lees in oak.”
The Wines
Astrolabe Southern Valleys Sauvignon Blanc 2024 Sourced entirely from Beacon Hill, handpicked whole cluster fruit was gently pressed, with only cuvée juice used. The wine underwent fermentation on solids and was matured in oak. “This wine is more about textural elements and fermentation complexity rather than lifted thiol or methoxypyrazine expressions. We’re looking for a tuned-back style, a restrained style. It’s about texture, mouthfeel, minerality — a wine made for cellaring,” says Simon Waghorn.
Astrolabe Southern Valleys Syrah 2024 From the same Waihopai Valley site, this Syrah reflects the vineyard’s warm, dry conditions and low-vigour soils. “There is an ancient riverbank which shelters part of the vineyard from cool winds, and a block of Syrah was planted to take advantage of this warmer mesoclimate,” says Waghorn. Handpicked fruit underwent a 5-day cold soak, daily gentle manual punch downs and pressing off at dryness. The wine was matured in oak barrels for 10 months, with 20% new oak.
This is the first Syrah released by Astrolabe. “This is a new grape variety for us, though I see great potential for Marlborough Syrah. We are big fans of Côte-Rôtie, of northern Rhône wines. We wanted to have a crack at doing it ourselves. The Syrah from Marlborough has a finer tannin structure, more peppery notes and brambly fruit than the bigger examples that are produced in some warmer regions.”
Availability
The wines will be released on 1 May 2026, Sauvignon Blanc Day, directly from Astrolabe Wines. Quantities are limited.
About Astrolabe
Astrolabe Wines, based in Marlborough, is an independent wine company founded in 1994 by Simon and Jane Forrest-Waghorn and owned and operated by the Waghorn family. Astrolabe is committed to making wines of the finest quality, based on the belief that Marlborough’s climate and geography is some of the best in the world for grape growing and wines produced here have the potential to stand among the best wines of the world.
Media Contact
Tegan Renwick-Foster Marketing Coordinator tegan@astrolabewines.co.nz 03 577 6794 www.astrolabewines.co.nz