Marlborough’s 2023 vintage “could have gone so wrong and came out so well”, says Astrolabe Winemaker Simon Waghorn. “Every winemaker I’ve spoken to is pretty excited and also a bit bemused.”

Despite the perils of a wet and cool spring and summer, harvest was “magic” across the board, thanks largely to a lingering harvest under optimal autumnal conditions, he adds. “I think all the varieties have benefitted from more time on the vines and ripening a bit later.”