Stonyridge Vineyard

Stonyridge Vineyard is located on Waiheke Island, off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand. The estate's focus is on super-premium Bordeaux blends, the most important of which is Larose, one of New Zealand's most famous (and expensive) wines.

The vineyard sits in a north-facing valley surrounded by hills, where it can benefit from the sunny aspect and shelter. The magnesium-rich soils are clay-based, and have proved excellent for the cultivation of the Bordeaux varieties. The low-yielding vineyard is predominantly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller plots of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, all of which are used to make Larose.

Once the grapes are hand-picked they are then taken to the winery and fermented in stainless steel. A traditional basket press is used and the wine is then transferred into oak barrels to go through the process of malolactic fermentation. The wines age for 12 months in French and American oak barriques before they are fined and then bottled – Larose is never filtered.

Stonyridge make a range of other wines on top of Larose. Airfield is a Bordeaux blend like Larose, and is made from the vineyard parcels which are not considered quite good enough to go into Larose. There is also Luna Negra, a varietal Malbec, and Airfield, a GSM blend. Stonyridge also make a range of entry-level wines from fruit brought in from regions like Marlborough and Central Otago called Fallen Angel.

The estate was founded in 1982 by Stephen White, and the first vintage of Larose was in 1985.