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Corofin

Perfect Tempo—Small Batch, Artisanal Marlborough from a Rising Star

With each passing vintage, Mike and Anna Paterson further cement their fledgling domaine among New Zealand’s most exciting up-and-comers. Having spent the majority of their working years in and about Marlborough, Mike and Anna have no doubt regarding the potential of their adopted region and were well placed to approach their first choice of vineyards. Indeed, Paterson’s selection of sites reflects both a winemaker’s enthusiasm for Marlborough’s Southern Valley hillside vineyards plus the dedication of certain grape growers whose vineyards he believes ‘act as a beacon of Marlborough individuality’. In a region where (traditionally) money talks and terroir walks, Mike and Anna Paterson’s Corofin project is carving out a terrific reputation by fashioning exceptional wines of place from the finest hillside vineyards of Marlborough’s Southern Valleys.

Established in 2011. Corofin is a tiny operation, working with a small roster of low-yielding vineyards, drawing on just three or four tonnes per site. The largest parcel they work with is a quarter of a hectare and yields only 150 cases a year. From the very start, Paterson has worked with the Settlement Vineyard, located in the Omaka Valley to the south of Marlborough’s Wairau plains. This is site is managed by Dog Point’s gun viticulturalist Nigel Sowman and Paterson sources his Pinot from the vineyard’s East Slope, a clay-rich hillside.  Another of Corofin’s foundational parcels is the Folium Vineyard. This beautiful site is owned and tended by the inimitable Takaki Okada, who lives in a little house in the middle of his vines. The dirt here is ‘Southern Valley’ clay, around 1.5 metres deep, sitting on top of gravelly silt. 

“We are setting out to make wines that tell a story about some pretty special Marlborough sites,” says Mike Paterson. “These wines reflect the dedication of grape growers whose vineyards act as a beacon of individual terroir.”

Today Corofin’s portfolio also includes the exciting, biodynamically farmed Wrekin Vineyard at the top of the Brancott Valley (pictured above), which he calls “a real find” and Ben Glover’s Brawn Vineyard in Dillon’s Point has also joined the Corofin family, allowing Paterson to shine a light on another of Marlborough’s excellent, if under-garlanded, sites. 

The elevation and small size of the plots allow them to pick rapidly at the perfect moment—a reality that plays out in the balance of ripeness and freshness, the length and the supple structure of their wines. The vineyards are all managed organically and/or biodynamically. In addition, Paterson’s artisanal and highly intuitive approach in the winery does justice to the personality of each site. Corofin’s metier includes hand-harvesting and sorting, whole-berry ferments, no yeast additions, no fining or filtration, no acidification and no new wood. Year on year, Paterson’s courage to do less in the winery is paying greater dividends.

Now ten years in, this tiny operation is making some of New Zealand’s most lyrical Pinot Noirs and seamless, precise Chardonnays. The wines have the aromatic prowess and elegant texture that will appeal to Burgundy fanatics, but also youthful generosity and reasonable price tag; qualities all Pinot and Chardonnay lovers can get behind. The ‘entry level’ Meltwater range—which includes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and most recently, Chenin Blanc—represent massive value from a region riddled with underwhelming wines that lack true character. In the words of Jamie Goode — “The Meltwater range massively over-delivers. These are proper wines.”

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Corofin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021

Corofin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021

The inaugural release of this label is drawn from Wrekin Vineyard (65%) in the Brancott Valley, and Dog Point’s Settlement Vineyard in the Omaka Valley (35%). Mike Patterson loves the blend of these two contrasting sites. The Settlement is often Corofin’s first block to be harvested and contributes elegance and red-fruited suppleness. The Wrekin block, on the other hand, lends brooding savoury depth and palate weight: it’s a match made in Marlborough! In ’21, the Settlement block was picked on the 2nd of March, while the Wrekin block followed just a day later. Regarding the winemaking, both batches were destemmed and fermented wild with gentle, once-daily pump-overs. The batches were then transferred to seasoned (two and three-year-old) barrels, where they remained for 13 months on lees. After blending, the wine was married in tank for five months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This screams succulence. It’s a bright, juicy and snappy Pinot with an alluring mix of red fruits, earth and spice swirling around a supple and generous texture, lip-smacking intensity and a very moreish finish. Delicious. It’s a challenge to stop drinking.

This screams succulence. It’s a bright, juicy and snappy Pinot with an alluring mix of red fruits, earth and spice swirling around a supple and generous texture, lip-smacking intensity and a very moreish finish. Delicious. It’s a challenge to stop drinking.

“Cherry, strawberry, a little sappy and earthy, a bit of spice, and a lovely rosy perfume. It’s medium-bodied, has a wonderful ferrous quality to graphite tannin, and the quality of the tannin here is really a highlight, with crisp acidity, some redcurrant and cranberry crunch and brightness and a very long and firm finish. Wonderful structure, energy, and persistence. This is such a high quality Pinot Noir. Terrific.”
95 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“Beautifully done. Almost haunting, sappy red cherry fruit, bit of recurrent and a bit of wild strawberry. Very Fine. Really impressed with this. This is a wine that shows the potential for Marlborough to make really world-class Pinot Noir.” (via Instagram)
Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak
“Light crimson. A fresh, precise and bright nose - crunchy cooler fruit with a slight herbal edge. Delicately structured on the lively, elegant palate with very fine, bony tannins, cradling a very sweet core of concentrated raspberry coulis which drives through with vibrant acidity to the fruit-focused finish and ends with sumac and red dates. Piercingly sweet on the palate, giving way to ground spice, this is charming, light-bodied and pretty. Hard to resist right now but with enough structure to see it evolve over the near term.”
92 points, Stephen Wong, The Real Review
“This is so elegant and fine with a sappy edge to the sleek red cherry fruit. There’s a lovely silky texture, but also a brightness and freshness, with a subtle chalky, stony mineral edge to the fruit. Some raspberry crunch here but also such delicate, elegant red cherry notes with fine spices and just a hint of green. Such finesse.”
95 points, Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com
Corofin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
Corofin Wrekin Vineyard Chardonnay 2020

Corofin Wrekin Vineyard Chardonnay 2020

Organic. Planted in 2002, the Wrekin Vineyard is a small, organically certified (Biogro) and biodynamically farmed site at the top of the Brancott Valley, almost in its own locality. It’s a great new site for Corofin, providing both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of “exceptional individuality and quality”, according to Paterson. Owned by Jan and Andrew Johns and farmed by Jeremy Highland, Wrekin sits in the lee of the scarps of the Southern Valley foothills, on clay-rich soils laid over greywacke mother-rock. Orientated northeast and planted at 4,000 vines per hectare (to moderate vigour), it’s also one of the highest vineyards in the valley, producing fruit that is often the last to be harvested each year. Hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed, this release was fermented wild on high solids in three 500-litre seasoned French oak puncheons and a single 300-litre stainless steel barrel. Racked to tank after five months, the wine then stayed on lees for another five months before being bottled (unfined and unfiltered). Befitting the cooler nature of the vintage, the nose exudes aromas of flowers and wet stone while the palate is sleek and elegant, balancing alluring texture with a clear, precise and savoury finish. Great energy and drive from a Chablis-styled Corofin vintage.

Befitting the cooler nature of the vintage, the nose exudes aromas of flowers and wet stone while the palate is sleek and elegant, balancing alluring texture with a clear, precise and savoury finish. Great energy and drive from a Chablis-styled Corofin vintage.

“This is a remarkably expressive Chardonnay showing a beautiful crystalline citrus fruit core with notes of lemon, green tea and a slight salinity, with a tapering finish. Such purity and finesse: an exciting Marlborough Chardonnay, with amazing texture.”
95 points, Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak
“Nectarine, green mango, grapefruit, a saline sort of fino edge here, and a little ginger and white pepper. Light, frisky, green apple and grapefruit, again quite saline and chalky in texture, quite the sappy and sapid thing, green olive, a subtle oatmeal creaminess, but it’s the salty and electric acidity that really drives it. And long too. Excellent. And very interesting to drink.”
94 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
Corofin Wrekin Vineyard Chardonnay 2020
Meltwater Marlborough Chenin Blanc 2021

Meltwater Marlborough Chenin Blanc 2021

Organic. The new kid off the block. Alongside the Pinot and Chardonnay, the Brancott Valley’s Wrekin Vineyard (see below) is home to a small parcel of Chenin Blanc. 2021 marks the first year Mike Paterson has managed to secure an allocation from owners Jan and Andrew Johns. Not being overly familiar with Marlborough Chenin Blanc (is anyone?), I asked Mike how the grapes would usually be treated: “like Sauvignon Blanc,” he deadpanned, “so it’s not my kind of wine”. Enough said. So, Paterson took the Vouvray route: “we bought in fruit in and let it go”. He harvested late and whole-bunch pressed, sending the juice with full solids to puncheon for a wild ferment. So, it’s made much like the Corofin Chardonnays, but taken out of oak a little earlier, in January for bottling in March. Corofin only made a single puncheon from just over one tonne of fruit, a situation that is unlikely to change in the coming years. “I’d love to have more,” Paterson shrugs. So would we, Mike. Expect ample varietal purity in the white flower and lanolin spectrum alongside a succulent yet vibrant palate dotted with honey and brown spice notes. A terrific New World Chenin.

Expect ample varietal purity in the white flower and lanolin spectrum alongside a succulent yet vibrant palate dotted with honey and brown spice notes. A terrific New World Chenin.

Meltwater Marlborough Chenin Blanc 2021
Corofin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022

Corofin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022

Corofin’s regional wines made their debut last year, and a fine debut it was. Rather than casting the net wide to unknown and unproven sources, Mike Paterson composes these wines from his most prized vineyards―the sites responsible for his exceptional single-vineyard bottlings. This year’s release combines fruit from three sites in three valleys: Wrekin in Brancott Valley (45%), Settlement in Omaka Valley (45%) and Churton in Waihopai Valley (10%). Paterson loves the combination of the Wrekin and Settlement sites, finding harmony in the elegant, red-fruited suppleness of Settlement and the brooding, savoury weight of Wrekin. It’s a match made in Marlborough, with Churton bumping up the structure and spice. Settlement and Wrekin came off the vine on 17th and 19th March respectively, with Churton following a few days later on 29th. All the fruit was destemmed to a tank that was sealed for five days, after which the fruit was punched down. Fermentation lasted 10 more days. After 19 to 22 days, the wines were pressed to seasoned French barrels for 13 months’ maturation, followed by a further five months in tank before bottling without fining or filtration.

“I little bit of charcoal reduction, cherry, raspberry, spice, peanut shells and dried herb. It’s medium-bodied, crisp and vibrant, strawberry and red cherry, a little bit sappy with a slight tamarillo tang, fine dusty peppery tannin, with a brisk cranberry accented finish of good length. Nice wine. Kind of frisky, but lively and good.”
92 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“Sweetly aromatic with hints of pepper and some leafy greenness as well as plums and red cherries. In the mouth this has a sense of elegance and lightness, with a core of sweet strawberry and cherry fruit, with some fine spicy notes. Ripe but elegant, with a touch of orange peel on the finish. Real drinkability and elegance here.”
93 points, Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com
“Perfumed, sweet small berry fruit is joined by root spice and sarsaparilla on this expressive nose. Lively, lifted and youthful, the palate has crunch and definition as lightly herbal, chalky tannins provide definition for the light-weight, pretty red flavours. A wine of delicacy and perfume, it dances across the palate to the fine-boned finish. Leaner in style but with good clarity, it will provide enjoyable drinking in the near- to mid-term.”
92 points, Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review
Corofin Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
Corofin Wrekin Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

Corofin Wrekin Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

Organic. Planted in 2002, the Wrekin Vineyard is a small, organically certified (Biogro) and biodynamically farmed site at the top of the Brancott Valley, almost in its own locality. It’s an excellent site for Corofin, providing both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with “exceptional individuality and quality”, according to Paterson. Owned by Jan and Andrew Johns and farmed by Jeremy Highland, Wrekin sits in the lee of the scarps of the Southern Valley foothills on clay-rich soils laid over greywacke mother rock. Orientated northeast and planted at 4,000 vines per hectare (to moderate vigour), it’s also one of the highest vineyards in the valley, producing fruit that is often the last to be harvested each year. Crops were minuscule in 2021, with the Wrekin Vineyard giving up meagre yields of just 25 hl/ha. Hand-harvested on the 6th of March, the winemaking mirrors the Marlborough Chardonnay, but here the wine was raised in two 500-litre seasoned French oak puncheons. A picture of its site, the Wrekin 2021 oozes mineral charm, elegant citrus flavours and hints of white florals. The palate is lithe and pure, its sleek and textured weight energized by pin-point acidity and sinewy phenolic structure. It finishes savoury and long with subtle complexities pulling you back for the second glass. A very classy Wrekin.

A picture of its site, the Wrekin 2021 oozes mineral charm, elegant citrus flavours and hints of white florals. The palate is lithe and pure, its sleek and textured weight energized by pin-point acidity and sinewy phenolic structure. It finishes savoury and long with subtle complexities pulling you back for the second glass. A very classy Wrekin.

“The 2021 Chardonnay Wrekin Vineyard has a fine-boned structure with flesh on the mid-palate coming from the clone (95) and extended time on lees. It is drawn out and precise with delicate fruit flavors, citrus and savory autolytic characters. Subtle and finely textured.”
91 points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
“Spicy, nettle, lighter green apple, restrained, subtle flint. Really elegant and driving with finely etched and defined fruit. There is classy oak treatment here but it is well controlled. Saline finish, nice phenolics, the mid-weight fruit is persistent and measured with excellent balance throughout. A refined and modern take on chardonnay.”
94 points, Stephen Wong, The Real Review
“Fine and expressive with a core of sweet citrus as well as pear and white peach, but always delicate and fresh with precision and focus. There’s a citrus core, but also fine nut and toast notes in the background. Such a beautiful expression of Marlborough Chardonnay, but give this a year or two.” 94 points, Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com
94 points, Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com
Corofin Wrekin Vineyard Chardonnay 2021
Corofin Marlborough Chardonnay 2021

Corofin Marlborough Chardonnay 2021

Organic. The first release of Corofin’s Marlborough ‘Villages’ Chardonnay was sourced from two sites in the Brancott Valley: the Wrekin Vineyard (70%) and the Folium Vineyard (30%). Planted by Fromm in 1996, the Folium Vineyard is an organically tended site on Southern Valley clay (around 1.5 metres deep with gravelly silt on top). The site is dry-grown, and Corofin works with just five rows, a total of 1,200 vines. The brilliant Wrekin Vineyard is a small, organically certified (Biogro) and biodynamically farmed site at the top of the Brancott Valley. In ’21, both blocks were hand-harvested on the 6th of March. At the winery, the fruit was slowly whole-bunch pressed into a tank for six hours before the juice was transferred with lots of solids to seasoned French oak puncheons and two stainless steel barrels for fermentation. The wine remained on lees in these vessels for 13 months before it was racked to tank for another four months. It saw full malo and was bottled unfiltered and unfined. What an impressive first release. Showcasing the intensity and drive of the low-yielding vintage, the nose is awash with enticing stone fruits, grilled nuts and a wisp of smoky reduction. The full-flavoured palate flows beautifully and is shot through with snappy acidity and mouth-watering phenolic grip before a potent, layered and lengthy close. It’s a great first release from Corofin in a generous style.

What an impressive first release. Showcasing the intensity and drive of the low-yielding vintage, the nose is awash with enticing stone fruits, grilled nuts and a wisp of smoky reduction. The full-flavoured palate flows beautifully and is shot through with snappy acidity and mouth-watering phenolic grip before a potent, layered and lengthy close. It’s a great first release from Corofin in a generous style.

“The first regional blend from Corofin, the 2021 Chardonnay Marlborough is a blend of three vineyards. It is a sleek, pure Chardonnay with clarity and sweet vanilla-derived oak notes around white stone and citrus fruit. Light in body yet it packs plenty of concentration and welcome generosity within its precise core.”
91 points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
“Peach, grapefruit, butterscotch pudding with vanilla custard, but really tight with intense acidity through some glossy caramel, with a little spice in tow, and a distinct brine character. No shortage of zip and flavour. Lemon/lime and peach on a lively acid etched finish, some toast and sizzled butter in the aftertaste. Good.”
92 points, Gary Walsh, The Winefront
“This has a fresh personality, but there’s some depth, too. Fresh citrus supported by pear and a twist of green apple, as well as subtle nuts, toast and peach. There’s a nice mineral acid line and the oak is superbly integrated, with some notes of fennel and green herbs. Taut and expressive with potential for development.”
93 points, Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com
Corofin Marlborough Chardonnay 2021
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AT-A-GLANCE

• Mike and Anna Paterson established this boutique operation in Marlborough, New Zealand, in 2011.

• The Patersons work with a handful of unique, meticulously managed, very low-yielding sites on the hillsides of the southern valleys.

• Farming across the sites is organic and/or biodynamic.

• Anna and Mike have strong, long-standing relationships with their growers and have input in farming decisions, including choosing when to pick.

• Vinification is in steel tanks and neutral wood of varying sizes, whole-berry fermentation is the norm for reds, and maturations are lengthy.

• The range includes single-site Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from each selected vineyard, a regional Chardonnay and Pinot, and a Sauvignon Blanc carrying the Meltwater label.

• This exciting project conveys a different, utterly compelling side of the Marlborough story.

IN THE PRESS

“For me, Corofin is one of Marlborough’s (and New Zealand’s) most exciting wine projects. The people behind it are Mike and Anna Paterson, and the idea is to tell the new Marlborough story: interesting, organically farmed terroirs seen through the lens of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.” Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak

“‘In Marlborough there are plenty of great vineyards,’ says Mike [Paterson], ‘but for many of these sites, there’s only one person speaking about them.’ He envisions a scenario where there’s a collective realization of which sites are effectively Marlborough’s Grand Crus. This could happen if in addition to the winery vineyard owners, other people made wine of these top sites.” Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com

Country

New Zealand

Primary Region

Marlborough

People

Winemaker: Mike Paterson

Availability

National

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