Rose Family Estate is the name behind the successful Wairau River brand, and they are proud to bring you Rose & Rose.
Every glass of Rose & Rose tells the story of a pioneering family of winemakers who are sharing their passion and knowledge through the generations.
The Rose Family Estate makers’ mark represents the unwavering commitment of the Rose family to quality, craftsmanship, and their relentless pursuit of excellence.
Crafted on our family estate, this wine embodies Marlborough’s heritage and natural beauty, an infusion of exceptional taste and character.
2023
SAUVIGNON BLANC
TASTING NOTES
Intense lifted notes of ripe tropical fruits and citrus on the nose. Refined and elegant, displaying a finely textured palate with flavours of guava and stone fruit. Wonderfully expressive with a fresh, dry finish.
FLAVOUR PROFILE
Passionfruit, Lemon, Peach, and Grapefruit.
VINIFICATION
Sourced from our family vineyards across the Marlborough region, these grapes were harvested in the cool hours of the morning, gently pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. After blending the wine was left to settle on light lees before bottling.
2023
ROSÉ TASTING NOTES
Delicate floral aromatics
intermingle with an abundance of strawberry and raspberry notes on the nose. The palate is finely balanced with mineral acidity providing length and a complexing briny character that supports the fresh stone fruit, strawberry and citrus flavours. Finishing with a hint of residual sweetness, this is a wine that epitomises summer in a glass.
FLAVOUR PROFILE
Strawberry, Raspberry, Pink Grapefruit and Stonefruit.
VINIFICATION
Fermented in stainless steel tanks, individual parcels were kept on light lees prior to blending to increase the balance and harmony of the palate.
2023
PINOT GRIS
TASTING NOTES
Baked spiced pears and subtle white floral aromatics on the nose, combine with a palate that is weighty and textural with notes of candied lime and stone-fruit. Off-dry, the palate is perfectly balanced with natural residual sweetness and fine mineral acidity.
FLAVOUR PROFILE
Floral, Pear, Citrus, and Spices.
VINIFICATION
Grapes were destemmed and gently pressed, followed by fermentation in stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures to retain the delicate floral and fruit aromatics. Prior to blending, individual parcels were kept on light lees for an extended period to help build texture and complexity on the palate.
2023
PINOT NOIR
TASTING NOTES
Concentrated raspberry and red cherry notes are supported by rich savoury complexity. The palate is soft and generous, with notes of berries and bramble framed by subtle elegant tannins providing structure and depth.
FLAVOUR PROFILE
Cherries, Raspberries, Spices, and Earth.
VINIFICATION
Grapes were harvested in the cool morning to retain vibrancy and focus. Gentle destemming was followed by cold maceration pre-fermentation, with gentle hand plunging used during fermentation to extract colour and tannins. Skins were gently basket pressed, with the wine matured in French oak barriques, prior to blending and bottling.
THE ROSE FAMILY
Phil and Chris Rose were growing lucerne for export to Japan on their farm next to the Wairau River in Marlborough. When, in the mid 70’s, global factors combined to cause the oil price to soar from US$2 to US$11 a barrel, lucerne farming became uneconomic and the Rose’s, with five children to feed, had to look for an alternate crop.
They decided to plant grapes. However, with grape growing an unpermitted activity on the north side of the Wairau Valley, the Rose’s had to file an application for Change of Land Use. It was strenuously objected to by many nearby farmers and landowners. 56 objections were filed, and it took two years, to methodically and logically work through them.
All were eventually over-ruled, and in 1978 the Rose’s became the first to grow grapes in what is now known as the Golden Mile of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley.
The terroir and micro-climate around the Home Block – where Phil and Chris lived and worked and planted their first vines – is ideal for wine growing, thanks to the unique stony soil and mineral make-up of the landthe ancient bed of the Wairau River. It is hard, tough land and the grapes love it.
It was no easy feat, raising their children whilst planting their vineyards by hand. In those days a caravan doubled as a ‘smoko’ room and daycare for the children. The great vine pullout of 1986 - a government initiative to reshape the varietals planted
to become more commercially relevant – was another of the obstacles Chris and Phil had to overcome. But, there have been wins too, and the rocketing popularity of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in Europe spurred the Roses to start their own wine brand.
In 1991 the first vintage of their Wairau River label, won the Champion Sauvignon Blanc trophy.
From the first, hard-fought vineyard the Rose family have created Rose Family Estate. A Cellar Door was built in 1992, then a winery in 2001 and a bottling line in 2003.
With their children and their partners at the helm of a business firmly grounded in their family values, Rose Family Estate has come full circle in 2023, winning the trophy for the Champion Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Rose Family Estate: A reputation for excellence.
The Rose family have continued to grow their land holdings; focusing on the northern side of the Wairau Valley. The proximity of the vineyards to the winery means the fruit is processed within an hour of being picked, maximising flavour concentration and freshness and quality.
Viticulturalist, Hamish Rose ensures fruit quality with carefully considered vine health management, drawing on decades of experience in vineyards and a mix of technology and science to manage precious natural resources such as water and soil health. He has also initiated
the ongoing riparian plantings and wetland restoration on the vineyards to create habitats and clean water for our native flora and fauna.
VINEYARD FLAVOUR PROFILES
There are distinct differences in the flavour profiles of each vineyard, allowing chief winemaker, Sam Rose and his team to create elegant, beautifully balanced wines year on year.
Home Block is the home of some our oldest vines, and some of the oldest Pinot Gris vines in Marlborough, this vineyard gives the consistency and weight for
which the Rapaura subregion has become famous.
This vineyard is classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, citrus driven, and all about the minerality and fine line acidity.
Hillocks vineyard grows punchy, juicy grapes with a real fruit sweetness that is exuberant and lively.
Cravens lies one kilometer from Hillocks vineyard, and produces fruit with spicy thiols, concentrated lime and focused acidity - that is both chalky and pithy.
Longbend is considered the outlier as it is situated closer to the sea, bordering the Opawa River, yet is still just 20 minutes from the winery.
The area has a high salinity with the maritime influence, intensely concentrated fruit characters and has mineral intensity from the heavy soils.
Known for its pungent and strong characteristics Longbend always delivers a delicious blending component. The fruit thiol has dominant aromatics and softer almost, cuddly acidity.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES AND FOCUS AREAS
ENVIRONMENT
FROM LAND TO TABLE Water/ Climate Change & Energy/ Packaging &Plastic
SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
GROUNDED IN FAMILY Our people & Community
GROWN WITH CONSCIENCE Plant & Soil Ethical Procurement
LEADING WITH TRANSPARENCY Open Communication
OUR ACTIONS
Glass bottles, with packaging and transport, represent a whopping 68% of a typical wine producer’s carbon emissions. For over 15 years we have used the lightest available NZ made glass. At 416gms vs an industry average of 550gm - there’s a 25% reduction in weight and significantly decreases our carbon emissions.
3000+ riparian plants and trees have been planted along our river boundaries and waterways. This is an ongoing project, where we increase the area each year and includes restoration of a wetland at our Hillock’s Road vineyard.
Riparian planting allows natural filtering of run off water, provides habitat for endemic species of birds, insects and water life, re-mediating and supporting the ecosystems.
The plastic we generate from the bottling line is recycled into slipsheets, that we then get back and use for shipping wine without pallets. All the remaining soft and hard plastics is recycled into vineyard posts.
The SWNZ logo on our bottles is your guarantee of sustainable wine making from grape to glass. Launched in 1995, SWNZ is widely recognised as a worldleading sustainability program, one of the first established in the wine world.
Regular soil testing leads the decision making for the seed mix used inter-row in our vineyards.
Feeding the soil, with nitrogen providing plants, alleviating soil compaction with tap roots and flowering species to feed beneficial insects and bees are just some of the benefits of this practice. The tall cover provided aids moisture retention the soil and habitat.
We use technology to measure, monitor and reduce water use in our vineyards. Telemetry, drip line irrigation and pressure bomb testing allow targeted, data driven decision making and precision application across 500ha of vineyards.
100% of our electric energy comes from renewable sources. Including solar, geothermal, hydro and wind.
“As a family who make our living from the land, our decision making has always been grounded in our responsibilities to both the land and people. Recognising that traditional farming was not the best fit for our land was the first step towards growing grapes. From land to table, Rose Family Estate is committed to not just mitigating but positively impacting our environment and people. We know this requires creative thinking, innovative solutions and action, it needs to be a way of life”
Lindsay Parkinson - CEO, Rose Family Estate
