The estate
Pure Island comes from VINULTRA, an independent, family-owned Marlborough producer founded in 2002 that released its first vintage in 2008. It works only in Marlborough and specialises in the Southern Valleys sub-region. Winemaking is led by Eveline Fraser, who has made eighteen vintages here, following six vintages as head winemaker at Cloudy Bay.
The region
The Southern Valleys are Marlborough’s Pinot Noir heartland. Where the Wairau valley floor is deep stony gravel, these sites are heavier clay with far greater water-holding capacity, and cold air draining off the Wither Hills lowers night temperatures and widens the diurnal range — extending ripening by as much as two weeks compared with the Wairau.
Style of the sub-region
As a general characteristic of the sub-region rather than a note on this bottling: Southern Valleys Pinot Noir typically carries more flesh, spice and structure than the lighter, more aromatic styles grown on the Wairau gravels. Eveline Fraser states that she works each vintage towards elegance, balance and drinkability, adapting the winemaking to the conditions of the year rather than to a fixed recipe.
What to expect
An estate-grown Marlborough Pinot Noir from a sub-regional specialist. It is not a reserve or single-vineyard bottling. The producer has not issued a tasting note or technical sheet for this wine; rather than describe flavours we have not verified, we have set out where it comes from and how the estate works. We will add the estate’s own note here as soon as it is available.
Drinking
Serve lightly chilled, 14–16°C.
Sustainability
Accredited under Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, and holder of Toitū Enviromark Gold and ISO certification. The winery runs on 100% renewable electricity, vineyard yields are held around 30% below the Marlborough regional average, and the estate participates in Predator Free NZ with a published roadmap to net zero by 2050.
The label
The palm on the label is the Nīkau, native to New Zealand. Each label in the range places it differently, so bottles lined up side by side form one continuous image.