Corofin Wines

Mike Paterson’s family has its roots in Ireland. Before emigrating to New Zealand in 1927, Marcus Joseph Paterson lived in the village of Corofin on the river Fergus in Co. Clare, so when Mike finally established his own wine business with his wife, Anna, taking the name of Corofin seemed a logical move. Over the years, they had built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of the vineyards of Marlborough, including all the interesting nooks and crannies, where some of the truly great plots are hidden away. Working with growers who farm their land with respect for the soils and local environment, it allows for the wines to reveal the individuality of each place.

They now produce various small volume, high-quality cuvées of Pinot, which express their site and their microclimate perfectly. Alongside the Pinots, Mike also makes a seriously good, food-friendly Sauvignon Blanc, ‘Meltwater’, from the Dog Point-owned Elevation vineyard: the low yields and cool climate help to produce a wine of restraint, complexity and length, vastly superior to most other ubiquitous, industrially produced offerings from the region.

Meltwater Sauvignon Blanc

Named for the glacial meltwaters of the last ice age, which flowed from the high country of Marlborough, depositing sedimentary rock material as they criss-crossed the valleys below. Meltwater is Mike & Anna's take on modern Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, made without compromise for quality and with complete authenticity; in a style we love to drink. Beautiful organic Sauvignon Blanc grapes are fermented with indigenous yeast, in small stainless steel tanks, producing an eminently dry and clean style. Deliciously crisp citrus and stone fruit flavours are moderated by extended time on lees which lends balance, texture and immense drinkability.

Pinot Noir & Chardonnay

Each year Mike makes a Marlborough Chardonnay & Pinot Noir alongside a limited edition series of single site wines. These are considered the “village” expressions, blends of organically farmed Marlborough parcels. The Pinot is red-cherry and cranberry-toned, with wild-herb notes, fine-boned tannin this is usually an assemblage from the Wrekin and Settlement vineyards. The Chardonnay offers grapefruit, and white-peach, with gentle lees texture and saline. Pure and textured, the Chardonnay is driven by precision from the Wrekin and substance of the Folium vineyards. Both are handled with a light touch: wild ferments, older oak, minimal fining & filtration allowing the wines show transparent, tense, with a sense of place.

The Vineyards

Corofin is all about setting out to make wines that tell a story about some pretty special sites, anchored in Marlborough’s southern foothills.

Starting with Settlement Vineyard, who Mike & Anna have probably worked the longest with, this is a dedicated Pinot Noir vineyard on the slopes of the Omaka Valley in Marlborough’s southern hills owned by Dog Point and rich with clay soils, it is also BioGro certified.

The Wrekin property occupies its own small locality tucked into the foothills of the upper Brancott Valley. Farmed biodynamically, The Wrekin is fast becoming a site of significance on the region’s vineyard landscape. With undisturbed clay soils, which lie over greywacke parent rock, contribute hugely to the distinctiveness of the wines made from this site. This is also BioGro certified.

Folium Vineyard was planted in 1996, this beautiful site in the heart of the Brancott Valley. These vineyards are farmed without reliance on irrigation - instead conserving a precious resource and allowing the natural rainfall patterns to leave their imprint of the season. The soil is Southern Valley Clay, around 1.5m over gravelly silt. BioGro certified to boot.

Mangarua Vineyard is one of the most exciting new vineyards to emerge out of Marlborough in recent times. Situated at the southern end of the Omaka Valley, the two-terraced block is sheltered from the nor-west wind but captures all-day sun with the soils consisting of low vigour clay loam with free draining, high stone content. Planted in 2019 and will be BioGro certified for the 2025 vintage.

The Labels

Corofin’s label is heritage in shorthand: the central motif is the Paterson family crest, a nod to lineage and a bridge between past and future. The bird is a pelican “in her piety,” a classic heraldic emblem of nurture and self-sacrifice, fitting for a project named after the Irish village Corofin from which Mike Paterson’s grandfather emigrated. The design’s restraint mirrors the house style: place-first, low-intervention, terroir-transparent wines, so what’s on the bottle cues what’s in the glass: clarity, line, and provenance