Review by
Michael Cooper
Wine writer·New Zealand Listener·
12 Mar, 2026 05:02 PM2 mins to read
Michael Cooper has 45 wine books and several literary awards to his credit. In the 2004 New Year Honours, Michael was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
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Simon Waghorn continues to craft some of the Marlborough region’s most individual wines. Photo / Getty Images
When Simon Waghorn, one of Marlborough’s most experienced winemakers for bigger producers, wanted a name for his own small venture, he chose Astrolabe for its “connotations of exploration and adventure. L’Astrolabe was the mighty ship sailed by French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville through the Marlborough Sounds in the early
19th century.”
Waghorn and his wife, Jane Forrest Waghorn, established Astrolabe in 1996. Today, daughters Libby and Arabella have taken over the general management and marketing reins, while Simon continues to craft some of the region’s most individual, rewarding wines.
Astrolabe Awatere Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2025
★★★★★
Grown entirely in the Awatere Valley, this delicious wine was machine-picked, tank-fermented and bottled by mid-July. Intensely varietal, it is mouthfilling, pure and dry, with vigorous passionfruit, lime and green capsicum flavours, crisp acidity and a lasting finish. (13% alc/vol) $28-$30
Astrolabe Taihoa Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024
★★★★★
Grown and hand-harvested at Kekerengu, on Marlborough’s southern coast, this distinctive wine was fermented and matured with indigenous (“native”) yeasts in old French oak puncheons. Bright lemon/green, it is ripely scented, fleshy and savoury, with rich, vibrant, tropical fruit flavours, showing excellent complexity and harmony. Currently delicious, it’s a drink-now or cellaring proposition. (14% alc/vol) $36-$45
Astrolabe Wrekin Vineyard Marlborough Chenin Blanc 2024
★★★★★
One of NZ’s greatest chenin blancs, this single-vineyard wine was hand picked in the Southern Valleys, and fermented and lees-aged for a year in a large, new Austrian oak foudre holding 3000 litres. Bright, light lemon/green, with a fragrant, complex bouquet, it is rich and smooth, with vibrant, peachy, citrusy flavours, revealing lovely delicacy, purity and harmony, balanced acidity and a fully dry, finely poised finish. Certified organic. (13.5% alc/vol) $40-$49
Astrolabe Marlborough Chardonnay 2024
★★★★½
Drinking well in its youth, this savoury, harmonious regional blend was hand harvested and fermented, and matured in French oak puncheons. Bright, light yellow/green, it is fragrant, mouthfilling and well rounded, with generous stonefruit flavours, very good complexity and a finely textured, slightly creamy finish. (13.5% alc/vol) $28-$35
Wine of the week
Astrolabe Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
Offering fine value, this hand-picked regional blend was aged for nine months in French oak barriques. A deep ruby colour, at five years old it’s still bright and youthful. Fragrant and full bodied, it is sweet-fruited and savoury, with strong cherry, plum and spice flavours, showing excellent complexity, and supple tannins. It’s currently delicious. (13.5% alc/vol) $30-$37
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Dining and Cooking