95 points - "Pinot noir sourced from a number of vineyards around Wanaka in Central Otago. Again, the '23 vintage delivers some beautiful fruit with perhaps a little more concentration than the '22 release. Bright ruby with aromas of red cherry, doris plum and raspberry pip with hints of five-spice, tea leaves, leaf litter, struck flint, pastis, bunchy complexity (20% this year) earth and mountain herbs. It cuts a purely fruited path across the palate with kinetic, chalky tannins and a mineral-laden cadence. Gracefully travels savoury, complex and long with a sweep of sour cherry, game and bunch on the exit." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

Tasting Notes
Fresh-cut Doris plum and ripe late-season Black Douglas cherry fill the aroma with layers of anise and subtle brown spice rack. Spicy whole bunch lift provides a layer of wild thyme-like complexity to the nose. The palate entry is all cherry with a hint of pomegranate and licorice across silky yet finely textured tannins. The cherry fruit drive sits over integrated oak, which gives a supporting background structure. Long, plush, and generous with a good 7-year future in the cellar. Supple tannins entwine with silky acidity to give a plush texture across the opulent fruit profile. There is abundance at the heart of this wine, making for infinite appeal.

Vineyard Notes
Winter 2022 in Central Otago took a while to get going. After a cool and quite dry May, June and July turned cold and wet—good weather for a surf trip to Bali, not so much for pruning. August arrived with warmer temperatures, and pruning resumed in reasonable conditions before another cold snap in early October, which saw some nervous frost-fighting nights around budburst. From there, the season built on a warming trend with a mild spring and warm, dry conditions through January and February—a classic summer. However, a couple of very frosty nights in late March put us all on notice again, and harvest was underway in early April. While there were some frost challenges—Hawkesbury Vineyard copped a belter—we were able to harvest some excellent grapes from all our source blocks.

Winemaker Notes
As our search continues for new terroir among the nooks and crannies of the Central Otago landscape, we only further build our knowledge base of the highlights and challenges this place gives us. The 2023 harvest sees the first grapes from the Willowbell Vineyard at Queensberry come into the fold. This is a new vineyard with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and from this first harvest, it looks very promising.

Adding to Hawkesbury and Georgetown, we now have a very exciting base source of Pinot Noir clones spread over different soils and micro-climates throughout Central Otago. Our 2023 iteration of the Central Otago Pinot Noir comes from both Georgetown and Willowbell Vineyards, with an extensive mix of clones adding to the depth of fruit and complexity in this wine—777, 115, UCD5, 667, and 828 all represented.

As has become the modus operandi with this wine, we are seeking fruit expression over oak and winemaking overlay: 20% whole bunch inclusion with minimal new oak influence. We are excited about the direction of this wine as a result of the building blocks we now have—watch this space.

Food Pairing Notes
Peking Duck pancakes will do just fine.

Production
Technical info

Grapes from Georgetown Vineyard (60%) and Willowbell Vineyard (40%)

Picked on 3rd April and 18th April 2023

30% 777, 27% 115, 26% UCD5, 10% 667, 7% 828

20% whole bunch inclusion with the balance whole berry

12% new French oak barriques with the balance older barriques

360 dozen produced

13.5% Alc, 3.43 pH, 6.4 g/L Titratable Acidity