Description
Tinker’s Field is the heart of Rippon – a north-facing slope of coarse schist gravel, planted to Pinot in the 1980s and still carrying the oldest vines on the property. It’s named for the late Rolfe “Tink” Mills, whose stubborn belief that this patch of land could grow world-class wine still shapes everything the family does here.
The wine was fermented with its own yeasts, left untouched through its long élevage, and bottled without fining or filtration. Nothing fancy, just patience and faith in the site.
Compared with the estate Pinot, this feels tighter and more linear – red fruit, tea leaf, mineral tannin, and a calm sense of precision that seems to hold the whole thing together. It’s detailed, unforced, and deeply centred on place – a true reflection of Rippon’s oldest vines and the quiet persistence behind them.
98 points
"Aromatic, showing lots of mineral and earth character with undertones of flint and schist... Very old ungrafted vines. Rare. Extremely attractive now but will age beautifully."
- James Suckling
96 points
"The home to the oldest vines of the spectacular Rippon estate... love the fruit weight here, and there’s a sense of compression in the wine’s shape, with toothsome, schisty tannins plunging through, giving a drying finish and a sense of latent power."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)
95 points
"A distinctive, muscular and wild expression with a lower register and a firmness in its core, this will continue to evolve more exotic complexity for many years."
- Stephen Wong (The Real Review)
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $101 and Above |
| Type | Red |
| Body | Medium Bodied |
| Variety | Pinot Noir |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Central Otago |
| Feature |
Biodynamic Cult High Score Natural/Lo-Fi Organic |
| Reviewed By |
James Suckling Halliday Wine Companion The Real Review |
| Critic Score |
98 |
| Alcohol | 13% |
| Size | 750ml |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Closure | DIAM Cork |
Rippon
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Common Questions
Delivery is free on orders of $199 or more.
For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.
We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.
Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.
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We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.
To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you.
If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.
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No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.
No, all prices are set at the full discounted dozen rate already.
Most wine retailers list at a single-bottle price and then discount 10–15% when you buy six or twelve. We've taken the opposite approach. Since the overwhelming majority of our orders are already 6 bottles or more, our list price is set for the case buyer from the start. There's no inflated single-bottle price to discount down from.
What that means for you:
- One price, same for everyone — no minimum to hit to unlock the best rate
- No mixed-six gymnastics to qualify for a discount
- Our single-bottle price is typically at or below a traditional retailer's by-the-dozen rate
Put simply: the box discount is already baked into the price.
**And if you find it cheaper elsewhere?** Let us know. If the same wine is available at a lower price at another retailer (including at their mixed-six or by-the-dozen rate) we're happy to match it.
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