This wine is deep garnet in colour with intense aromas of cherry, blackberry, cedar, wild thyme, mushroom and earthy loam. The palate is well-structured with great intensity and length, silky tannins and enticing layers of vibrant fruit.

Wild Earth founder Quintin Quider is an expatriate Californian who has spent many years living on New Zealand’s South Island. Established in 1998, Wild Earth owns vineyards in one of Central Otago’s finest locations – at the end of Felton Road in Bannockburn, overlooking the Kawarau River.

A small but dedicated team, including winemaker Jen Parr and viticulturist Gary Crabbe, their sole aim is to create the finest Pinot Noir and Riesling their vineyard sites can produce. Pinot Noir is Wild Earth’s speciality and their passion for the variety was recognised in impressive style in 2008 when they scooped five trophies at the International Wine Challenge and Decanter World Wine Awards. More recently, Jen was named New Zealand Winemaker of the Year 2020, by Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine.

The single vineyard Pinot Noir is a blend of ferments using a percentage of whole-cluster fruit. Aged in a mix of new and used French oak barriques for 11 to 12 months, this is a vibrant wine that combines cherry and red berry fruit, wild herbs and earthy notes on a richly textured palate.

The grapes for this wine come from the 'Terraces' vineyard in Felton Road, Bannockburn. It is planted with predominantly Dijon clones (777,115 ,114 and 667). The combination of the clay, schist, silty loam soils and the alpine climate produce a wine that is one of a kind.

The 2019 vintage was characterised by mild weather conditions. During ripening, the days were warm and the nights were cool, which help the grapes retain good levels of acidity. There was minimal pressure from disease and the yields were very strong.

The grapes were hand harvested at optimal ripeness from early to late April. Eight separate ferments went into the blend, which used on average 21% whole clusters. The total time on skins was between three and four weeks to boost the tannic structure and aromatics of the wine. Maturation took place in fine-grained French oak barriques (22% new, 33% one year old and the remainder between two and five years old), for approximately 12 months.