• French oak
• Dark berry fruit
• Baking spice & cocoa
• Elegant finish

"Fantastic colour with hues of magenta and purple leading to an energetic youthful bouquet of wild violets and fresh dark cherry flesh, plums and fruit spice, fine lees and moments of barrel spice. Very youthful as the wine touches the palate, textures from tannins and acidity drive the mouthfeel then as the wine begins to relax and complex array of flavours and further texture begin to unfold. A wine that needs time to develop, find its true harmony, meld the textures and core fruit flavours, there’s acidity, power and energy here. A wine that will lease those who can wait. Best drinking likely from 2028 through 2040" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier

Deep purple, with a crimson flash. The bouquet is a weave of dark-berry fruits, Black Doris plums, cocoa and baking spice. Medium- full-bodied, the palate is structured around the combination of whole bunch and oak tannins, defined by a clear acid line. Ripe fruit and spice are complemented by an earthy undertone and an elegant balanced finish.

Our Holly range is the best we produce. As our reserve range, named after the owners’ daughter, they are stand out medal winners, vintage to vintage. The 2022 Wild Holly Pinot Noir was hand made from one tonne of our best Abel Clone fruit. Sourced from low yielding vines at our home Estate in northern Wairarapa.

Handpicked at 22.5 Brix and sorted on 19/03/2022, the fruit was fermented whole bunch and wild. Minimal plunging was carried out throughout fermentation to ensure a high percentage of carbonic maceration could occur.

The wine was left on skins for 3.5 weeks, before being pressed directly to 2nd fill French Oak. The wine was not inoculated with the malo bug, but has gone through this process naturally in the Spring of 2022. After spending 10.5 months on oak, the wine was racked off lees and hand bottled with the utmost care.

This is a no-adds wine, and hence extra care must be taken to ensure that the wine remains unspoiled. At every step along the way, great caution has been observed to ensure no oxidization could occur.

The result is a true representation of the Abel clone from our vineyard. No adds, no fining and no filtration. A truly minimalist approach.