POTAGER PINOT NOIR 2025

Potager is a brand-new North Canterbury label from Dom Maxwell, one of the region’s most respected winemakers and someone whose wines we’ve followed for a very long time.

Dom is a two-time New Zealand Winemaker of the Year, a multiple Decanter and IWC trophy winner, and the man behind Forager, following many years at Greystone. Where Forager focuses on tiny quantities of individual-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Potager takes a broader regional view, drawing from carefully selected, low-cropping parcels of mature North Canterbury vines.

The idea is pretty simple: serious vineyard material and thoughtful winemaking, but wines built first and foremost around freshness, perfume, texture, and drinkability. And, importantly, at prices that make them very easy to get excited about.

This first release sees Dom introduce four wines, and after tasting through the range, we had no hesitation putting every single one on the shop floor.

This is the wine that really made us sit up. Dom has an enviable track record with Pinot Noir and is rightly regarded as one of the country’s top winemakers, so seeing him turn his hand to a Pinot at just $21.99 is seriously exciting.

The credentials are all there too: around 40-year-old vines, low yields, small open-top ferments and 11 months in French oak. On paper, it sounds like a Pinot that should cost considerably more. And it drinks like it. Cherry, plum, and wild strawberry sit alongside subtle savoury spice and florals, with silky tannins and loads of juicy energy. There’s real concentration from the mature vines, but no heaviness or over-extraction. Just a beautifully judged, seriously polished Pinot Noir at a price that feels almost ridiculous.

Winery notes (2025 Vintage)
"A regional Pinot Noir drawn from low-cropping parcels of approximately 40-year-old vines, with carefully élevage employed to build texture and structure without pushing the wine towards extraction or overt oak.

Vibrant red and dark berry fruit leads the aromatic profile, supported by subtle red roses and well-integrated spicy French oak. The low yields and mature vines deliver beautifully judged concentration, while the palate remains juicy, supple and energetic. Fine silky tannins provide definition, and the oak and élevage bring a creamy, polished texture without diminishing the wine’s freshness or purity of fruit."

5 Stars & 94/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, September 2026 (2025 Vintage)
"Sweetly fruited with savoury nuances, the inviting bouquet reveals dark plum, wild strawberry, olive, pressed flower, and nutmeg aromas. The palate is equally appealing with juicy fruit intensity, a fleshy mouthfeel, and beautifully infused tannins, making it splendidly balanced and fabulously drinkable. At its best: now to 2031."

Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, September 2026 (2025 Vintage)
"Great colour and brightness with a fresh ruby core and delicate purple hues. Aromas of varietal purity suggesting fresh new cherry and strawberry, bright, fresh and inviting. Dry with plenty of energy and some tautness from tannins, a bold babcbone of acidity. Firm tannins frame and foundation. Delicious and salivating on the palate, persistent flavours, as the wine warms and opens out the limestone effect kicks in and becomes more dominant. Taut and youthful, lovely finish. Made with some old vines material, clay soils ungrafted 10/5, Abel. 75%. 25% 667, 777. Natural ferment with old vines, no new oak, to allow the variety and site to sing. Barrels are 2nd to 4th fill. Best from 2028 through 2036."

5 Stars & 18.5/20 (93) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, September 2026 (2025 Vintage)
"Moderately deep crimson, even colour throughout. The nose is gently full, with aromas of black plum, cherry, raspberry, dried herbs and spice. Medium-bodied, aromas of black plum, cherry and strawberry, entwined with dried herbs, pepper dusting and vanilla. Silky, supple tannins frame the fruit and savoury elements, providing an effortless flow, alongside ripe acidity, expanding with gentle spice to an elegant finish. Beautifully composed, with an elegant, gentle approach. Match with duck breast and pork over the next 3-5 years. An inaugural release, fruit sourced from selected vineyard parcels throughout North Canterbury, with 75% of clones 10/5 and Abel, 25% of clones667 and 777. 75% wild-fermented in small open-top fermenters, 25% inoculated fermentation in small open-top fermenters, underwent 100% spring MLF. Aged in French oak (one- to five-year-old barrels) for 11 months. 13% alc."

4 ½ Stars Michael Cooper (2025 Vintage)
"Offering attractive value, the debut 2025 vintage was grown at Waipara and matured for 11 months in seasoned French oak casks. Bright ruby, it is a vividly varietal red, full-bodied, savoury and supple, with vibrant cherry, plum, spice and nut flavours, revealing very good complexity, harmony and length. Already highly approachable, but ageworthy too, it should break into full stride 2028+."

4 ½ Stars Sammy Wilkinson, TheWineWriter.com (2025 Vintage)
"A charmer from the first swirl – with floral prettiness, red cherry, a touch of earth, and mineral iron notes. There’s a sprinkle of cloves, cola cubes, and a whiff of dried rosemary. Fresh and light on the palate, with crunchy redcurrant fruit; a lovely, polished flow, with a toasty dark-cocoa tannin grip on the finish and lingering creamy and herbal flavours. It’s earthy, satisfying, and lifted with freshness."