Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Olearia Lineata is a small dense tree with elegant fine branches and tiny drought resistant leaves that once carpeted the valley floors of Central Otago. We are fortunate to have large numbers of these officially ‘at-risk’ trees in and around both our Bendigo vineyards and continue to plant more.
The flagship wine from this extremely steep, schist-based, stunning site combines the highest-elevation parcels to make the best overall representation of this unique place. Our winemaking aims to be an exercise in understanding and translating our stunning sites into wine as accurately as possible with a minimum of winery signature.
A great expression of our Rocky Point Vineyard, the 2023 Olearia has the classic energy and vibrant aromatics of this steep, schist driven site. Florals and crunchy red fruits open up to a palate that combines bright fruit with spice and linear mineral structure. This wine is drinking extremely well on release but will age slowly towards peak drinking with even more mineral complexity."
96/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, Wine Advocate, June 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"The 2023 Olearia Pinot Noir hails from a steep, rocky point in the vineyard (the vineyard is called Rocky Point, aptly named), overlooking the Clutha River below and the Pisa range on the other side of the valley. It seems to me an achievement for the vines to prosper in this cool, elevated and bony site, and their low-yielding manner is testament to the fight they engage in for survival and prosperity. I love it here; it feels every inch the mountainous region that it is. It is atmospheric and impactful, as is the wine. So, this is denser and more compact than the Sophora tasted alongside it; the tannins are infused into every aspect of the fruit here. There are three Dijon clones in this vineyard site, 115, 667, 777, and Abel as well. "I find the clones become less of a deal as the vines get older. It tends to be more important where they are than what's on the end of the post," says Winemaker Paul Pujol. This has such velvet plushness, but the tannins feel so dry and pliable within the folds of fruit. The acidity is fresh and seems to lead directly into the tannins, which linger through the finish. I do love these wines."