WILD EARTH PINOT NOIR 2023

Trophy for Champion Central Otago Wine – Aotearoa Regional Wine Awards 2025
Gold Medal – Aotearoa Regional Wine Awards 2025
Gold Medal – New Zealand International Wine Show 2025

Wild Earth have produced some seriously good wines over the years, winning a cupboard full of Trophies and medals from around the world. With star winemaker Jen Parr heading the winemaking team and seriously good fruit from exceptional vineyards across Central Otago this is simply too good to miss out on. Enjoy now or put some away as it will easily cellar for another 8 years or so.

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Deep garnet hue with intriguing aromas of cherry, black currant, plum, cedar, sage, and wild thyme. The palate is focused with intriguing layers of red fruit, dried herb and distinctive earthy flavours complementing a concentrated palate with great intensity and length. Silky fine tannins, vibrant fruit, and beautiful aromatics, complement a serious structure with great finesse. Harmonious and inviting, this Pinot Noir is drinking beautifully as a young wine and should continue to deliver enjoyment for 15+ years.

Wild Earth Pinot Noir 2023 is a Central Otago blend that represents the best attributes of the excellent 2023 vintage. The fruit was hand-harvested at optimal ripeness with harvest dates ranging from late March to late April 2023. Several different ferments went into the blend ranging from 0-40% whole bunches per fermenter with the resulting blend having around 25% whole bunch, which aids the tannin structure and aromatics of the wine. The total time on skins ranges from 18-28 days. The wine was aged in fine-grain French oak barrels (20% new) for approximately 12 months. Our winemaker, Jen Parr, selected fruit from exceptional Central Otago vineyards in Pisa, Bendigo, Gibbston and Bannockburn showcasing the high quality of the season."

5 Stars & 96/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, August 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"Combining gorgeous fruit purity with elegant complexity, the wine shows dark cherry, blueberry, violet, warm spice, and toasted almond nuances. It's wonderfully weighted and finely flowing in the mouth, delivering plump mouthfeel, backed by layers of fine tannins, finishing structured and sturdy. Wonderfully composed with splendid harmony and persistence. At its best: now to 2035."

92/100 Cameron Douglas MS, September 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"Aromas and flavours of plum and cherry, some compote and minera. There’s a mushroom and clay quality then some fruit and barrel spice layers adding complexity and breadth. A lighter weighted wine with medium concentration, fine tannins and plenty of acidity for freshness and impact. Well made, a wine to let develop for another year with best drinking from mid 2026 through 2030."

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2023 Vintage)
"This consistently impressive regional blend is hand-harvested and barrel-matured. The 2023 vintage should be long-lived.  Deep, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling, vibrant, savoury and complex, with concentrated cherry, plum and spice flavours, well-integrated oak, and a finely structured, long finish. It needs time; best drinking mid-2027+."

18.5/20 Joelle Thomson (2023 Vintage)
"This Central Otago Pinot Noir is playful and seemingly light, revealing its focus in a layered wine with a silky backbone of vibrant fruit that keeps it accessible in taste as the first bright red cherries dance across the palate. This primary fruit is supported by a juicy structure of freshness that keeps flavours playful but grounded. In the glass, the colour is a gorgeous deep ruby hue, with aromas of fresh dark cherries, black currant, plums, a whiff of cedar and a sprinkle of wild thyme, for good measure. The bottom line? This Pinot Noir drinks beautifully now, showing finesse and appealing flavours but it is also clearly built to go the distance of 10+ years."

5 Stars & 18.5/20 (93) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews (2023 Vintage)
"Moderately deep crimson, even colour throughout. The nose is broody, with aromas of red cherry, blackberry, thyme, rocky minerals and spice. Medium-bodied, aromas of red cherry and blackberry intertwined with mulberry, thyme, minerals and cinnamon. The fruit is fragrant with balanced ripeness, enriched by silky tannin extraction, lending an enticing, elegant finish. This Pinot Noir is finely structured, featuring pure fruit and harmony. Match with duck breast and lamb loin over the next 5+ years. Fermented to 13.5% alc."

90/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, Wine Advocate, February 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"The 2023 Pinot Noir is a saturated dark ruby in the glass, darker than the 2022 poured alongside. Here, the nose leads with moss and mulberry, blood plum and fresh leather, raspberry and a hint of dark chocolate. In the mouth, the wine is full of flavour and freshness, with the tannins a textural support rather than a roadblock—the fruit flows effortlessly through. This is a really impressive offering here, and I do prefer it to the 2022 next to it. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."