- 100% Pinot Noir
- Block 5 is located on a gentle north facing slope in the Elms vineyard, which was planted in 1993
- Varying soil types heading up the slope with heavy loess and silt at the bottom, followed by clay lakebed deposits, and angular schist gravels
- The nature of being a gravity flow winery allows grapes to be gently destemmed without pumping
- Long pre-fermentation soak of 9 days prior to fermentation
- 20% whole cluster
- Native yeast fermentation
- Punched down by hand up to 2 times per day with a total time on skins of 23 days
- Aged for 16 months in French oak (30% new) with 2 rackings
- No fining or filtering
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2023
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Central Otago
Appellation:
Central Otago
Variety:
Pinot Noir
Color:
Red
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | NZ-FRW-22-23 | 6/750ml |
Resources
Press & Reviews
James Suckling
Score
98
Date
2025-11-15
"Floral and perfumed aromas of raspberries, rhubarb, rose petals, lead pencil and dark cherries. The palate has seamless tannins with an underlying power and pure acidity, yielding a tightly wound wine that will unravel in years to come. Made from 30-year-old, biodynamically grown vines. Exceptionally balanced and poised. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
Decanter
Score
97
Date
2025-12-15
"Intense and complex aromatics with layered florals, blue fruits, a hint of herbs, juniper, anise and milk chocolate. Super-young and tight, this starts sweet and juicy but finishes firm, the palate dense and chewy with some real depth to explore. A good amount of powdery tannins, nicely woven in. This is harmonious, with linear gracefulness and very good length."
Vinous
Score
96
Date
2025-07-29
"Layered and intriguing, the 2023 Pinot Noir Block 5 is finely fragranced, offering bags of primary sweet fruit, dried herbs and nutmeg spices. It is concentrated, focused and sinewy, with resolved, drawn-out tannins that give a sense of texture and provide focus, line and length. This is a baby. It will age beautifully."
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
Vinous
Score
97
Date
2022-04-12
James Suckling
Score
97
Date
2023-11-03
"There is an opulence and intensity here yet it remains fresh and vivid with orange peel and ripe strawberry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body with firm and racy tannins that give it tension and focus. Clear and naked in so many ways giving it a clarity that is appreciated. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Better in two or three years. Screw cap."
James Suckling
Score
96
Date
2022-11-02
Wine Advocate
Score
96
Date
2025-06-05
"The 2022 Block 5 Pinot Noir leads with a mineral fresh nose, layered with dried herbs, flowers, cranberry, goji berry, pastrami and white pepper. This is elegant and silky and quietly spoken, and I like the way the wine languidly flows across the palate. It's one of the gentler Block 5s, and today, it's all the greater for it. This is a lovely wine. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."
Wine Advocate
Score
95
Date
2025-06-05
"The 2020 Block 5 Pinot Noir is a gorgeous wine, with nettles and flowers, woodsy spices and ductile tannin. This is a wine of power and finesse hand in hand, and I really appreciate the way it extends out through the finish. The subtle reduction notes that play out on the nose weave into the palate and contribute notions of forest floor, peat and fresh spice and emphasize the succulent register of fruit. This vintage looks eminently more impressive than the last time I tasted it, and I liked it well then. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 2020 was the COVID-19 vintage, and it was a very cold vintage. It was the latest harvest of Block 5 that has happened thus far."
Decanter
Score
95
Date
2024-07-29
Vinous
Score
95
Date
2024-05-14
"The 2022 Pinot Noir Block 5 doesn't start out as impressive as usual. Compared to the 2021 vintage, it seems less intense and voluminous. Yet it proves to be an athletic, honed Pinot Noir with pure fruit and a real sense of purpose. A taut line of acidity pulses through its core, pushing it towards a firm, long finish. The vintage makes this more restrained. The 2022 has all the essence of the vines without the big shoulders this vineyard can provide. Perhaps not as impressive, but for those who like quieter styles, 2022 provides."
Jancis Robinson
Score
17
Date
2024-04-09
"Mid crimson. Ripe red and black fruit elegantly framed by the lightly spicy oak, velvety tannins and the 14% alcohol. A structured wine with good ageing potential. Very long finish. (FG)"