2023 Prophet’s Rock Home Vineyard Pinot Noir | 97+ Points

🏆 97+ Points | One of New Zealand's Great Pinot Noirs

The Flagship Pinot Noir from Prophet's Rock

From a Spectacular High-Altitude Vineyard in Bendigo, Central Otago

97+ Points – The Wine Advocate | 97 Points – JamesSuckling.com | 97 Points - Decanter | 96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion | 95 Points – The Real Review

Central Otago, New Zealand

97+ Points – The Wine Advocate

97 Points – JamesSuckling.com

97 Points - Decanter

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

95 Points – The Real Review

RRP $92

This is serious Pinot Noir.

2023 PROPHET'S ROCK HOME VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Prophet's Rock has established itself as one of the benchmark producers of Central Otago.

And Home Vineyard sits right at the heart of the story.

Since its first release in 2005, this wine has come exclusively from the estate's small Home Vineyard high in the hills of Bendigo.

And the 2023 is an extraordinary release.

97+ POINTS – THE WINE ADVOCATE

97 POINTS – JAMES SUCKLING

97 POINTS - DECANTER

96 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

95 POINTS – THE REAL REVIEW

Four outstanding scores.

One remarkable vineyard.

And a Pinot Noir that demonstrates just how sophisticated Central Otago has become.

Tasting Notes

The 2023 Home Vineyard Pinot Noir combines extraordinary perfume with depth, mineral tension and beautifully fine tannins.

Expect:

• Wild strawberry

• Raspberry

• Dark cherry

• Blackberry

• Pomegranate

• Dried rose petals

• Violets and lavender

• Wild thyme

• Exotic spice

• Sandalwood

• Crushed rock

• Subtle tobacco

• Earth and savoury herbs

The perfume is immediately captivating.

Red and dark berries are layered with flowers, herbs and spice before the vineyard's distinctive mineral character starts to emerge.

The palate has beautiful concentration.

But this isn't heavy Pinot Noir.

Far from it.

The tannins are incredibly fine and run through the wine like a mineral spine, carrying the fruit across an exceptionally long finish.

Pure.

Perfumed.

Mineral.

Silky.

Profoundly long.

This is world-class Pinot Noir.

Critical Acclaim

97+ Points – The Wine Advocate

Erin Larkin was enormously impressed by the 2023.

She highlighted the wine's extraordinary mineral character, red fruit, spice, crushed rock, dried herbs and beautifully elongated tannin structure.

Most importantly, she identified exactly what makes this wine so compelling:

Its mineral presence.

The tannins and fruit seem to travel together across the palate, creating exceptional length and persistence.

97+ POINTS.

That's an enormous score for Central Otago Pinot Noir.

 

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97 Points – JamesSuckling.com

James Suckling found a gorgeous combination of:

Strawberry

Dark berries

Lavender

Sandalwood

Flint

with ultra-fine tannins and an exceptionally long, energetic finish.

His conclusion?

Terrific now, but capable of ageing beautifully.

97 POINTS.

 

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96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Halliday Wine Companion highlighted the extraordinary complexity of the vineyard and wine.

Wild strawberry and raspberry.

Cherry.

Meadow herbs.

Forest floor.

Smoked meats.

Earth.

Citrus blossom.

Rhubarb.

Lavender.

Crushed stone.

All carried by a vivid mineral line through a long finish.

96 POINTS.

 

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95 Points – The Real Review

Another outstanding score adds to the remarkable critical consensus around the 2023 Home Vineyard.

97+ | 97 | 96 | 95

Four major critics. One exceptional Pinot Noir.

The Home Vineyard

This is where the wine becomes particularly fascinating.

The Home Vineyard sits high above Bendigo on the slopes of Chinaman's Terrace.

Altitude ranges from approximately:

320–390 METRES

above sea level.

That's high for Central Otago.

The vineyard sits on an ancient glacial terrace with an extraordinary combination of:

Clay

Pedogenic limestone

Schist

Quartz

And the limestone component is particularly fascinating.

It's unusual in Central Otago.

The Wine Advocate specifically highlighted the mineral influence of these soils in the 2023 wine.

This isn't simply Central Otago Pinot Noir.

IT'S HOME VINEYARD PINOT NOIR.

And that's an important distinction.

One Vineyard Since the Beginning

Since the first release in 2005, Home Vineyard Pinot Noir has been sourced exclusively from this small vineyard.

That continuity matters.

Vintage after vintage, Prophet's Rock has been able to learn exactly how this site behaves.

Where the fruit develops.

How the tannins evolve.

How little extraction is actually required.

And how the vineyard responds to different seasons.

The result is a Pinot Noir that isn't trying to conform to some generic Central Otago style.

It's trying to taste like this vineyard.

That's what great wine is about.

Winemaking

The winemaking is remarkably restrained.

The fruit is:

Hand picked

then:

Destemmed

before fermentation using only:

INDIGENOUS WILD YEAST

And here's one of the most fascinating parts.

Prophet's Rock uses:

EXTREMELY LOW EXTRACTION.

The small open-top fermenters are hand-plunged only sparingly during fermentation.

Why?

Because Paul Pujol doesn't want to manufacture tannin in the winery.

He wants the tannins to come from the vineyard.

After fermentation, the wine spends:

17 MONTHS IN FRENCH OAK

with approximately:

35% NEW OAK.

The oak supports the wine.

It doesn't dominate it.

The result is extraordinary purity and transparency.

Paul Pujol

Winemaker Paul Pujol has one of the more fascinating backgrounds in New Zealand wine.

His experience includes winemaking in:

Oregon

Alsace

and importantly:

BURGUNDY.

He spent time in Chambolle-Musigny, one of Burgundy's great Pinot Noir villages.

That experience clearly influenced his approach to Pinot Noir.

Not because Prophet's Rock is trying to imitate Burgundy.

It isn't.

But because the philosophy is similar:

Great Pinot Noir starts with the vineyard.

Minimal extraction.

Fine tannins.

Natural fermentation.

Careful oak.

And patience.

Let the site speak.

One of Central Otago's Benchmark Pinot Noirs

Central Otago produces some extraordinary Pinot Noir.

But Home Vineyard has established an enviable track record.

The first vintage was released in 2005.

And over the following two decades, the wine has repeatedly received major critical acclaim.

The 2023 may be one of the strongest releases yet.

97+ WINE ADVOCATE

97 JAMES SUCKLING

96 HALLIDAY

95 THE REAL REVIEW

This isn't simply a good vintage.

It's a benchmark expression of the vineyard.

Home Vineyard vs Olearia

This is one hell of a tasting.

You've now got:

2023 Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir – RRP $92

96+ Wine Advocate | 96 Halliday | 95 James Suckling

and:

2023 PROPHET'S ROCK HOME VINEYARD PINOT NOIR – RRP $92

97+ Wine Advocate | 97 James Suckling | 96 Halliday | 95 The Real Review

Same producer.

Same vintage.

Both from Bendigo.

Both $92.

Completely different vineyard expressions.

Olearia comes from the extreme, schist-dominated upper parcels of Rocky Point.

Home Vineyard comes from the elevated terraces of the estate's original vineyard, with its remarkable combination of clay, limestone, schist and quartz.

Taste them together.

Don't worry about which one has the bigger score.

Instead look at:

Perfume

Fruit profile

Tannin

Minerality

Texture

Structure

Length

That's where Pinot Noir becomes seriously interesting.

Food Pairings

Give this wine the food it deserves.

Perfect with:

• Roast duck

• Duck breast

• Venison

• Roast lamb

• Beef fillet

• Truffle

• Wild mushroom risotto

• Porcini pasta

• Salmon

• Aged Comté

• Gruyère

• Soft-rind cheeses

But I'd happily do something much simpler.

Decanter.

Big Burgundy glass.

Two hours.

And watch it evolve.

Cellaring

This is absolutely a wine for the cellar.

The combination of concentration, acidity, mineral structure and incredibly fine tannin gives the 2023 serious ageing potential.

Drink now through 2040+.

If you're opening it now:

DECANT IT.

Give it time.

The Home Vineyard is known for revealing itself gradually in the glass.

Right now, expect vibrant strawberry, raspberry, cherry, flowers, herbs and mineral complexity.

With age, expect those characters to develop toward:

Dried rose

Forest floor

Truffle

Leather

Earth

Dried herbs

Tea

Exotic spice

while those beautiful tannins become increasingly silky.

Why We Love It

Because this is the sort of wine that changes people's perception of Central Otago Pinot Noir.

This isn't simply about ripe fruit.

It's about:

TERROIR.

Look at what you're getting.

Single Vineyard

320–390m Elevation

Ancient Glacial Terrace

Clay + Limestone + Schist + Quartz

Hand-Picked Fruit

Wild Fermentation

Extremely Low Extraction

17 Months French Oak

And then look at the critics:

97+ WINE ADVOCATE

97 JAMES SUCKLING

96 HALLIDAY

95 THE REAL REVIEW

All for:

RRP $92

When serious Pinot Noir from Burgundy can now cost hundreds—or thousands—of dollars, wines like this demonstrate the extraordinary quality being produced in Central Otago.

2023 PROPHET'S ROCK HOME VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Bendigo, Central Otago, New Zealand

RRP $92

One vineyard. Extraordinary soils. Tiny production. World-class Pinot Noir.

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT PINOT NOIRS OF CENTRAL OTAGO.

👉 At 97+, 97, 96 and 95 points, the 2023 Home Vineyard has the critical acclaim to match its extraordinary vineyard story. If you're serious about Pinot Noir, this belongs in the cellar.