2023 Prophet’s Rock Olearia Pinot Noir | 96 Points Wine Advocate | 96 Points Halliday

🏆 96+ Points | One of Central Otago's Most Exciting Single-Vineyard Pinot Noirs

The Flagship Pinot Noir from Prophet's Rock's Extraordinary Rocky Point Vineyard

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion | 96+ Points – The Wine Advocate | 95 Points – JamesSuckling.com

Bendigo, Central Otago, New Zealand

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

96+ Points – The Wine Advocate

95 Points – JamesSuckling.com

RRP $92

This is where Prophet's Rock gets seriously exciting.

If the Rocky Point Pinot Noir gives you an introduction to this extraordinary Central Otago vineyard, Olearia takes you straight to the top of the site.

2023 PROPHET'S ROCK OLEARIA PINOT NOIR

Olearia is the flagship expression of the spectacular Rocky Point Vineyard in Bendigo.

And this isn't an ordinary vineyard.

It's ridiculously steep.

It's high.

It's rocky.

It's predominantly schist.

It overlooks the brilliant blue waters of Lake Dunstan.

And Olearia takes fruit from the highest-elevation parcels to create the ultimate expression of this remarkable place.

The critics have responded accordingly:

96 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

96+ POINTS – THE WINE ADVOCATE

95 POINTS – JAMES SUCKLING

This is serious Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Tasting Notes

The 2023 Olearia is a beautifully perfumed, mineral and structured expression of Pinot Noir.

Expect:

• Wild raspberry

• Red cherry

• Black cherry

• Pomegranate

• Red plum

• Rose petals

• Violets and lavender

• Subtle peach

• Exotic spice

• Crushed schist and stone

• Forest floor

• Fine savoury complexity

The perfume is immediately captivating.

Flowers, red fruits and spice lead into a palate with considerably more depth and structure than you might initially expect.

There's beautiful fruit concentration.

But nothing is heavy.

The tannins are fine, velvety and beautifully integrated through the fruit.

Fresh acidity provides energy.

And then comes that distinctive Rocky Point mineral character.

Fruit. Spice. Tannin. Stone.

Everything seems to run in one beautifully precise line through an exceptionally long finish.

Perfumed.

Mineral.

Silky.

Structured.

Outstanding Pinot Noir.

Critical Acclaim

96+ Points – The Wine Advocate

The Wine Advocate's Erin Larkin was particularly impressed by the 2023 Olearia.

She highlighted the extraordinary nature of the vineyard itself – a cool, elevated and rocky site where the vines have to work incredibly hard.

The wine is denser and more compact than some of the other Prophet's Rock Pinots, with beautifully integrated tannins, freshness and remarkable persistence.

Her conclusion says plenty:

“I do love these wines.”

96+ POINTS.

 

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95 Points – JamesSuckling.com

James Suckling found a more delicate aromatic side to Olearia, with:

Flowers

Peach

Lavender

leading into a medium-bodied palate with fine, fresh tannins and beautifully vivid fruit.

Importantly, he also believes:

It will improve with age.

95 POINTS.

 

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96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Another major endorsement for this remarkable Central Otago Pinot Noir.

Three respected critics.

Three outstanding scores.

96 | 96+ | 95 POINTS

That's serious consistency.

The Rocky Point Vineyard

To understand Olearia, you need to understand where it comes from.

ROCKY POINT.

The vineyard sits in Bendigo, Central Otago, rising dramatically above Lake Dunstan.

The site climbs from approximately:

226 METRES

to:

351 METRES ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

And it gets seriously steep.

Walk through the vines and the land seems to disappear beneath you toward the water below.

The soils are derived from the ancient metamorphic geology of Central Otago.

Predominantly:

SCHIST.

In some places there are solid slabs of rock.

In others, the schist has decomposed into finer material and pockets of clay.

There's little organic matter.

The vines are naturally low in vigour.

And yields are tiny.

Prophet's Rock manages the vineyard to approximately:

4 TONNES PER HECTARE.

That's low.

And those small yields help produce fruit with extraordinary concentration and intensity.

What Makes Olearia Special?

Prophet's Rock produces several outstanding Pinot Noirs.

But Olearia has a very specific purpose.

It is the flagship expression of Rocky Point.

Rather than blending across the broader vineyard, Olearia combines fruit from the site's:

HIGHEST-ELEVATION PARCELS.

These cooler, steep, rocky blocks produce a particularly intense and structured expression of Pinot Noir.

The result isn't necessarily the biggest wine.

Quite the opposite.

It's about:

Precision.

Minerality.

Perfume.

Tannin.

Energy.

Length.

It's Pinot Noir that tastes like it came from somewhere.

And that somewhere is pretty extraordinary.

Winemaking

The winemaking philosophy is beautifully restrained.

The fruit is:

Hand picked

and:

Destemmed

before fermentation using only:

INDIGENOUS WILD YEAST.

Extraction is deliberately minimal.

How minimal?

The small open fermenters are:

HAND-PLUNGED JUST ONCE DURING FERMENTATION.

That's extraordinary restraint.

The point isn't to force colour, tannin or flavour from the grapes.

It's to allow the vineyard to speak.

After fermentation, the wine spends:

17 MONTHS IN FRENCH OAK

with approximately:

35% NEW OAK.

It undergoes indigenous malolactic fermentation before bottling.

Alcohol?

Just:

13%.

This is not Pinot Noir built around power or ripeness.

It's built around place.

Paul Pujol

Winemaker Paul Pujol is one of the reasons Prophet's Rock has become such an important Central Otago producer.

His winemaking experience extends well beyond New Zealand.

He worked in France, including Burgundy and Alsace, before returning to Central Otago.

And that experience shows.

The Prophet's Rock wines aren't trying to overwhelm you.

There's an almost European sense of restraint.

The emphasis is on:

Vineyard.

Texture.

Fine tannin.

Natural acidity.

Balance.

Longevity.

And Olearia might be one of the clearest expressions of that philosophy.

Rocky Point vs Olearia

This is a fascinating tasting to do.

Take the:

2023 Prophet's Rock Rocky Point Pinot Noir – RRP $52

and put it beside:

2023 PROPHET'S ROCK OLEARIA – RRP $92

Same producer.

Same vintage.

Same broader vineyard.

But Olearia comes from the highest and most extreme parcels of the site.

Rocky Point gives you a brilliant introduction to the vineyard.

Olearia shows you how far that vineyard can go.

Taste them together and look for the difference in:

Concentration

Tannin

Minerality

Structure

Length

That's one hell of a Central Otago Pinot Noir masterclass.

Why Central Otago?

Central Otago has become one of the world's great Pinot Noir regions.

And vineyards like Rocky Point explain why.

Warm summer days allow Pinot Noir to achieve flavour and concentration.

Cold nights preserve acidity.

Altitude brings freshness.

The extraordinary geology provides dramatically different soils.

And the result can be Pinot Noir with:

New World fruit intensity

combined with:

Old World structure and restraint.

Olearia sits beautifully between those two worlds.

Food Pairings

This deserves good food.

Perfect with:

• Roast duck

• Duck breast

• Venison

• Roast lamb

• Beef fillet

• Porchetta

• Wild mushroom risotto

• Truffle pasta

• Salmon

• Aged Comté

• Soft-rind cheeses

But I'd also happily do this:

Big Burgundy glass.

Decanter.

Nothing else.

And just watch it change over a couple of hours.

Cellaring

The 2023 Olearia is already drinking beautifully.

But don't mistake approachability for lack of ageing potential.

James Suckling specifically believes it will improve with age, and the wine's combination of acidity, concentration and fine tannin gives it excellent structure for the cellar.

Drink now through 2038+.

If opening young:

DECANT IT.

Give it an hour or two and allow the perfume and mineral complexity to emerge.

Over time, expect the vibrant red and dark fruits to develop toward:

Dried rose

Forest floor

Truffle

Earth

Dried herbs

Savoury spice

while the tannins become increasingly silky.

Why We Love It

Because this is what great Pinot Noir is supposed to be about.

Not just fruit.

Not just oak.

Not just a big score.

PLACE.

Look at the ingredients:

Highest parcels of Rocky Point Vineyard

Extremely steep slopes

Schist soils

Tiny yields

Hand-picked fruit

Wild fermentation

Minimal extraction

17 months French oak

13% alcohol

And then look at the critics:

96 HALLIDAY

96+ WINE ADVOCATE

95 JAMES SUCKLING

This is a wine for people who love serious Pinot Noir.

If you drink great Burgundy, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Tasmania or Central Otago, Olearia absolutely deserves your attention.

2023 PROPHET'S ROCK OLEARIA PINOT NOIR

Bendigo, Central Otago

RRP $92

A flagship Pinot Noir from one of the most dramatic vineyards in New Zealand.

Perfume. Mineral tension. Fine tannin. Extraordinary site expression.

THIS IS SERIOUS CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT NOIR.

👉 At $92 and with 96, 96+ and 95-point reviews behind it, Olearia gives you a fascinating look at just how sophisticated Central Otago Pinot Noir has become.