Winemaker Notes
This Single Vineyard Pinot Noir showcases its unique terroir with a bold and juicy
expression of the warm and dry vintage. It bursts with ripe blackberry, cherry and plum flavors, complemented by hints of spice, vanilla and tobacco leaf. The palate is full-bodied and rich, with velvety tannins and a lingering finish.
Waimaunga is an excellent companion to game meats, pair it with a slow-roast lamb shoulder or sumac & pepper crusted venison.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, wet and dark earth, dark mushrooms and some flint. Medium- to full-bodied and spicy, showing terra cotta and black pepper. This has a creamy, polished texture and a flavorful finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Waimaunga Pinot Noir is reductive and mineral, with dark forest-floor characters, peat and black cherries, new leather and blackberries. The wine has loads of cigar leaf and black pepper, with black cherry and tapenade to close. It's long, lingering and chalky. The ripeness on show here is in the guise of clove and dark chocolate. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam and wax.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2023 Clos Henri Waimunga Pinot Noir displays a medium-deep garnet hue and opens with aromas of rustic earth, fragrant spices, and dried berries. On the palate, bright fruit notes mingle with hints of dried leather, creating a layered and expressive profile. A fine match for a Down Under–style barbecue, where smoky, savory flavors complement the wine’s earthy depth and vibrant fruit. (Tasted: August 4, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
-
Wine Spectator
Juicy blackberry, black cherry and Earl Grey flavors show intensity and focus. The tannins are dense but polished, with details of chicory, fennel seed, loamy soil, sage and black pepper that linger. Drink now. 6,000 cases made, 1,300 cases imported.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.