2024 Nevis Bluff The Holdsworth Pinot Noir, Central Otago

Aromas and flavours of ripe cherry and black currant fruit, there’s fine savoury seam and spice adding complexity and depth. A light reductive quality with a flinty note along with polished tannins and medium+ acid line frame the fruit flavours well. The oak is well managed with a decent dark spices quality. Nice length and finish with best drinking from 2026 through 2031.

93 points Cameron Douglas MS camdouglasms.com

98 points Double Gold New Zealand International Wine Show 2025

From a more tightly selected parcel within the rugged Central Otago landscape, this Pinot Noir shows a deeper, more structured side of the Nevis Bluff range. The Holdsworth bottling is built around concentration and detail, drawing on high altitude vineyards where schist soils, dry air and extreme temperature swings shape fruit with natural intensity. Central Otago’s fierce sunlight and freezing nights create Pinot Noir with vivid aromatics and firm structure, and this wine leans into that tension rather than softening it.

The winemaking approach is measured and precise, focusing on purity and texture. Extraction is gentle enough to preserve perfume, yet confident enough to build tannin and length. Oak is used as a frame, not a feature, allowing the vineyard character to stay front and centre. The result is a Pinot that feels serious and architectural while still carrying Central Otago’s generous fruit core.

In the glass it shows a deep ruby with garnet edges. Aromas are layered and brooding, opening with black cherry, dark plum and wild berries, followed by dried thyme, clove, forest floor and a faint smoky mineral note. There is a cool alpine freshness that lifts the bouquet despite its depth.

The palate is medium to full bodied, with dense dark fruit wrapped in firm, fine grained tannins. A bright acid spine cuts through the richness, giving energy and shape. Flavours move from black cherry and raspberry into savoury spice and earthy tones, finishing long, mineral and structured. The texture is silky but taut, built for both immediate impact and slow evolution.

It pairs beautifully with duck, venison, lamb, mushroom dishes and slow roasted meats. Drinking well now with air, it will cellar confidently for eight to twelve years, developing deeper gamey, earthy complexity while retaining its alpine line.

This is a more powerful, contemplative expression of Central Otago Pinot, muscular yet precise, carrying the imprint of altitude, schist and extreme climate.