Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025 is a single-vineyard Martinborough Pinot Noir from a small, family-run estate on the Martinborough Terrace, next door to Dry River. It's savoury and fine-boned: plum, liquorice and violet, wild-fermented with whole bunches and aged in seasoned French oak, with dusty, well-knit tannin. Good now, or worth a few years in the cellar.
Aprentis is Devotus's entry point into a very small range: one vineyard, three hectares, split into three increasingly serious bottlings. This is the youngest tier, but the vines behind it are not - some have been in the ground for over 25 years.
This is an honest, well-made Martinborough Pinot Noir from a genuinely small producer, at a price well under most single-vineyard Pinot from the region. It's a fantastic bottle to open on a Friday night, and also a good one to put a few away and watch develop. Devotus only made 3,548 bottles of the 2025 Aprentis - this is a wine you'll not find on many shelves.
Most Martinborough Pinot Noir at this price is blended across vineyards or made from bought-in fruit. The Aprentis is single-vineyard, from vines Don McConachy and Valerie Worsdale have farmed themselves since 2009.
Devotus is on the Martinborough Terrace next door to Dry River - about as good an address as Pinot Noir gets in New Zealand.
Twenty percent whole-bunch fermentation and ten months in seasoned rather than new oak give it a leaner, more savoury profile, with the fruit and the vineyard doing the talking rather than the oak.
What it tastes like
The nose is savoury before it's fruity: liquorice and dried oregano first, violets underneath. On the palate it's plum-driven, with a fresh, almost crunchy edge that keeps it lively rather than heavy. The tannin is fine and a little dusty, more texture than grip, and the finish is elegant and moderate in length rather than long and brooding. At 13.5% alcohol it sits on the lighter, fresher end of Martinborough Pinot Noir, built for drinking rather than putting away for a decade.
Style at a glance
- Body: Light to medium
- Sweetness: Dry (residual sugar under 1g/L)
- Acidity: Fresh
- Tannin: Fine and dusty
- Oak: Seasoned French oak barrels, 10 months - adds structure and spice without heavy toast
- Style: single-vineyard, wild-ferment, whole-bunch, organic-farmed, savoury
Food
Seared salmon, duck breast with a fruit-based sauce, mushroom risotto, roast chicken with thyme and lemon, a charcuterie board, or venison loin served pink rather than well done. It's also good with mushrooms on toast - the dried oregano and savoury notes in the wine echo the earthiness on the plate.
Who makes it
Devotus is a small, family-run vineyard on the Martinborough Terrace, founded by Don McConachy and Valerie Worsdale. They bought the vineyard in 2009 and moved onto it in 2013. Don is a former mechanical engineer from the Manawatu; Valerie is English and she spent years living among the vineyards of northern France before the move to New Zealand.
Together they farm just three hectares next door to Dry River, one of Martinborough's most respected names, using sustainable, organic methods across vines ranging from young plantings to originals over 25 years old. Pinot Noir is the only grape they grow, split across three bottlings of increasing depth: Aprentis, Devotus, and Devotus Reserve.
About the vintage
Wairarapa's 2025 growing season was calm from the start: a warm, dry spring with light winds gave the vines an easy flowering, followed by a cooler, wetter spell through December and January before the weather settled into a classic Indian summer for ripening. After four smaller vintages in a row, Wairarapa growers brought in a strong crop in 2025 - a real rebound in volume after 2024, when yields across the region were down 35-40%.
That shows in the wine. Devotus picked The Aprentis on 16 March at 23.7 Brix, and the resulting Pinot Noir is softer-tannined and more savoury than the firmer, more structured styles the region turned out in the vintages just before it. Craggy Range's Ben Tombs, tasting the season from the Te Muna Road vineyards nearby, described 2025's Pinot Noir as having "a savoury, charming profile" with lower acidity and softer tannins than recent years - the same character that comes through in The Aprentis. It's shaping up as a vintage for finesse rather than power, and a good one for approachable young Wairarapa Pinot Noir over the next couple of years.
When to drink it
The Aprentis 2025 is approachable now, with the fruit and structure to hold for seven or more years, through to around 2033. It's not built to be forgotten in the cellar for a decade, but a few years in it will reward your patience.
Technical details
| Winery |
Devotus |
| Wine |
The Aprentis Pinot Noir |
| Vintage |
2025 |
| Variety |
Pinot Noir |
| Region |
Martinborough |
| Country |
New Zealand |
| Alcohol |
13.5% |
| Oak |
Seasoned French oak barrels, 10 months |
| Fermentation |
Wild yeast; hand-picked and sorted, 20% whole bunches, 7 days on skins; unfined and unfiltered |
| Closure |
Screw cap |
| Cellaring |
Drinking well now; will hold to around 2033 |
| Serving temperature |
Pinot Noir is best served slightly cool, around 14-16°C, evolving as it warms in the glass |
Where to buy
For international delivery to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, the Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025 is available via our winenz.com website. For delivery in New Zealand you can purchase from thewineryonline.co.nz. If you are visiting New Zealand, you can also buy it, and taste a large range of New Zealand fine wines at our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores.
Devotus made only 3,548 bottles of the 2025 Aprentis, so once our allocation sells through we won't have more until the next vintage.
Questions we are often asked
What does Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025 taste like?
It's a savoury, fine-boned Martinborough Pinot Noir with liquorice, dried oregano and violet on the nose, plum fruit on the palate, and fine, dusty tannin through a moderate finish.
What food goes with Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir?
Seared salmon, duck breast, mushroom risotto or dishes built around roasted mushrooms all suit it, since its savoury, herbal character matches earthy and umami flavours particularly well.
Is Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025 vegan?
Devotus doesn't fine or filter The Aprentis, so no animal-derived fining agents are used in making it, though Devotus hasn't published a formal vegan certification for the wine.
How long will Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025 keep?
Devotus says The Aprentis 2025 is approachable now and will hold for seven or more years, through to around 2033.
How many bottles of The Aprentis 2025 were made?
Devotus made 3,548 bottles of The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025, from a single three-hectare vineyard on the Martinborough Terrace.
Where is the Devotus vineyard?
Devotus farms a single three-hectare vineyard on the Martinborough Terrace in Martinborough, next door to Dry River, one of the region's best-known vineyards.
Where can I buy Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025?
The Winery ships Devotus The Aprentis Pinot Noir 2025 internationally from winenz.com to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, and delivers within New Zealand from thewineryonline.co.nz. It is also available in our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores.
