Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir 2024 is a Central Otago Pinot Noir from the highest parcels of the Rocky Point Vineyard in Bendigo. This wine has raspberry and red fruit, rose, mandarin and spice, with a mineral, almost saline finish. It suits Pinot Noir drinkers who like a fresh, bright style.
The aromas are brambly red fruit and raspberry with rose and a little violet, and the finish has a graphite-like mineral edge that's almost salty.
Only 24 barrels were made of the 2024. It's a good wine for anyone who likes Pinot Noir on the lighter, more savoury side, and it drinks well with food.
The fruit comes only from the highest parcels of the Rocky Point Vineyard, on some of the steepest planted blocks in Central Otago. That elevation and the schist soil give the wine its mineral style.
What it tastes like
This wine is pale cherry to ruby in colour and bright in the glass. The aromas on the nose keep evolving as you swirl it in the glass, with brambly red fruit including raspberry, rose and a subtle violet.
On the palate there's bright raspberry and red fruit, with juicy black peach, mandarin citrus and spice. The finish is very long, with a graphite-like mineral edge that's almost saline (slightly salty), and roses and red fruit lingering.
Style at a glance
- Body: light to medium
- Acidity: bright
- Tannin: fine
- Oak: 17 months in barrel, 35% new
- Style: bright, red-fruited, mineral, savoury, long
Food to enjoy this with
Best enjoyed with roast duck with cherries, pan-fried salmon, mushroom risotto, roast chicken with thyme and lamb rump all suit its red fruit and freshness. One unexpected match is a good tuna steak, seared rare, because the wine's acidity and salty finish work with the rich fish.
Who makes it
Prophet's Rock is in Bendigo, Central Otago. Paul Pujol is the winemaker.
The fruit is handpicked from the Rocky Point Vineyard, at 226–351 m elevation, and destemmed. It's fermented with wild yeast in small open-top tanks that are hand-plunged only once, which keeps extraction low. The wine spends 17 months in barrel (35% new) and goes through malolactic fermentation (the conversion of sharp malic acid to softer lactic acid) with wild yeast. Yields are managed to 30–35 hl/ha, about 4 t/ha.
About the vintage
Stephen Wong (Master of Wine), writing in The Real Review, described the 2024 Central Otago vintage as one of exceptional concentration and structure. Budburst came about a week early, and frost in early October damaged some fruit. Then a dry stretch ran from December to February.
Cool weather in March slowed ripening, so the fruit had extra time on the vine and could be picked without hurry. Wong noted that flavour ripeness arrived at moderate sugar levels with balanced acidity. Olearia was harvested from 18 March to 9 April 2024.
Technical details
| Winery: |
Prophet's Rock |
| Wine: |
Olearia Pinot Noir |
| Vintage: |
2024 |
| Variety: |
Pinot Noir |
| Region: |
Central Otago (Bendigo) |
| Country: |
New Zealand |
| Alcohol: |
13.0% |
| Oak: |
17 months in barrel (35% new) |
| Fermentation: |
Wild yeast, hand-plunged once; wild malolactic fermentation |
| Closure: |
Diam cork |
Where to buy
For international delivery to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, the Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir 2024 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 at our Queenstown and Arrowtown wine stores, alongside a large range of New Zealand and international wine.
Questions we are often asked
What does Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir 2024 taste like?
Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir 2024 shows raspberry and red fruit with rose, mandarin and spice. It finishes very long, with a mineral, slightly salty edge.
Where does Olearia Pinot Noir come from?
Olearia is made only from the highest parcels of Prophet's Rock's Rocky Point Vineyard in Bendigo, Central Otago, at 226–351 m elevation.
How much Olearia Pinot Noir 2024 was made?
Prophet's Rock made 24 barrels of the 2024 Olearia.
How is Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir made?
The fruit is handpicked, destemmed and fermented with wild yeast, with only one hand-plunge during fermentation. It then spends 17 months in barrel, 35% of them new.
Where can I buy Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir 2024?
The Winery ships Prophet's Rock Olearia Pinot Noir 2024 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 wine stores.
