Church Road Grand Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2025

Church Road Grand Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir is the newest addition to the Grand Reserve family, sourced from a single vineyard on a free-draining schist terrace above the lake near Lowburn - a small parcel Church Road first secured in 2019. Beautifully fragrant, it's built around a core of black cherry fruit, lifted by floral and spice notes and layered with savoury herb and mushroom complexity. The palate is medium-weight with fine acidity and firm, youthful tannin driving good textural length, while subtle oak darkens the wine without ever dominating the fruit. Structured and complex enough to reward a decade or more in the cellar, it's a serious, site-driven expression of Central Otago Pinot Noir.

What the winery says:
Central Otago Pinot Noir is the newest member of the Grand Reserve family, brought to fruition when an unexpected opportunity arose in 2019 to source a small block of exceptional Pinot Noir from a vineyard in Lowburn. The fruit comes from a single estate on a free-draining schist terrace just above the lake, where the water helps moderate the local climate, giving textural ripeness while retaining fragrance and typicity. The wine is aged 16 months in French oak.

Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, 94/100 (2025 Vintage)
"A lovely example with a core of pinosity led by a textured mouthfeel from fine needle point tannins and a backbone of acidity framing flavours of boysenberry and plum then cherry and some red apple flavours. Nice weight and intensity with vanilla and baking spice layers with some smokey oak and sandy soil ideas. Well made with best drinking from 2027 through 2034+."