2023 Clos Henri - Pinot Noir Marlborough Waimaunga (750ml)

Clos Henri was founded in 2000 by the Bourgeois family of Sancerre, whose roots in French winemaking stretch back ten generations. Before settling in New Zealand, the family spent twelve years searching the world for a terroir that could echo the character of their home vineyards, eventually choosing the southern foothills of Marlborough's Wairau Valley. Today the estate spans some 110 hectares, a significant share certified organic, with Arnaud, Lionel, and Jean-Christophe Bourgeois guiding the winemaking alongside teams working across both Marlborough and Sancerre.

Waimaunga takes its name from the ancient glaciation period that shaped the estate's distinctive clay soils, weathered and windblown over millennia. The vines here are planted at high density in the French tradition, encouraging competition between them so that energy concentrates in the fruit rather than excess growth, and range between fifteen and twenty years of age, dry-farmed under organic practice. After hand-harvesting and careful sorting, about a fifth of the crop is kept as whole clusters, with the rest destemmed and moved by gravity into large French oak vats for a week-long cold soak, followed by natural fermentation and gentle pump-overs rather than more forceful extraction.

The wine offers bold spice and dark fruit, with cherry, plum, and violet aromatics layered over notes of forest floor and baking spice. The palate is powerful yet supple, with fine tannins and real length. It pairs beautifully with roast venison, duck, or wild mushroom dishes.