EOS 2022 Wins Platinum at the Decanter World Wine Awards
Updated: 4 days ago
Clos Ostler EOS Pinot Noir 2022 received a Platinum medal and 97 points at the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards. We are grateful for this independent recognition of a wine grown on our limestone hillside in New Zealand’s Waitaki Valley.
Decanter’s report on the 2026 results identifies EOS 2022 as the Waitaki Valley’s first Platinum recipient. For a vineyard first planted in 2002, the award marks a significant moment in more than two decades of work in this demanding corner of North Otago. It gives wine lovers around the world a reason to discover the region through a particular bottle.
Perfume, power and structure
EOS is a selection within Clos Ostler, centred on Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777. Its purpose is to bring perfume, power and structure into a wine intended to develop over many years in bottle. Selection is made in the context of each vintage, with attention to the balance of the finished wine.
Caroline’s brings together all five of the vineyard’s Pinot Noir clones as a reflection of the season. EOS offers a more focused selection from the same site. Both are expressions of our monopole vineyard, and both reward being followed as they mature.
The 2022 wine
In our tasting notes, EOS 2022 shows dried raspberry, wild strawberry and rose petal, with lemon thyme and subtle oak spice. The palate combines fine, silky tannins with fresh acidity and a persistent savoury finish. It is already expressive, with structure that invites further time in the cellar.
Decanter’s judges highlighted herbal and red-fruit detail, firm definition, freshness and a long savoury finish. Their assessment gives an independent perspective on qualities we value in the wine.
Recognition for a particular place
Clos Ostler occupies a north-facing limestone escarpment near Duntroon in North Otago. Every estate wine comes from this one vineyard. The cool growing season and the changing conditions of each year require close attention to the different parcels as they ripen.
What Platinum means
Decanter conceals producer identities during judging, while giving its panels the regional and varietal context needed to assess a wine. Vintage and relevant production information are also available. Judges record their own notes and scores before discussing each wine together. The process allows a less familiar producer to be considered on what is in the glass, within an appropriate group of wines.
Gold-winning wines are then tasted again by panels of senior judges, including Regional Chairs and Co-Chairs. Platinum is awarded at this later stage. In 2026, Decanter recorded 196 Platinum medals across 24 countries, representing 1.18% of the wines entered. EOS 2022 appears among the eight New Zealand Platinum recipients.
For someone discovering the Waitaki, the medal offers a well-defined point of entry. Herbal detail, red fruit, freshness and savoury length give substance to the award and a reason to follow the wine in the cellar.
We hope the result encourages a closer acquaintance with EOS and the vineyard behind it. The award is a welcome moment in the life of the 2022 vintage; our interest now is in following how that wine develops over the years ahead.
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