Clos Ostler as a Micro-Producer of New Zealand Wine
Updated: 6 days ago
Clos Ostler is a family-owned micro-producer in the Waitaki Valley, North Otago. Our wines come from an eight-hectare limestone monopole near Duntroon, a defined vineyard with small individual releases shaped by the vineyard and the season. The scale becomes clearest when attached to a particular wine and season.
A small Chardonnay release
Chardonnay 2025 was made on a scale of approximately 250 twelve-bottle case equivalents. Its small production gives this white wine an intimate place within the estate, with a character of its own to follow through the seasons.
Throughout this article, a case means twelve standard 750 mL bottles. We use case equivalents to describe production; the wines may be offered in different purchase and presentation formats.
Chardonnay has a deliberate place in the estate. The 2025 spent eleven months in barrel, with 35 per cent new oak and partial malolactic fermentation. Its apple, lime, nectarine and almond-paste detail offers a distinct expression of the same limestone setting that shapes our Pinot Noir. The small release deserves to be followed on its own terms.
Small releases within one monopole
EOS 2024 has yet to be released. Production in standard 750 mL bottles amounts to fewer than 150 twelve-bottle case equivalents, with magnums accounted for separately. This is the scale of the wine itself, before release. Quantities vary between wines and seasons.
EOS draws principally on clones 667 and 777, with a smaller Abel contribution. Caroline's brings together all five Pinot Noir clones grown here. Keeping those identities clear matters, each selection offers a particular way to encounter the vineyard, and a later vintage will bring its own balance.
A family commitment behind the small releases
For Antonio, Connor and Georges Roulet Magides, the scale of Clos Ostler makes the responsibility of ownership particularly personal. Their family acquired the estate in 2021, bringing a Swiss-French winegrowing inheritance to the vineyard established by Jim and Anne Jerram and Jeff Sinnott. They hope that the knowledge gathered from these rows, and the wines kept from each season, will one day belong to their children and grandchildren.
Selected collections are presented in wooden cases, reflecting the family’s own pleasure in keeping and sharing fine wines. The ambition behind each small release is to earn a lasting place in a cellar and in the memories of those who open it, while sustaining the care of the vineyard from which it came.
Read the full story of the Roulet Magides family at Clos Ostler.
A small vineyard with international recognition
The estate's scale sits alongside a growing independent tasting record. Caroline's Pinot Noir 2021 received 96 points and three trophies at the International Wine Challenge 2025, including the New Zealand Red Trophy. EOS Pinot Noir 2022 received 97 points and Platinum at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2026.
These results give collectors specific wines to investigate. They bring attention to a limestone vineyard in one of New Zealand's smaller wine regions, with a finite number of bottles through which to discover each season. Our ambition is for that first encounter to become a lasting interest in the place.
What limited production means when buying
Each release offers a finite expression of our limestone vineyard and its season. Contact the estate to explore the wines offered in your market.
For someone building a collection, a few bottles of a release allow a first encounter and later returns. Older estate-held vintages offer another perspective, connecting the current vineyard with earlier seasons. Good storage and clear provenance preserve the value of that experience.
Our small scale makes a direct relationship with the estate particularly useful. Tell us which wines you enjoy and which releases you hope to follow. We can discuss what is available and help you discover Clos Ostler through the wines that best fit your taste.
Explore small-production Clos Ostler wines
The scale of a release is one part of its identity. Our Pinot Noir guide brings the independent recognition of Caroline’s and EOS together with their vineyard origin and individual character.
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