Three International Wine Challenge Trophies for Caroline’s 2021
Updated: 4 days ago
Caroline’s Pinot Noir 2021 received 96 points and the New Zealand Red Trophy, New Zealand Pinot Noir Trophy and North Otago Pinot Noir Trophy at the 2025 International Wine Challenge.
Three trophies carried Caroline’s 2021 from recognition within North Otago to the New Zealand Pinot Noir Trophy and the competition’s highest national red-wine award. The New Zealand Red Trophy extends across red-wine varieties, giving this Waitaki Pinot Noir a distinction beyond its own grape. It is a landmark result for a small limestone vineyard and a region still unfamiliar to many wine drinkers.
The wine behind the result
Caroline’s is our reflection of the season across the vineyard’s five Pinot Noir clones, namely 115, 667, 777, UCD6 and Abel. The separate components are considered together to compose a wine that expresses the year across the site.
The 2021 combines damson plum and dark cherry with dried herbs, concentrated fruit and fine tannins. The IWC judges found black cherry and dark plum, a generous texture and a savoury, meaty quality. Their most evocative comparison was to the “rising sap of Springtime”. That short phrase brings an impression of freshness and living green growth into a note otherwise describing dark fruit and richness.
The freshness in that note is part of what makes the 2021 compelling. Dark fruit and concentrated flavour sit alongside dried herbs, fine tannin and a long savoury finish. It is a substantial wine that remains graceful at the table.
How the result was reached
For the 2025 competition, the IWC assessed wines blind in London over two rounds, with panel decisions reviewed by its Co-Chairs. Its published result records Caroline’s 2021 at 96 points, together with all three trophy names. The trophies recognise North Otago Pinot Noir, New Zealand Pinot Noir and New Zealand red wine across varieties.
The distinction between the score and the trophies is useful. The score records the wine’s quality assessment; the trophies identify it within those competition categories. The judges’ written note supplies a third piece of information, describing the character that accompanied the result.
One vineyard in North Otago
Clos Ostler is a family-owned monopole near Duntroon. All our wines are grown within this single vineyard, on a north-facing limestone escarpment in the Waitaki Valley. Pinot Noir is its principal variety, accompanied by smaller plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.
The cool growing season requires close attention to how each part of the vineyard develops. Different years change the balance of fruit, perfume, freshness and structure. Caroline’s records those differences, making successive vintages a way to get to know the site over time.
A place in the wider conversation
The New Zealand Red Trophy places Caroline’s 2021 at the head of the country’s red wines judged in that year’s competition. For a small vineyard in the Waitaki, it brings welcome attention to a region that many wine drinkers have yet to encounter.
We hope the recognition encourages more people to taste wines from the Waitaki and to take an interest in the region’s individual vineyards. For our family, it is an occasion to acknowledge the work behind this vintage and to continue learning from the place that produced it.
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