EOS Through the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Vintages
There is a family resemblance between the 2022, 2023 and 2024 EOS, although the wines are quite different. Perfume runs through all three, as does the fine texture we look for in this selection. The fruit changes, the herbal detail takes different forms, and each season brings its own balance to the wine.
EOS comes from a selection centred on Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777, with a smaller contribution from Abel, within our limestone vineyard in the Waitaki Valley. Keeping the components separate through maturation gives us time to understand them before blending. These are our impressions of three successive vintages as we have followed them at the estate.
The crystalline character of 2022
The 2022 carries the freshness of a cool, wet season. Dried raspberry and wild strawberry are joined by crushed rose and lemon thyme, with a little oak spice. There is a lovely clarity to the fruit, and the tannins are silky.
Its delicacy is part of its appeal. The acidity keeps the wine lively, while the perfume and savoury detail hold the attention. This is a vintage in which the finer elements of EOS are especially apparent, with the fruit and floral character carried lightly through the palate.
Cherry, roses and fresh herbs in 2023
The 2023 is incredibly precise. Cherry compote gives the fruit a rounded sweetness of flavour, joined by dried raspberry, rosehip and bramble. Roses lift the nose, with the fresh herbal character that we return to so often in our descriptions of EOS.
There is also a striking citrus freshness, almost like a squeeze of lime. It brings brightness to the cherry fruit and keeps the wine finely drawn. The combination is particularly appealing because the compote character has depth, while the herbs, flowers and acidity give it such lift.
Alongside 2022, the 2023 has its own texture and aromatic detail. The precision remains, but cherry, rosehip and that lime-like freshness make it immediately distinct. It is a wine we find ourselves returning to for the way those flavours come together.
The darker complexity of 2024
The 2024 is darker and considerably more complex in our early tastings. Dried plum, fig and cherry run through the fruit, with wild strawberry appearing among them. Blackcurrant leaf, thyme and sage bring freshness to the darker flavours, while tobacco, toasted walnut, leather and a flinty impression add depth.
Dried rose remains part of the perfume. It is easy to become absorbed in the aromas, but the texture is just as compelling. Silky tannins carry the wine through a long finish, holding together a much broader range of flavours. The depth of the 2024 is exciting precisely because it retains that finesse.
Following the vintages
The pleasure of these wines is in their differences. The 2022 has crystalline elegance, the 2023 combines cherry and floral lift with vivid freshness, and the 2024 brings darker fruit and greater complexity. All three come from the same vineyard, yet each adds something to our understanding of it.
Time in bottle will continue to change the comparison. For now, these are the qualities that stand out to us, and the reasons we look forward to following each vintage over the years.
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