The combination of exceptional terroir, a marginal climate and progressive vineyard management—not to mention quietly understated winemaking—produces mesmerising wines. That is exactly what Pyramid Valley is delivering. Since Huw Kinch and his team took the reins of this extraordinary Estate, they have barely put a foot wrong. It’s no exaggeration to say that this vineyard, nestled in the rocky limestone escarpments of Waikari, North Canterbury, is producing some of the most exciting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir outside the Côte-d’Or. But Pyramid Valley has always prized individuality over one-upmanship—as it should with terroir-driven wine. In Kinch’s words, “I don’t think you can make wines like these from any other site in the world. They are so unique. Whether you like them or not comes down to personal taste. That’s what makes great wine so captivating—it cannot be replicated.” “It’s a great year, but we had to struggle for it,” Kinch added. In 2023, Waikari yields plunged to a wincingly low 11 hl/ha—the sort of figure that makes accountants reach for the whisky. Rational producers might call it a disaster; yet those tiny yields proved a blessing. Reduced crop loads allowed the remaining fruit to ripen perfectly: the 2023s show greater fruit intensity than 2022, plus more perfume, tension and radiant structure—all at very moderate alcohols. As soil expert Pedro Parra once quipped, “Limestone is the best party in the wine world.” If so, welcome to the best event in town. The Chardonnays are vividly pure and electric; the Pinots possess focused, gorgeous flavours carried on a fine, chalky undertow. Whatever the grape, these wines feel alive in the glass, their authenticity and length of flavour hardwired into the DNA of the world’s greatest vineyards and their growers. The 2023s are sealed with Diam Origine 10 and a wax cap. For more on the vintage and winemaking (and some spiffy maps and pictures), please see Pyramid’s detailed release notes.