Prophets Rock

The Free Bacchus Story

Bendigo sits on a north-facing terrace above Lake Dunstan in Central Otago, on schist and loam, with low rainfall and a very large gap between daytime and night-time temperatures. Those conditions make organic farming practically sensible rather than merely admirable — the disease pressure that defeats growers in damper places is largely absent.

Prophets Rock farms it under BioGro certified organic standards, quietly, at a scale that has never generated the commercial profile of the larger Otago operations. Paul Pujol, previously at Martinborough Vineyard, brings a Burgundian precision in the cellar that suits what the site already provides.

Paul Pujol worked in the Languedoc, in Sancerre and at Maison Kuentz-Bas in Alsace before returning to New Zealand in 2005. Cuvée Aux Antipodes is made with François Millet, for thirty-five vintages the winemaker at Comte Georges de Vogüé in Chambolle-Musigny.

The Pinot Noir has drawn 96 points from Wine Advocate, and the Dry Riesling, an unusual choice for Central Otago, is regularly cited as among the most interesting whites in the region. Clos de Confiance, a single-vineyard Pinot from the oldest vines on the property, is the top of the range.

Sold mostly on allocation domestically and through specialist importers abroad, it is among the better-value wines we list relative to its critical standing. Quiet producers in unfashionable sub-regions are generally where the value has gone.