The Pinot Noir Clone Project

The Pinot Clone Project

There’s something about Pinot Noir that keeps pulling us back.

Perhaps it’s because Pinot never feels entirely fixed. Every season shifts it slightly. Every vintage seems to carry a different mood. It responds deeply to site, weather, farming and timing in ways that are sometimes subtle at first, then impossible to ignore once you begin paying attention.

Nearly a decade ago, curiosity got the better of us.

Across a small south-east facing pocket of vineyard in Karridale, we grafted five Pinot Noir clones into a site shaped by cool Southern Ocean influence and long, slow ripening conditions. Not because we had some grand masterplan, but because we wanted to see what might happen if each clone was given the chance to interpret the same piece of land in its own way.

Over time, the vineyard began answering back.

Some clones consistently leaned darker and more structured. Others lifted toward perfume, spice or finer tannin. A few surprised us entirely with the way they evolved in barrel and glass from year to year.

Same vineyard. Same season. Same farming.

Yet somehow each clone continued arriving with its own personality.

The first release of the Pinot Clone Project back in 2022 sparked plenty of conversation around the table. Everyone seemed to have a favourite. Some drawn toward brighter, finer expressions, others preferring darker, earthier and more savoury wines.

That conversation became part of the project itself.

For the 2024 release, each clone was again picked on the same day and handled identically in the winery. Whole bunch fermented, gently extracted and matured in French oak. The only real variable was the clone itself.

The result is six wines.

Five individual Pinot Noir clones bottled separately, alongside Wildings — the blend where all five eventually come back together in conversation.

Tasting them side by side remains one of the most fascinating parts of the project. Not because one clone necessarily outperforms another, but because everyone experiences them differently. What feels complete and compelling to one person may not resonate the same way for someone else.

Perhaps that’s part of Pinot Noir’s enduring pull.

It resists certainty.

The 2024 Atelier Pinot Noir Clone Pack is now available in limited quantities, with 199 boxes produced for this release.

Our suggestion? Gather a few friends around the table this winter, open them slowly, compare notes and see where the conversation leads.