Chinese New Year Pinot Noir Collection – Year of the Horse

An Estate Vertical of Awatere Valley Pinot Noir, presented in a sustainably sourced wooden gift box

To mark the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse, Foxes Island presents a special Pinot Noir Collection that brings together three exceptional vintages from the Belsham Awatere Estate. Chosen for both their quality and symbolism, these wines reflect strength, elegance, confidence, and forward momentum—qualities traditionally associated with the Horse.

Each Pinot Noir has been crafted by Winemaker John Belsham, whose four decades of experience and commitment to cellar ageing have shaped some of New Zealand’s most refined and age-worthy expressions of the variety. Together, these wines offer a rare vertical tasting that celebrates time, terroir, and thoughtful selection.

Limited availability.

The Collection

2012 Le Renard Pinot Noir – The Dragon
The Icon wine of Foxes Island and a flagship expression of New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Declared only in exceptional vintages, Le Renard 2012 has been awarded 97 and 95 Points and represents the pinnacle of power, structure, and longevity. Crafted from a single Dijon clone, the wine shows depth, precision, and remarkable elegance after extended cellar ageing—an auspicious symbol of strength and prosperity.

2013 Estate Pinot Noir – The Snake
A highly regarded vintage of the Estate Pinot Noir, fermented with indigenous yeasts and expressing the vineyard as a whole. Named a Wall Street Journal Top Ten Pinot Noir, this wine blends the three Dijon clones planted across the estate’s terraces, delivering balance, complexity, and quiet confidence—qualities long associated with wisdom and discernment.

2014 Artist Series Pinot Noir – The Horse
A beautifully composed, age-worthy Pinot Noir that reflects momentum, vitality, and elegance. The 2014 vintage shows refined structure, savoury depth, and layered red fruit, embodying the spirit of the Horse—graceful, energetic, and assured.