Odyssey Reserve Iliad Pinot Noir 2023

The Odyssey Reserve Iliad Pinot Noir is the flagship red from winemaker Rebecca Salmond, made from the finest parcels of her certified organic Brancott Valley vineyard and given extended barrel ageing to develop the concentration and complexity the Iliad label demands.

Reserve Iliad | Certified Organic | Marlborough

Tasting Notes

The Odyssey Reserve Iliad label is reserved for wines that show exceptional finesse and character. This Pinot Noir is concentrated with blackberry and cherry fruit flavours. The sweet fruit, cedary oak and silky tannins give weight to a wine that will age particularly well.

Outstanding certified organic Marlborough Pinot Noir with the concentration and structure to reward cellaring through 2031.

Why you'll love it: The Iliad is the wine Rebecca holds back for when the vintage delivers something truly exceptional. The 2023 has earned recognition from two of New Zealand's most respected critics and is built to age gracefully.

Reviews

93 points, Cameron Douglas MS, camdouglasms.com (April 2026): "An excellent wine with a sense of site, purity of fruit and classic Pinosity frame of cherry and boysenberry, layers of earth and wood spices, baking spices and a touch of wood smoke and lengthy finish."

94 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit (May 2024): "It's elegant and gorgeously expressed on the nose, showing dark plum, sweet cherry, olive, warm spice and toasted almond notes, followed by a wonderfully flowing palate that's succulent and supple with fleshy texture and beautifully infused tannins. Complex and harmonious with a persistent, soothing finish."

The Vineyard

Handpicked from select parcels of Odyssey's certified organic home vineyard at the top of the Brancott Valley, where six different Dijon clones of Pinot Noir are grown. Cold soaked, then spontaneously fermented before post-ferment maceration and barrel ageing where malolactic fermentation completes naturally.

About Odyssey Wines

Odyssey Wines is owned by Rebecca Salmond, who trained at Massey University in New Zealand and Adelaide University's Roseworthy College in Australia, graduating with a degree in Biotechnology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Winemaking Science. She then worked in some of the world's finest wine regions: Burgundy, Bordeaux and Cote Rotie in France; Alto Adige and Sicily in Italy; Marlborough and Hawkes Bay in New Zealand. Rebecca launched Odyssey in 1994 with small amounts of premium wines. Odyssey now owns 68 acres in Marlborough's Brancott Valley with 25 acres under vine, managed organically. All wines are single vineyard.

Perfect with venison loin with wild mushrooms, roast duck breast, or aged hard cheeses. The concentrated fruit and silky tannin structure complement rich, savoury flavours with real authority.

Browse our Pinot Noir collection or Premium NZ$75+ wines, or call or text Laura on 021 591 500 for a personal recommendation.