Wild Folk Natural Pinot Noir 2025: Tasting Notes

WINE STYLE → Cherry-Scented & Sappy

Wild Folk Natural Pinot Noir 2025 is a fragrant, lightly savoury Yarra Valley red shaped around red cherry, cranberry, plum and delicate florals. The fruit is bright rather than sweet or heavy, with a subtle sappy, briary character bringing proper Pinot detail. Supple texture and satiny tannins make it immediately approachable, while fresh acidity keeps the finish lively. Awarded 92 points, this is natural Pinot with clarity, polish and very little of the overt funk sometimes associated with the style.

Highlights

• Vegan suitable and No Added Preservative
• Crafted by Wild Folk — a minimal-intervention range produced by Fourth Wave Wine
• Red cherry, cranberry, plum and delicate floral aromas
• Yarra Valley Pinot Noir with supple texture and satiny tannins
• 92 points — Ken Gargett, Winepilot
• 13% ABV

Tasting Notes

Deep crimson in the glass, with lifted aromas of red cherry, cranberry, plum and soft florals. The fruit remains clear and fresh on the palate, joined by a lightly sappy, briary note that brings savoury definition without overwhelming Pinot Noir’s natural delicacy. The texture is supple and smooth, framed by fine, satiny tannins and lively acidity. Medium in length, with lingering red fruit and an appealing savoury freshness through the finish.

Winemaking

The fruit is handpicked and sorted before fermentation in open fermenters, with gentle plunging used to extract colour and texture. Fermentation occurs naturally with wild yeast, followed by maturation in stainless steel rather than flavour-heavy oak. The wine is bottled young with minimal additions and without fining or filtration. No added preservatives are used, keeping the focus firmly on fresh fruit, natural texture and vineyard expression.

Vineyard & Vintage

The Pinot Noir comes from Victoria’s Yarra Valley, one of Australia’s leading cool-climate regions for the variety. The valley’s cooler conditions and long ripening period help Pinot Noir develop fragrance, red-fruit detail and natural acidity without excessive weight. The 2025 wine shows the region’s elegant side through fresh cranberry and cherry fruit, floral lift, savoury detail and fine tannins.

Why We Love It

This is a natural red that should appeal well beyond dedicated natural-wine drinkers. It has all the brightness and immediacy expected from minimal-intervention winemaking, but the fruit remains clean, varietal and beautifully defined. The cherry and cranberry notes are deliciously inviting, while the subtle briar, florals and satiny tannins give it enough detail for the dinner table.

Food Pairing

Bright acidity, red fruit and soft tannins make this an adaptable food wine. It has enough freshness for roast poultry and richer fish, while the savoury, earthy side of Pinot Noir works particularly well with mushrooms, lentils and gently spiced vegetable dishes.

Try matching this wine with →

• Roast duck with cherry sauce — Find a Recipe
• Miso-glazed mushrooms with soba noodles — Find a Recipe
• Herb-roasted chicken with lentils — Find a Recipe

Mood or occasion to match this wine…

A lovely red for long lunches, relaxed dinner parties or an evening when a full-bodied red sounds like too much. Serve it lightly chilled and let its fragrant fruit and silky texture do the work.

Cellaring

Delicious now for its fresh fruit and supple texture, with the structure to develop through to approximately 2030. Store in a cool, dark place with a stable temperature. Once opened, reseal and refrigerate, then enjoy within one to two days because wines without added preservatives can evolve more quickly after exposure to air.

Producer

Wild Folk is a minimal-intervention wine range produced by Fourth Wave Wine, with each release sourced from an Australian region suited to its grape variety. This Pinot Noir comes from the cool-climate Yarra Valley, where the focus is on fragrance, freshness and delicate red-fruit character. The Wild Folk philosophy centres on allowing the vineyard and variety to speak with as little interference as possible. Wines are fermented with wild yeast, made without added preservatives, bottled unfined and unfiltered, and produced with minimal additions. For this Pinot Noir, open fermentation and stainless-steel maturation preserve its bright cherry fruit, supple texture and naturally savoury detail.

Related Wines To Try →

Explore these preservative-free reds for similarly bright fruit, gentle texture and minimal-intervention character:

• Fuller and darker, with plum, boysenberry and savoury spice — Wild Folk Preservative Free Shiraz
• Organic Pinot Noir with cherry, herbs and gentle spice — Temple Bruer Preservative Free Pinot Noir
• Soft, affordable Pinot Noir with raspberry and silky spice — The Hero Preservative Free Pinot Noir

FAQ

What does Wild Folk Natural Pinot Noir 2025 taste like?

It shows red cherry, cranberry and plum with delicate floral aromas and a lightly sappy, briary savoury note. The palate is supple and fresh, with fine satiny tannins and a smooth red-fruited finish.

Is this Pinot Noir dry or sweet?

This is a dry red wine. Its bright cherry and plum fruit may bring a juicy impression, but the finish remains savoury and refreshing rather than sweet.

How full-bodied and tannic is it?

The wine is light-to-medium bodied, with gentle rather than forceful structure. Its tannins are fine and satiny, making it smoother and less drying than a Cabernet Sauvignon or firmly built Shiraz.

What temperature and glass should I use?

Serve at around 14–16°C in a medium-sized Pinot Noir or Burgundy glass. A broader bowl helps release the cherry, cranberry and floral aromas, while slightly cool service keeps the fruit lively.

Should Wild Folk Natural Pinot Noir be decanted?

Formal decanting is not necessary, although ten to fifteen minutes in the glass can help the savoury and floral notes open. Avoid leaving it in a decanter for hours because it is made without added preservatives.

Does this wine contain preservatives or sulphites?

This is a No Added Preservative wine, so sulphur dioxide is not added during production. Tiny amounts of sulphites can occur naturally during fermentation, even when none are added by the winemaker.

Is the wine vegan friendly?

Yes, Wild Folk Natural Pinot Noir is vegan suitable. It is bottled without fining or filtration, avoiding the animal-derived fining agents sometimes used in conventional winemaking.

What food pairs well with this Pinot Noir?

Try it with roast duck, roast chicken, salmon, mushroom risotto or miso-glazed eggplant. Its acidity suits richer foods, while its soft tannins will not overpower poultry, vegetables or lighter dishes.

Can this Pinot Noir be cellared?

It is delicious in its youth, but the 2025 vintage has the balance to develop until approximately 2030. Expect the fresh cherry and cranberry notes to become softer and more savoury as the wine matures.

Who will love this wine?

It will suit anyone who enjoys fragrant, lighter reds with smooth texture, fresh acidity and little obvious oak. If you like elegant Pinot Noir, Beaujolais or other bright, lightly savoury reds, this is an excellent natural-wine alternative.

(SKU: FO_PN_CV)