Made by Matua Valley winemaker Nikolai St George, this is a pinot noir of size and stature. It is purple-rimmed …

Perennially impressive, this powerful, concentrated Pete Bartle-made wine doesn’t hold back. Intense violet, cedar and red cherry notes ring out, …

This excellent buy from a quality-driven winery packs in plenty of pinot charm in a more rustic mode. An appealing …

Marlborough’s pinot stocks continue to rise, thanks to carefully crafted wines like this. A prelude of beguiling floral scents is …

Jules Taylor has crafted an exuberant, approachable wine. Perfumed, pure, generously endowed with enticing dark fruit and well seasoned with …

This stunner from Central leaves nary a box unticked. “It’s a powerful, hedonistic style, but still has delightful freshness and …

This pinot is made from the oldest vines of a favoured site at Pisa, on the western side of Lake …

Rockburn continues a great run (the 2012 was last year’s top pinot) with this richly perfumed wine. The lifted lilac …

The ongoing rise of the stature of this winery’s pinot noir continues – this is one of seven Saint Clair …

This knockout Bannockburn pinot is grown on a small close-planted vineyard with significant vine age, beside the Kawarau River. Floral …

This classy Villa Maria rendition is a typically dark, sensuously textured beauty. Ripe black cherry and blueberry flavours tempered with …

“A generously proportioned pinot and not shy in showing it off,” opined John Belsham. Black tea, violet and a hint …

Rounding out the trifecta of Villa Maria five star wines is a pinot that fits the description; ‘classic Kiwi modern’. …

You’ll enjoy the ride this Catalina offering provides. It’s a feisty wine, crackling with verve and energy, made using fruit …

Regularly one of the Alexandra sub-region’s finest examples of pinot noir, this version is typically fragrant and pure. Red and …

The experience of winemaker/proprietor Karl Johner (he annually works vintages in both Germany and the Wairarapa), is on display in …

Matua has lavished attention on this impressive wine, which is one of a new series of Single Vineyard wines from …

A label with a strong pinot noir history, Muddy Water (the English translation of Waipara), wowed the panel with this …

“Beautifully concentrated and balanced,” said Michael Ivicevich. This wine exudes harmony, from its disarming brambly scents to its molten, soft …

Another Saint Clair Omaka Valley-grown pinot, this is a bright, fresh, elegant wine. Intense floral perfume leads through to a …

Grown on a clay-rich site in the Omaka Valley where Jersey bulls once grazed, this dark-fruited wine is enlivened by …

“Black olive, dark cherry, savoury, exotic spice… there’s so much flavour interest,” enthused Sam Harrop. In the mouth, this powerful, …

Bannockburn’s pioneering vineyard produces some superb fruit – witness this luscious, perfumed pinot. Riffs of dark berry and plum play …

This bright, juicy rendition was made using fruit sourced from a pair of Brancott Valley vineyards. Sweet fruit flavours are …

The best of this Bannockburn label’s grapes go into this wine. Ripe dark fruit is the central theme, with shades …

This perennially quality pinot is again on song. Scents of both red- and dark-fruit become a crushed berryfruit character in …

They grow their tannins unapologetically bold in this Bendigo vineyard. This wonderful wine is dark and glass-staining, and exudes black …

“Underneath those flinty aromatics is a network of flavour and character,” noted John Belsham. Winemaker Christopher Keys has certainly produced …

From a storeyed Marlborough pinot vineyard that was planted back in 1990 comes this dark, tar and rose rendition. The …

Beautiful ripe fruit sweetness arrives and lingers in the mouth with this seductive style. Red and dark fruit flavours, savoury …

Enticing fruit scents, a welcoming, soft entry into the mouth and good fruit/oak balance all contribute to what is an …

“Succulent, flowing and sensual,” praised John Belsham. This is a great example of what the Wairarapa and pinot can do …

Jules has produced a pearl of a pinot. Sweet, ripe red berryfruit and cherry scents dominate the airwaves. Darker fruit …

This up-and-coming label delivers another stunning wine. This blend of grapes from Bendigo, Pisa and Alexandra is beautifully balanced. It …

This label’s pinot always rates highly on the price-quality scale, and the 2013 is no exception. Wonderfully fragrant, in the …

Grown at a terraced site at Lowburn, on the west side of Lake Dunstan, this is a super-ripe style, dark …

“This is a classic, elegant New Zealand style,” noted Sam Harrop. Violet scents, lifted red fruit flavours and a herbal …

In 2013, a rich seam of pinot noir was struck at the Bendigo site named Claim 431. Vivid, sweet berryfruit …

The moment you pick up the dark rose and lilac scents you know you’re in for a treat. In the …

The popularity of one of the country’s top selling pinot noirs is set to continue with this new release. A …

This excellent value wine from the team at Saint Clair is a lighter style pinot. Fragrant, with red and dark …

Grown in the Wairau Valley, this pinot treads a middle path: sweet yet also earthy, dense but bright, happy yet …

Named after the narrow strip of impoverished soil in the lower Waihopai Valley on which its vines grow, this wine …

“Generous and juicy,” noted John Belsham. There is certainly an open-heartedness to this wine, with its dark pool of ripe …

“Sensational purity and perfume,” enthused Sam Harrop. This is an unabashedly big-fruited style; dense, chunky, with dark berry flavours and …

Grown on a spectacular elevated site in Bendigo, this pinot’s dimensions unfold gradually. Its sweet floral aromatics show initial shyness; …

The 2013 vintage was experienced winemaker John Kavanagh’s first at the helm at Te Kairanga, and he’s made it count. …

There’s plenty of Wairarapa class on display here. Purple-rimmed in the glass, beautifully fragrant, the dark fruit comes seasoned with …

This sumptuous, ripe wine crafted by Dave Clouston seduced the entire panel. Sweet lilac scents precede a concentrated mouthful, black …

Grown organically on a terrace above the Ruamahanga River, this pinot has impressive intensity and presence. Red and dark fruit …

Winemaker Guy McMaster devotes a lot of TLC to this reserve-style wine. Multi-layered with its warm creamy texture, sweet fruit …

In years when the sun shines, the fruit from the Gibbston is behind some of Central Otago’s finest pinots. Blackberry …

There’s a lot to like in this ripe, plump pinot from Vidal winemaker Hugh Crichton. Dark fruit and chamomile scents …

Marlborough’s vinous dexterity is exemplified by the Seddon Vineyard, where five different varieties all thrive. This dark, ripe, concentrated wine, …

Don’t let its aromatic shyness fool you… there’s more to this wine than meets the nose. Red and dark fruit, …