Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting results

Pinot_Noir_Bottles2 — (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Anne Krebiehl MW, Justin Knock MW and Dirceu Vianna Junior MW tasted 134 wines, with 12 outstanding, 100 highly recommended and 20 recommended.

New World Pinot Noir part II: Panel tasting scores

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 12

Highly recommended 100

Recommended 20

Commended 1

Fair 1

Poor 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release, dry, still 100% Pinot Noir red wines with a minimum retail price of £30 in the UK or equivalent in their domestic market

In a three-day Pinot Noir marathon in late September, we three judges tasted 273 premium examples from North and South America, Australasia and South Africa. There were so many high-scorers – 215 at 90 points or more – that we had to split the results. The wines from Canada, US, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay featured in last month’s November issue, while it is now time for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to shine.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the New World Pinot Noir panel tasting

And shine they did – especially Australia, which provided the top-scoring wine plus four further Outstanding wines scoring 95. The overall standard was incredibly high, with all three judges charmed by the 44 entries.

Down Under has hit its stride with Pinot Noir. ‘Australia is making some beautiful, truly mouthwatering Pinots in lighter, sapid, refreshing styles,’ said Justin Knock MW. I can only agree: there is a purity and a willingness to let Pinot be Pinot here; there is no fear of translucency or tenderness, and the scores bear this out. Re-reading our tasting notes shows how much more voluble these wines made us, with attributes such as ‘pure’ and ‘precise’ cropping up frequently, accompanied by aromatic descriptors that go well beyond the generic. This is what we looked for and we found it in abundance here.

New Zealand had the largest entry of the whole tasting, with 63 wines, and two wines from Martinborough and one from the cool Gibbston Valley in Central Otago earned Outstanding scores. While a few wines, mostly from Central Otago, were still too oaky and bold, the bright, vivid, snappy wines far outnumbered this old-fashioned, heavier style.

Savouriness was beautiful to behold in New Zealand, above all in Martinborough, while Marlborough impressed with more regional definition between its valleys. Dirceu Vianna Junior MW observed: ‘On the evidence of this comprehensive tasting, we can see that Pinot Noir is capable of revealing its origin and sense of place well, as it was easy to notice regional characteristics.’ For Knock, ‘New Zealand is capturing most freshness and probably makes the most beautiful New World Pinot Noirs overall’.

That 27 entries were fielded by South Africa was impressive, considering there are fewer than 1,200ha of the variety in the country (the most-planted, Cabernet Sauvignon, had 9,811ha at the end of 2021, SAWIS figures reveal). These were lovely wines, imbued with herbal (fynbos) top notes, oceanic freshness and great poise. Decanter readers should take note of the Hemel-en-Aarde: all our four Outstanding wines hailed either from the Valley, the Upper Valley or the Ridge. Elgin and the high-altitude vineyards of Elandskloof in Overberg also stood out.

After three long but enthralling days, Vianna Jr summed up our global grand tour of Pinot Noir perfectly: ‘I admired the consistency, individuality, and that the wines reflected their sense of place admirably. Aside from the opportunity to compare and contrast styles, it served to confirm that consumers willing to pay a premium will find great Pinot Noir in all corners of the world. The overall standard was exceptionally high. This is great news for consumers who enjoy the charm of wines from Burgundy but find pricing out of reach.’

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting scores

The judges

Anne Krebiehl MW is a widely published writer, award-winning author and lecturer with a particular focus, among others, on Pinot Noir and traditional- method sparkling wines from around the globe.

Justin Knock MW is director of wine for luxury merchant Decant London, and has a background in winemaking, brand and generic marketing, education, consultancy and fine wine retail. An Australian national, he was a director of the California Wine Institute UK, and is currently a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Australia.

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW is a wine writer, consultant and educator. Based in the UK since 1989, he was a director at some of the UK’s top distributors. After becoming a Master of Wine in 2008, he co-authored the awarded book Conheça Vinhos (‘Understanding Wine’, in Portuguese).

Explore More

German-born but London-based, Anne Krebiehl MW is a freelance wine writer and lecturer. Her work has been published widely in both trade and consumer publications, including World of Fine Wine, Harpers Wine & Spirit and The Drinks Business.

New World Pinot Noir part II: Panel tasting scores

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the New World Pinot Noir panel tasting

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting scores

The judges

Related articles

Tolpuddle Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Coal River Valley, Tasmania, Australia, 2022

Cap Maritime, Pinot Noir, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2021

Craggy Range, Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2021

Craggy Range, Aroha Te Muna Road Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2021

Creation, Art of Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2022

Crystallum, Cuvée Cinéma Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2022

Joshua Cooper, Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir, Victoria, Australia, 2021

La Vierge, Apogée Pinot Noir, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2020

Montalto, Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2022

Moorooduc Estate, McIntyre Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2021

Shaw & Smith, Lenswood Vineyard Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2021

Valli, Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2021

Burn Cottage, Burn Cottage Vineyard Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2020

Palliser Estate, Single Vineyard Hua Nui Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2022

Restless River, Le Luc Pinot Noir, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2021

Ata Rangi, Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2020

Bouchard Finlayson, Tête de Cuvée Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2021

Bouchard Finlayson, Galpin Peak Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2021

Dalrymple, Single Site Swansea Pinot Noir, Tasmania, Australia, 2020

Escarpment, Te Rehua Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2021

Escarpment, Kiwa Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2021

Giant Steps, Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia, 2021

Grosset, Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, Piccadilly Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2021

Jane Eyre, Pinot Noir, Tasmania, Australia, 2021

Kooyong, Single Block Haven Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2021

Lethbridge, Pinot Noir, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 2021

Lyons Will Estate, Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges, Victoria, Australia, 2021

Matahiwi Estate, South Series Pinot Noir, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2021

Ministry Of Clouds, Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, Piccadilly Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2022

Montalto, Merricks Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2022

Murdoch Hill, Artisan Series Apollo Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2022

Penfolds, Bin 23 Pinot Noir, Tasmania, Australia, 2022

Polperro, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2021

Rippon, Mature Vine Pinot Noir, Lake Wanaka, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2017

Saurwein, Om Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Walker Bay, South Africa, 2022

Te Pa, Reserve Collection Westhaven Pinot Noir, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2021