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New Zealand Pinot Noir Report 2025

Quality and individuality are on the rise, but is the message reaching fine wine lovers? Our expert’s selection of top examples shows why New Zealand Pinot Noir deserves to be taken more seriously.

If Sauvignon Blanc built New Zealand’s reputation, Pinot Noir is where it intends to cement its fine wine credentials. That much was clear at the industry’s flagship event, Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 (PN25), held in Christchurch earlier this year – the first since 2017 after a pandemic-related hiatus.

Over three days, producers presented their wares for debate, tasting and scrutiny by local and international critics and trade. The verdict? The wines are more exciting than ever, but the category faces a defining moment: push harder for global recognition or risk fading into the background of the fine wine conversation.

Many international attendees were struck by the stylistic shift. The glossy, oak-sweetened Pinots of the early days are largely gone, replaced by wines of greater finesse, freshness and site transparency.

‘There’s a real sense of confidence now,’ noted consultant and DWWA judge Madeleine Stenwreth MW. ‘Producers don’t feel the need to push so hard to prove themselves. They are showing much more place, much more vineyard.’

‘The interplay of site and clone is clearer, inspiring a wave of single-vineyard wines’

Emma Jenkins MW

See Emma’s pick from the latest New Zealand Pinot Noir releases


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