A large crop of 28 new Potential Classics, 25 new Classics and 7 new Super Classics are the features of this year’s closely revised list of New Zealand wine classics.
What is a New Zealand wine classic? It is a wine that in quality terms consistently ranks in the very forefront of its class. To qualify for selection, each label must have achieved an outstanding level of quality for at least three vintages; there are no flashes in the pan here.
By identifying New Zealand wine classics, my aim is to transcend the inconsistencies of individual vintages and wine competition results, and highlight consistency of excellence. When introducing the elite category of Super Classics, I restricted entry to wines which have achieved brilliance in at least five vintages (compared to three for Classic status). The Super Classics are all highly prestigious wines, with a proven ability to mature well (even the Sauvignon Blancs, compared to other examples of the variety).
The Potential Classics are the pool from which future Classics will emerge. These are wines of outstanding quality which look likely, if their current standards are maintained or improved, to qualify after another vintage or two for elevation to Classic status. All the additions and elevations on this year’s list are identified by an asterisk.
Note: Some wines on the classics list are not reviewed every year. If a wine is not currently on sale, this generally reflects a lack of favourable weather in recent vintages.
Review: This memorable wine has richness, complexity and downright drinkability. From a company-owned block of low-yielding Mendoza-clone vines in the ... Read More
Review: Once described by co-founder James Millton as 'a stiletto, not a slipper', Millton's Chardonnay is based on ungrafted, unirrigated ... Read More
Review: This ranks among the country's greatest oak-aged Sauvignon Blancs. Looking for 'texture, rather than rich aromatics', Dog Point fermented ... Read More
Review: The classy 2016 vintage (5*) was grown in the Cornerstone Vineyard, hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for ... Read More
Review: This acclaimed Marlborough red is grown and hand-harvested on north-facing clay slopes at Clayvin Vineyard, in the Brancott Valley, ... Read More
Review: This beauty ranks among the country's greatest Gewürztraminers. Hand-picked in the Wairau Valley, the bright, light lemon/green 2020 vintage ... Read More
Review: Recent releases of this non-vintage, bottle-fermented sparkling have revealed an intensity and refinement that positions the label among the ... Read More
Review: Strapping yet delicate, richly flavoured yet subtle, this sophisticated North Canterbury wine is one of the country's best Chardonnays ... Read More
Review: Sacred Hill’s flagship Chardonnay is one of New Zealand’s greatest – powerful yet elegant, with striking intensity and outstanding ... Read More
Review: Marlborough's largest family-owned wine producer has an extensive array of Sauvignon Blancs. This is not the region's most complex ... Read More
Review: Certified organic, the extremely youthful 2019 vintage (5*) was estate-grown at Roy's Hill, hand-picked and matured for 18 months ... Read More
Review: Breed, rather than brute power, is the hallmark of Coleraine (correctly pronounced Cole-raine rather than Coler-aine), which since its ... Read More
Review: Babich's flagship Chardonnay. A stylish wine, Irongate was traditionally markedly leaner and tighter than other top Hawke's Bay Chardonnays, ... Read More
Review: This biodynamically certified Gisborne wine from Millton shows impressive richness and complexity. Hill-grown, it is hand-harvested and fermented with ... Read More
Review: A powerful Marlborough wine with impressively concentrated, savoury, lemony, mealy flavours and a proven ability to mature well over ... Read More
Review: 'Designed as an aperitif', Cloudy Bay's non-vintage Marlborough bubbly is a Chardonnay-dominant style, with 30 per cent Pinot Noir, ... Read More
Review: Delicious now, but also well worth cellaring, the 2017 vintage (5*) is a single-vineyard red, estate-grown at Bannockburn, matured ... Read More
Review: Top vintages of this estate-grown, Wairau Valley wine are strikingly aromatic, richly flavoured and zesty. The classy 2020 vintage ... Read More
Review: This consistently impressive wine is estate-grown at Hope, in Nelson, hand-picked, barrel-fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in French ... Read More
Review: Greystone views Chardonnay as 'the finest white wine variety'. Grown on steep, north-facing limestone slopes, this wine is hand-harvested, ... Read More
Review: The vigorous, youthful 2017 vintage (5*) is bright, light yellow/green, with a fragrant, complex bouquet. Mouthfilling, it has deep, ... Read More
Review: This single-vineyard wine is estate-grown and hand-harvested at Bendigo, in Central Otago. Invitingly scented, the 2019 vintage (5*) is ... Read More
Review: Estate-grown at Bendigo, in the Cromwell Basin, the very youthful, vigorous 2019 vintage (5*) was hand-harvested, fermented with indigenous ... Read More
Review: Already very expressive, the 2020 vintage (5*) was mostly estate-grown and hand-harvested at Renwick, and fermented and matured in ... Read More
Review: This consistently rewarding red is estate-grown at a high-altitude site at Bendigo. Barrel-aged for 17 months and bottled unfiltered, ... Read More
Review: Certified organic and biodynamic, the extremely graceful 2018 vintage (5*) was estate-grown at Bendigo, hand-picked and matured for a ... Read More
Review: Top vintages are outstanding, showing great vigour and complexity in a Champagne-like style, intense and highly refined. The vivacious ... Read More
Review: This consistently stylish blend of Cromwell Basin (mostly) and Gibbston grapes typically has concentrated cherry, plum and dried-herb flavours, ... Read More
Review: Merlot-based, this is a typically outstanding Hawke's Bay red from the Gimblett Gravels (principally the company's Deerstalkers Vineyard). The ... Read More
Review: The estate-grown 2016 vintage (5*) was hand-harvested from 18-year-old vines in the Omahu Gravels and Twyford Gravels vineyards, in ... Read More
Review: Estate-grown and hand-harvested in the Joseph Soler vineyard, and fermented in a concrete, egg-shaped vat, the classy 2020 vintage ... Read More
Review: Grown in the company's Taylors Pass Vineyard in Marlborough's Awatere Valley, this wine is hand-harvested and fermented and matured ... Read More
Review: Estate-grown at Pisa, in the Cromwell Basin, the powerful 2017 vintage (5*) was hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and ... Read More
Review: This consistently rewarding wine is estate-grown on the south side of the Wairau Valley, hand-harvested and fermented and matured ... Read More
Review: Invitingly perfumed, the 2018 vintage (5*) was estate-grown and hand-harvested at Lowburn, fermented with indigenous yeasts, matured for a ... Read More
Review: An emerging classic from North Canterbury. Full of potential, the distinctive 2019 vintage (5*) was estate-grown, hand-picked from 30 ... Read More
Review: Brookfields' top Chardonnay is named after proprietor Peter Robertson's grandfather's property in Otago. Grown in a vineyard adjacent to ... Read More
Review: The seductive 2018 vintage (5*) was entirely estate-grown at the company's sites at Lowburn and Bannockburn. Fermented with indigenous ... Read More
Review: One of New Zealand’s highest-priced Chardonnays, this wine is estate-grown at Te Awanga, hand-picked from (Mendoza-clone) vines planted in ... Read More
Review: The classy, youthful 2019 vintage (5*) was grown at 'select vineyards' and barrel-fermented. Bright, light lemon/green, it is fragrant ... Read More
Review: Estate-grown in the Wairau Valley, Marlborough, hand-harvested from mature vines, and co-fermented with a splash of Viognier (3 per ... Read More
Review: Full of personality, the 2017 vintage (5*) was estate-grown, hand-picked and fermented with indigenous yeasts in seasoned oak barrels ... Read More
Review: This consistently classy red is estate-grown in the late-ripening School House Vineyard, at Bendigo, an extremely elevated site (up ... Read More
Review: This classy, estate-grown red is typically overflowing with sweet-fruit flavours. The 2015 vintage (4.5*) was hand-picked on the north ... Read More
Review: An emerging classic this Central Hawke's Bay wine is estate-grown, hand-picked and typically partly barrel-fermented. The impressive 2019 vintage ... Read More
Review: Fragrant, fresh and full-bodied, the 2016 vintage (4.5*) was hand-picked from mature, 21-year-old vines in the company's Mere Road ... Read More
Review: Named in honour of nineteenth-century winemaker Cyprian Huchet, the lovely 2019 vintage (5*) was estate-grown in the Gimblett Gravels ... Read More
Review: The highly impressive 2019 vintage (5*) is a powerful, single-vineyard red, estate-grown and hand-selected from four rows at Bendigo, ... Read More
Review: Likely to be long-lived, the concentrated, very youthful 2019 vintage (5*) was estate-grown and hand-harvested at Bendigo, and matured ... Read More
Review: The vivacious 2017 vintage (5*), made from Pinot Noir, was bottle-fermented and disgorged after lengthy maturation (typically well over ... Read More
Review: This consistently classy, single-vineyard wine is handled without oak. Attractively scented, the 2019 vintage (5*) is full-bodied, with strong, ... Read More
Review: Delicious now, the 2018 vintage (5*) is part of Ostler's 'Grower Selection'. Full-bodied, it is concentrated, with vibrant, pure, ... Read More
Review: Estate-grown at Waipara, the delicious 2018 vintage (5*) is packaged in a full-sized (750-ml) bottle. Bright, light yellow/green, it ... Read More
Review: Bel Canto means 'Beautiful Singing'. Based on the estate's mature, ungrafted vines at Waipara, in North Canterbury, late-harvested with ... Read More
Review: This rare, estate-grown, North Canterbury wine is made in a sturdy Alsace style, hand-picked ultra-ripe at Waipara, tank-fermented and ... Read More
Review: Blended from the 'best barrels', this wine is hand-harvested from the company's mature, Mendoza-clone vines at Waipara. Fermented with ... Read More
Review: The very youthful 2018 vintage (5*) was estate-grown on an elevated, south-east-facing slope at Waikari, in North Canterbury. Bright, ... Read More
Review: Certified organic and biodynamic, the 2020 vintage (4.5*) was estate-grown at Bendigo, hand-picked, tank-fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured ... Read More
Review: The refined, very age-worthy 2018 vintage (5*) was harvested from mature, 20-year-old vines in the Gimblett Gravels and barrique-matured ... Read More
Review: This elegant, tightly structured wine is estate-grown in the Waihopai Valley, hand-harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts and lees-aged in ... Read More
Review: The winery's flagship 'black label' Chardonnay from Hawke's Bay is typically intense and finely structured. Grown in the Gimblett ... Read More
Review: The 2018 vintage (4.5*) is a very age-worthy, supple, medium-bodied red, with a floral, peppery bouquet. Estate-grown, hand-harvested and ... Read More
Review: Certified organic, the 2017 vintage (5*) was estate-grown at Bannockburn, hand-picked, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for 11 ... Read More
Review: Estate-grown at Alexandra, in 'possibly the world's most southerly vineyard', the classy 2017 vintage (5*) was hand-picked, fermented with ... Read More
Review: Certified organic, the lovely 2017 vintage (5*) was estate-grown in the northern Wairarapa, hand-picked and matured in French oak ... Read More
Review: A consistently impressive wine, bargain-priced. Partly (10 per cent) fermented and matured for four months in seasoned French oak ... Read More