Class act: New Zealand’s newly classified wines
Stephen Wong MW in Wine Classification Become a member to view this article
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Akarua The Siren Pinot Noir is a new entry with Two Merits. Pinot NZ
The Real Review Wine Classification Feature Week
This week sees the 2025 update to The Real Review Wine Classification of New Zealand.
A reminder of how the classification works: a wine must have a minimum of 10 vintages reviewed to qualify and once classified, it will retain its classification for four years with the annual opportunity to be increased in ranking if its performance warrants it. If, at the end of the four years, its performance indicates a slip in quality, it will be moved (or removed) to the appropriate level.
More recent vintages carry more weight in the algorithm, but it essentially reflects the long-term performance of a given wine.More recent vintages carry more weight in the algorithm, but it essentially reflects the long-term performance of a given wine. This means the classification rewards consistency and unlike our Top Wineries list, changes are slower to propagate through the Classification due to the four year rule.
The changes in this year’s Classification are quite different in nature to last year’s. Firstly, there are no changes to the three Merit category at all. Two wines debut at two Merits, a notable feat of quality. These are Akarua The Siren Pinot Noir and Terra Sancta Jackson’s Block Pinot Noir.
Both are not only the same variety and from Central Otago but actually from different parts of the same subregion, Bannockburn. The Siren is made from fruit grown on Cairnmuir Road and the 2023 is the tenth vintage we have reviewed, thus qualifying for the Classification. It is also the first one released under Edmond de Rothschild New Zealand. All bar one vintage (2019) was awarded a gold ribbon (95 points) with most being 96 points.
Jackson’s Block is on the Sancta vineyard of Terra Sancta, located on Felton Road. It was planted in 1991, making it the first vineyard planted in Bannockburn (it was known as Olssen’s of Bannockburn before it was Terra Sancta) but as Terra Sancta, the 2022 vintage marks the tenth review, thus qualifying it for classification. Every vintage reviewed except 2014 and 2015 have achieved gold ribbons, with an unbroken run of 95s since 2018.
The Whitehaven Greg Awatere Sauvignon Blanc is a new entry at One Merit. Whitehaven Wines X
There are ten wines which enter the classification at one Merit with fairly broad diversity. Unlike last year’s intake, where sauvignon blanc took six of the fifteen one-Merit debuts and riesling took three, this year there was only one new sauvignon: Whitehaven Greg Awatere Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Two are chardonnay: Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay from Hawke’s Bay and Greenhough Hope Vineyard Chardonnay from Nelson. Also from Nelson, we have the first albariño to enter the Classification (either from New Zealand or Australia): Neudorf Rosie’s Block Moutere Albariño.
Two pinot noirs make their debut: Pyramid Valley Earth Smoke Pinot Noir from the limestone-rich slopes of Waikari, North Canterbury, and Nanny Goat Vineyard Super Nanny Pinot Noir from Central Otago. These two wines are almost polar opposites of each other, proving that great pinot noir does not have to fit any one specific mould.
There are also two sparkling wines: Amisfield Méthode Traditionnelle Brut Vintage from Central Otago and No. 1 Family Estate Assemblé NV from Marlborough. Lastly, Hawke’s Bay brings a merlot-led blend of Bordeaux varieties with Paritua Red and Waiheke Island rounds off the set with Mudbrick Reserve Syrah.
The spread of styles and regions represented in the newly classified wines this year highlights that there are New Zealand producers who have devoted more than a decade focusing on a diverse array of wines, not just from our traditional stronghold varieties but also stunning méthode traditionnelle wines and albariño.