In its fourth year, The Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification highlights New Zealand’s finest 100 Pinot Noir producers and the first ever promotion to five stars!

Tyson Stelzer and Matthew Jukes

The Fourth Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification was developed by Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer to highlight the importance of New Zealand’s finest Pinot Noirs. The classification is awarded based on a rolling average rating of the five most recent vintages. Light font is used to position estates for which we have yet to taste five vintages.

This year, The Great New Zealand Pinot Noir Classification highlights New Zealand’s finest 100 Pinot Noir producers! This list is not compiled to meet a particular number, but it just so happens that there are now precisely 100 New Zealand estates producing this mesmerising grape variety at a level of excellence that we believe is worthy of your attention. This is a monumental number and it represents something of a coming of age for New Zealand Pinot Noir.

Our roll call of heroes featured just forty names in its first year. Many young vineyards have blossomed with another four years of vine age and growers and makers have refined their techniques to new levels of sensitivity and respect for this often temperamental grape.

We are proud to announce the first ever promotion to five stars! Bell Hill Vineyard joins Ata Rangi, Felton Road and Mt Difficulty at the pinnacle of our classification. Marcel Giesen and Sherwyn Veldhulzen’s North Canterbury vineyard is the first outside of Martinborough and Central Otago to achieve this status. With Pegasus Bay and Pyramid Valley hot on their heels at four stars, North Canterbury has now cemented its reputation as a hotbed of some of the finest Pinot Noir south of the equator.

Download The Fourth Great New Zealand Pinot Noir classification