Pinot noir is the princely grape of red Burgundy (the real stuff, from the famous French wine region). When grown here, low-priced pinot noirs typically display light, raspberry-evoking flavours, but great pinot noir has substance, suppleness and a gorgeous spread of flavours: cherries, fruit cake, spice and plums.
As New Zealand’s pinot noir output has soared in recent decades, its average price has fallen, reflecting the arrival of a tidal wave of “entry level” (simple, drink-young) wines. But can you buy an excellent pinot noir for $30 or less?
Pinot noir can be a frustrating variety to grow because it buds early, is vulnerable to spring frosts, and clonal selection, low cropping and barrel ageing are essential to the production of fine wine. But the news is good: there are plenty of “serious” satisfying wines in the $20-$30 category.
Aces & Arrows Greg’s Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
Priced right, this ruby-hued red is mouthfilling and supple. Still youthful, it is a moderately complex style, with generous ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, hints of nutty oak, fresh acidity and very good depth and harmony. $25
Askerne Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
This northern expression of pinot noir was grown near Havelock North and barrel-matured for nine months. Bright ruby, it is full-bodied, with gentle tannins. Savoury notes add complexity and strong ripe fruit flavours. $23
Bald Hills 3 Acres Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
Offering fine value, this youthful red was hand-harvested and aged for a year in French oak barriques. Deep, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and vigorous and has a savoury, harmonious finish. Its strong, fresh, cherryish and slightly spicy flavours show very good complexity. Well worth cellaring. (14% alc/vol) $30
Black Cottage Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★½
Showing a Beaujolais-like charm, this floral, ruby-hued red is fresh, vibrant and smooth. It has lively, ripe fruit flavours, slightly savoury notes and pleasing depth. (12.5% alc/vol) $20-$23
Brancott Estate Reserve Awatere Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020
★★★½
Grown in the Awatere Valley, this youthful, ruby-hued red is mouthfilling and has a fairly firm finish. Its ripe fruit flavours show a distinct touch of complexity. Fine value. $15-$18
Carrick Unravelled Organic Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
Bargain-priced, this organically certified red was estate-grown at Bannockburn and matured for seven months in French oak barrels. Full, bright ruby, with a fragrant spicy bouquet, it is mouthfilling and vibrantly fruity. Its generous cherry, plum and spice flavours show good complexity, fresh acidity and finely balanced tannins. Already enjoyable. $28
Daisy Rock Reserve Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
Attractively priced, this Alexandra-grown red was French oak-matured for 10 months. Deep, bright ruby, it is attractively perfumed. Mouthfilling, savoury and supple, it shows good complexity, generous ripe fruit flavours seasoned with nutty oak and has a harmonious, smooth finish. Best drinking 2025+. (14% alc/vol) $26
Delta Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★½
Fresh and medium-bodied, this is a single-vineyard, Southern Valleys red. Fragrant and youthful, it has good depth of ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, hints of toasty oak, moderate complexity and supple tannins. (12.5% alc/vol) $20
Eight Ranges Trail Rider Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
Estate-grown in Alexandra and handled with “playful French oak”, this mouthfilling and supple red has lively fruit flavours, a hint of herbs and very good vigour and depth. $24-$28
Gold Digger Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
★★★★½
Offering top value, this single-vineyard, estate-grown red was hand-harvested at Tarras and matured for 10 months in French oak casks. Deep, bright ruby, it is fragrant, energetic and supple, with fresh acidity and excellent depth of cherry, plum and spice flavours. Nutty, savoury notes add complexity. (From Māori Point Wines.) (13.9% alc/vol) $28-$30
Hãhã Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★
Enjoyable young, this ruby-hued, medium-bodied red is fresh, fruity and supple. Grown in the Wairau and Awatere valleys and partly oak-aged, it has a pleasing depth of cherry, plum and spice flavours, showing a touch of complexity and a smooth finish. $18-$20
Jackson Estate Homestead Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
Delivering good value, this deep ruby red was aged in tanks and French oak barrels. It has a very fresh, youthful bouquet. Full-bodied with strong, vibrant cherry, plum and spice flavours, it shows excellent depth and cellaring potential and should break into full stride 2025+. $23-$27
Lake Chalice the Raptor Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★★
Already very approachable, this strongly varietal red was grown in the Waihopai Valley and matured in French oak barriques. Bright ruby, it is mouthfilling with generous fruit flavours, a hint of herbs, savoury notes adding complexity, and ripe, supple tannins. Best drinking 2025+. $21-$27
Lawson’s Dry Hills Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020
★★★★
Offering good value, this youthful Southern Valleys red was matured for 10 months in French oak barriques. Bright ruby, it is mouthfilling with fresh, strong, red berry and spice flavours showing good complexity, and has gentle acidity and a smooth, lingering finish. Well worth cellaring. $23-$27
Luna Estate Martinborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★★
This well-priced, strongly varietal red was estate-grown and picked mostly from young vines. Ruby hued, it is a fragrant, mouthfilling, supple wine, with youthful, ripe cherry and red berry flavours, gentle spicy notes, considerable complexity and a softly textured finish. $24-$30
M by Montana Waipara Pinot Noir 2022
★★★½
The debut release of this bargain-priced North Canterbury red is ruby hued, fragrant and supple. It has very good depth of ripe fruit flavours, showing some savoury complexity and gentle tannins, giving it lots of drink-young appeal. $15-$18
Main Divide Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
Pegasus Bay’s bargain-priced red doesn’t have “North Canterbury” on the label, because more than 15% of the grapes were grown outside the sub-region. It was matured for 18 months in French oak barriques. Full, bright ruby, with an inviting fragrance, it is mouthfilling, savoury and supple, with generous cherry, plum, tamarillo and spice flavours, good complexity, and a smooth finish. A very harmonious red, it’s already drinking well. $23-$27
Misha’s Vineyard Tempo Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
This debut vintage of “Tempo” is the winery’s “earlier maturing” red. Estate-grown at Bendigo and matured in seasoned French oak barrels, it is a bright ruby wine, fragrant, mouthfilling, sweet-fruited and savoury, with generous fruit flavours, gentle tannins and instant appeal. (14% alc/vol) $30
Mission Reserve Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
This well-priced red was estate-grown in the Awatere Valley and matured for a year in French oak barrels. Deep, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and savoury, with concentrated, ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, good complexity and finely balanced tannins. Still youthful, it should be at its best mid-2025+. $29
Mount Brown Estates North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2022
★★★½
Priced right, this French oak-matured wine is bright ruby. It has moderately rich, youthful flavours, showing some savoury complexity, a hint of herbs, fresh acidity and a smooth finish. $22
Neck of the Woods Bendigo Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★★
This powerful, sturdy red is a steal at $30. Deep, bright ruby, it has concentrated cherry, plum and spice flavours, savoury notes adding complexity, ripe, supple tannins and a lengthy finish. Still youthful, ít is likely to be long-lived. (14.5% alc/vol) $30
Nor’wester by Greystone North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2020
★★★★
From vineyards “scattered across the region”, this very harmonious red was French oak-aged for nine months. Ruby-hued, it is fresh, mouthfilling and supple, with moderately rich, ripe cherry and spice flavours, seasoned with nutty oak, and considerable complexity. Still youthful, it should be at its best mid-2024+. $19-$30
OTU Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★½
Still youthful, this is an estate-grown Awatere Valley red. Mouthfilling, it has good depth of fresh, cherryish, slightly spicy and nutty flavours, showing a touch of complexity, and a moderately firm finish. $17-$24
Pā Road Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★½
Offering good value, this deep ruby red was aged in stainless steel tanks rather than casks. Full-bodied, it has generous, ripe plum and spice flavours in a moderately complex style with good depth, supple tannins and lots of drink-young appeal. (From te Pā.) $18-$19
Stables Reserve Ngatarawa Hawke’s Bay Pinot Noir 2021
★★★½
Priced sharply, this is a bright ruby, mouthfilling, supple red. It has very good depth of ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours showing some savoury complexity, and a smooth finish. $17-$20
Starborough Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
Drinking well now, this very harmonious wine was estate-grown, principally in the Awatere Valley, and barrel-matured. Full, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling, with generous, ripe fruit flavours showing considerable complexity, gentle tannins and a smooth finish. $23-$28
Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020
★★★★
From a single vineyard at Rapaura, this is a full-coloured red. Mouthfilling and savoury, it has ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours showing good complexity and a structured, moderately firm finish. (14% alc/vol) $22-$24
Sugar Loaf Southern Valleys Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
Priced sharply, this powerful, fruit-packed red was hill-grown in the Southern Valleys and barrel-aged. Deep ruby, it is youthful and freshly scented with concentrated, very ripe fruit flavours, savoury notes adding complexity and firm supporting tannins. Best drinking 2024+. Fine value. $28-$30
Te Kano Kin Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020
★★★★
This lively red was estate-grown in the Cromwell Basin. Full, bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and supple, with generous cherry, plum and spice flavours, fresh acidity, and nutty, savoury notes adding complexity. (14% alc/vol) $25-$30
te Pā Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★½
This youthful, fruit-packed red was hand-picked and matured for nearly a year in French oak barrels. Deep bright ruby, it is mouthfilling, with concentrated ripe flavours, fresh acidity, savoury notes adding complexity and a well-structured finish. Best drinking 2024+. (14% alc/vol) $26-$30
Terra Sancta Mysterious Diggings Bannockburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022
★★★★½
Crafted for early enjoyment, this ruby-hued red offers top value. Aged in French oak casks, it is markedly more complex than most sub-$30 Central Otago pinot noirs. Mouthfilling, sweet-fruited and supple, it is invitingly fragrant, with vibrant, cherryish, gently spicy flavours, smooth tannins, excellent harmony – and loads of drink-young appeal. $25-$30
The Hunting Lodge Expressions Silky Marlborough Pinot Noir 2021
★★★★
Priced right, this mouthfilling wine has a full, bright ruby colour. A youthful, savoury red, it has very satisfying depth of cherry, plum and spice flavours showing considerable complexity, and supple tannins. $24
Three Paddles Martinborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★★
From Nga Waka, this rewarding, drink-young style was matured in French oak barriques and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Ruby hued, it is fragrant, sweet-fruited and supple, with ripe cherryish, spicy, nutty flavours showing considerable complexity, and good harmony. $23-$30
Villa Maria EarthGarden Marlborough Pinot Noir 2022
★★★½
Certified organic, this is a ruby-hued, medium-bodied red. It has fresh, ripe fruit flavours to the fore, lively acidity, and savoury notes adding a touch of complexity. It’s drinking well now, but no rush. (12.5% alc/vol) $20-$22
Note: all wines are 13-13.5% alc/vol, unless stated otherwise.
