Blank Canvas: Marlborough Magic 

James Suckling
96/100 punten 
A single-vineyard, high-volume chardonnay with apples, smoke, lightly toasted vanilla and matchstick. Full-bodied, yet there is tension and intensity. Shows excellent length, going on and on. Drink or hold.

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
94/100 punten
At this young stage, the 2023 Chardonnay Reed Vineyard shows its winemaking choices in its struck flint aromas and smoky bacon- like flavors. Some might find that off-putting, but those who like their Chardonnays funky rather than fruit-filled will enjoy this. The 2023 has a piercing personality and a line of acidity that sings through its pure core. You can expect substance and richness of texture on the mid-palate and through to the finish. Savory, smoky flavors and touches of white stone fruit and citrus linger long. This is young and firm—another year in bottle would serve it well."

Cameron Douglas MS
94/100 punten
An excellent bouquet and palate, saline and fresh, stone fruit and wood smoke, mineral and baking spice scents. A satin-cream mouthfeel as the wine touches followed by flavours of grapefruit peel the peach, apple then a layer of spices from wood and lees effect. Harmoniously dry with complexity and texture. Best drinking from day of purchase or early 2025 through 2028+.

Robert Parker
93/100 punten
The 2023 Reed Chardonnay leads with toasty reduction, curry leaves, yellow peach, salted nuts and brine. In the mouth, the wine is carried in this same style, and it works so well. The curry-leaf character really is an accentuated character here, so if you're not into it, it won't work so well for you; but I happen to love it, so I am enjoying the wine immensely. This demands a full-sized Burgundy glass to really make the most of the extension of flavor through the finish. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Jancis Robinson MW
17,5/20 punten
The Reed Vineyard is at the confluence of the Wairau and Waihopai Rivers in Central Wairau, owned by Pete and Anne Reed. 100% clone 95. Thin topsoil over stones and clay. Unsettled weather at flowering led to looser bunches and lower yields. Hand-picked. Cloudy, free-run juice spontaneously fermented in oak puncheons (40% new). Spontaneous malo. Matured for 11 months in the same French oak puncheons, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Marked struck-match flinty aroma. Not excessive unless you don't like this style of barrel-fermented Chardonnay. Like flinty Meursault, this has a clementine aroma and flavour as well as the creamy/mealy richness of the oak. Both mouth-filling and precise with great freshness and length, deep in citrus, just slightly toasty on the aftertaste but not oaky. Totally engaging and hard to spit, with, I suspect, long ageing potential.

Decanter Magazine
95/100 punten
Lovely nose, fragrant and beguiling with complex florals, fine spices, raspberry, red cherry, plum and tobacco leaf (65% whole bunch ferment). A lively fine-boned wine with bright red summer fruits and very good concentration, a dense core and cleverly delicate yet firm tannins. The palate has an attractive minerally, almost saline thread that carries to the long dry finish. Looks very smart indeed. From the Settlement Vineyard in Omaka, Southern Valleys, a close-planted, organically farmed hillside site. Appellation Marlborough Wine certified.

Bob Campbell MW
95/100 punten
Attractively aromatic wine with floral/violet, red cherry, grape stems and a suggestion of classy oak. Elegant wine with high energy, crushed herb flavours. Approachable now but with good cellaring potential. 

Cameron Douglas MS 
94/100 punten
A youthful core of dark red cherry and fruit spice, there’s a distinctive perfume of rose then wild berries and oak spice. A fine white smoke note from barrel and soft silty soil earthy quality layers in breadth and complexity. Lots of core red fruit flavours touch the palate first then textures from finer polished tannins, plenty of acidity and a fine saline quality. Fresh, varietal balanced, a nice tautness and gentle squeeze, well made, youthful still and lengthy. Best drinking from 2024 through 2030. Be great to see this wine in a year." 

Rebecca Gibb MW
92/100 punten
The 2020 Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir is an exposed site and it's only the second vintage from Blank Canvas. It's made using two-thirds whole cluster and is initially a little shy but there's layers of flavor from cherry and black tea, to spices and wild, woody herbs. Expect a light grip from the tannins and a sense of tension on the finish akin to a tightening belt.

James Suckling
92/100 punten
Attractive dried strawberries and sweet plums with some orange peel undertones. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a rough silk textured finish. Succulent. Tangy too.

Jancis Robinson MW
17/20 punten
Settlement Vineyard is in the Omaka Valley subregion of the Southern Valleys. A 1-ha parcel of clone 777 Pinot Noir, a 'perfumed Dijon clone that delivers naturally small bunches'. This hillside block is north-facing and planted on wind-blown loess over low-vigour clay loams. The vineyard was planted in 2009 and is now Bio-Gro certified and farmed organically. 2020 was 'one of the easiest and exciting from a quality perspective, but one of the most challenging because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown'. Hand-harvested on 24 March. Two-thirds of the fruit was left as whole clusters (more than in the previous vintage) while the balance was destemmed and crushed over the top in the open-tank fermenter. The fruit was kept cool until spontaneous fermentation commenced after four days. The tank was hand-plunged throughout its 15-day fermentation period, after which the wine was drained and pressed to barrel where it completed malolactic conversion. 100% French oak barriques (35% new, low-toast) for 12 months with a further three months in tank. Bottled without filtration. 
Mid to light garnet. More Côte de Beaune than Côte de Nuit in its red-fruit profile and without the sweetness I often find on a Marlborough Pinot, and with a suggestion of spice and floral notes. So it could even be Chambolle ... Elegant, pure-fruited, mouth-watering and with a lovely mix of savoury character and red-fruits. Very fine tannins, almost chalky at the end. Beautiful hand-crafted Pinot. Mouth-watering, light-bodied, between seductive and cerebral with juicy and floral intensity on the palate on the day after opening.

James Suckling
95/100 punten
So much rose petal and hibiscus with some stem as well as perfectly ripe strawberries. This has medium body and refined tannins that are creamy and round, focusing at the end with just a bit of sweet and subtle fruit.

Decanter Magazine 
95/100 punten
Made from some of Gibbston’s oldest vines. An initially savoury/herby nose gives way to a burst of very aromatic fruit, florals, spice, mixed peel and quite a lot of dark chocolate. The palate has Gibbston’s lithe delicate structure with intense fruit purity – this captures the subregion very well. Very fine, silty tannins, plush fruit and good length. Youthful with vibrant acidity and good length. Very confident style.

Cameron Douglas MS 
95/100 punten
The bouquet is both vibrant and pure, a core of plush, ripe red berry fruit scents and flavours are held in place with tannins and acidity showing their own energy and power. As the wine touches the palate the tannins show their muscle first with a savoury dried herb layer yet long in focus, and easily absorbed by the fruit flavours. Dark cherry and red currant flavours, some plum and raspberry. The oak delivers complexity and baking spice flavours, a touch of smoke and frames the wine well. Youthful, complex and lengthy with best drinking likely from 2027 through 2037.

Bob Campbell MW
95/100 punten
Delicately scented wine with an appealing floral lift together with a suggestion of fresh herbs and spices. Complex wine with a silken texture that is a pleasure to taste. Should develop well in the medium term.

Cameron Douglas MS 
95/100 punten
A powerful bouquet driven by aromas of spices and dark red fleshed fruits, seasoned red meats and there’s layers of barrel and smoke, wood spices and pressed violets. Complex and youthful. Equally powerful on the palate with a firm taut texture from tannins and back bone of acidity; tempering and contrasting core fruit flavours of dark berries and spiced meats layer in complexity and mouthfeel. This wine needs more time, it is delicious already, dry and lengthy. Best drinking from very late 2023 through 2033.

Bob Campbell MW
95/100 punten
Intense wine with an appealing seamless texture and lifted aromatics. Dark berry, cassis, dark chocolate, vanilla, anise, and black pepper are also evident. Elegant, supple wine—a pleasure to taste

James Suckling
94/100 punten
Aromas of black pepper, wet stone, crushed blueberries and plums. Medium- to full-bodied with velvety tannins. Nicely balanced, showing richness of fruit without being overdone. Dense, packed spice tingles on the palate. Very well composed.

La Revue du Vin de France
93/100 punten
This syrah comes from the Gimblett Gravels terroir, in Hawke’s Bay, includes 65% whole cluster. Aged in mainly old barrels, it exudes black pepper, violet and a nice mintiness. Good management of maturity with dynamic juice. This wine stands out for its tactile elegance, its aromatic charm and the finesse of its tannins.

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
92/100 punten
The 2018 Element Vineyard usually contains some Gruner Veltliner skins but this vintage is 100% Syrah due to differences in ripening times between the two varieties. It is wild fermented with a five day cold soak and hand plunged. It’s all that you would want a cool climate Syrah to be: smoky bacon, fragrant pepper, but with a sense of more sweet, lush fruit on the finish. There’s 60% whole bunches, giving a light furriness to the mouthcoating tannins.