Releasing our five new Blank Canvas single vineyard red wines last month has brought lots of great feedback from customers, trade and friends while the first reviews in from wine critics echo the sentiments of excellent quality and enjoyment that these wines bring. 

New Zealand wine critics Bob Campbell MW and Cameron Douglas MS have both delivered high praise and scores for these wines, Douglas awarded his highest score to the 'Una Volta' Pinot Noir 2020 from Bannockburn, Central Otago with 96 points while Campbell could not find an ultimate favourite awarding 95 points to the Settlement Vineyard, Anthem Vineyard and Una Volta Pinot Noirs as well as the 2019 Element Vineyard Syrah from Gimblett Gravels. 

As with all our Blank Canvas wines, these four new release Pinot Noir wines from Marlborough and Central Otago and our Gimblett Gravels Syrah embody our never-ending pursuit to produce the finest New Zealand wine we can from exceptional and special single vineyards sites. 

Full reviews are below: 

2019 Blank Canvas Anthem Vineyard Pinot Noir | Gibbston Valley | Central Otago

95 points - Outstanding Fabulous bouquet of delicacy and perfume, complexity and charm. Aromas of pressed roses and cherry flesh, there’s a fine savoury quality layering finesse and detail. Oak offers moments of spice and sweetness. On the palate - delicious, layers of texture and finesse with flavours to reflect the variety and complexity with strawberry and cherry, red apple and spice. Perfectly balanced with a fine chalky mouthfeel, fine tannins and medium+ acid line. Best drinking from 2023 through 2027+. Cameron Douglas MS 

95 points - Elegant, fine-textured pinot noir with fine herbs, mixed spice and hedgerow aromas. High energy wine with a seamless texture. Nicely structured with fruit/alcohol sweetness balanced against fine, drying tannins. 20/12/2022 Bob Campbell MW 

2020 Blank Canvas 'Una Volta' Pinot Noir | Bannockburn | Central Otago

96 points - Outstanding. Fragrant and complex, there’s a delicacy as much as there is power; aromas of place and time, cherry flesh and raspberry, a fine savoury dried herb quality with layers of oak and mineral earth qualities. Plush and ripe with satin textures touching the palate first, flavours of cherries and flowers, dried herb and tilled soils. The oak add complexity and texture from a soft vanilla and sweetness to coarse silk tannins then a medium+ acid line. Delicious, powerful and charming. Best drinking from late 2024 or early 2025 through 2032+. Cameron Douglas MS 

95 points - Pinot noir with restrained power and flavours suggesting black cherry, plum, mixed spice/wild thyme and spicy oak supported by fine, peppery tannins. Accessible but with good cellaring potential. 20/12/2022 Bob Campbell MW

2019 Blank Canvas Element Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Syrah | Hawkes Bay

95 points - 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 20/12/2022 Bob Campbell MW

95 Points – Outstanding 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 delicous already, dry and lengthy. Best drinking from very late 2023 through 2033. Cameron Douglas MS 

2020 Blank Canvas Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir | Omaka | Marlborough

95 points - 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 20/12/2022 Bob Campbell MW 

94 points - Excellent 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. Cameron Douglas MS 

2020 Blank Canvas Escaroth Vineyard Pinot Noir | Taylor Pass | Marlborough 

94 Points- Excellent There’s a unique quality about the bouquet of this wine with a soft floral scents and heirloom red berry fruit fragrances with a fine lightly toasted wood quality and most importantly - a sense of place and time. Youthful and complex. Textures from tannins, wood and acidity touch the palate first with a savoury quality before the flavours of red berries, plums, flowers and red currant. Taut and textured with a youthful energy and drive. Best drinking from mid to late 2024 through 2030+. Keen to try this wine again then." Cameron Douglas MS

94 Points Elegant, textural pinot noir with cherry/berry, violet, brambles/grape stems and mixed spice flavours. Supple, high energy wine with latent complexity that needs a little bottle age to reveal. 20/12/2022 Bob Campbell MW