A comprehensive New Zealand report recently published on JancisRobinson.com features Blank Canvas’ Settlement Vineyard during harvest this year as the cover photo (see above). Within the report, seven of our wines achieved top or top equal scores in their respective categories across a total of 76 wines reviewed. 

Highlights include:

• 2023 Reed Vineyard Chardonnay | 17.5 Points
  • Top equal highest scoring NZ Chardonnay (alongside our ‘Tano’, Alchemy Chardonnay 2023, Craggy Range Single Vineyard Chard 2023, and La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2022)
• 2023 ‘Tano’ Chardonnay | 17.5 Points
  • Top equal highest scoring NZ Chardonnay
• 2021 Abstract Three Rows Sauvignon Blanc | 17.5 Points
  • Top equal highest scoring current NZ Sauvignon Blanc (alongside Greywacke Wild 2023)
• 2024 Holdaway Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc | 17 Points
  • Top equal highest scoring classic Sauvignon Blanc (alongside Greywacke and Dog Point 2024)
• 2021 Escaroth Vineyard Pinot Noir | 17.5 Points
  • Top equal highest scoring NZ Pinot Noir (alongside Ata Rangi McCrone 2019, Kusuda 2022, and several La Ferme de Sato single vineyard Pinot Noirs)
    
    

In further coverage, The New Zealand Fine Wine Producer’s Group (NZFWP) is a group of like-minded New Zealand fine wine producers that have collectively hosted some of the world’s most influential critics on immersive tours throughout the country’s wine regions. In 2024, Ken Gargett was one of our guests. The report from his trip was published last month in perhaps the most prestigious wine journal on the planet - the World of Fine Wine - edited by Neil Beckett. It is the most comprehensive article ever published on the fine wine scene in New Zealand. 

Gargett had to limit himself to only a handful of wines to feature in the review, and so we are delighted that he selected our Holdaway Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. You can read the full Marlborough review here. 

Holdaway Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2023 | 94 POINTS

“Blank Canvas is one of the emerging stars of the region, and this is an absolute classic. Juicy, neatly balanced, taut, concentrated, and with a fine line of acidity, this is a wine just dripping with passion-fruit and mango flavors. The Holdaway Vineyard is located in the highly regarded Dillon’s Point subregion of Marlborough.” - KEN GARGETT | WORLD OF FINE WINE | JULY 2025 Issue 88

Ken concludes by saying “New Zealand is and will remain ground zero for New World Sauvignon Blanc, its popularity and success inextricable from that of the grape variety. New Zealand has made an extraordinary impact, even if only in a small way, on the world of fine wine. Expect that to increase over the coming years.”

Master of Wine Rebecca Gibb recently published her New Zealand red report, New Zealand Reds: Making the Bucket List, to accompany her white wine report published earlier in the year (where our ‘Abstract’ Three Rows Sauvignon Blanc was awarded the highest score in the report). 

In this report she states “New Zealand Pinot Noir has never been as good as it is today”. Notable highlights include our 2019 Element Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Syrah being awarded the second highest score of 94 points with the illustrious company of Bilancia’s La Collina, Kusuda and Smith & Sheth’s Omahu Syrah. She points out a clear stylistic parallel to Northern Rhône, the spiritual home of cool climate Syrah.   

Element Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2019

94 POINTS - SECOND HIGHEST NZ SYRAH SCORE “Northern Rhône lovers will be impressed by the 2019 Syrah Element Vineyard. Suave and silky smooth, its aromatics beguile with plenty of cool-climate Syrah nuance. White pepper and potpourri aromas add something exotic to blackberry fruit and smoked woody characters. The fragrant finish is tranquil and refined with a coating of fine, powdery tannins.” | JULY 2025

Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

94 POINTS - Top 2 Marlborough Pinot Noir - “The 2021 Pinot Noir Settlement Vineyard is a remarkably satisfying and layered expression from a low-vigor, high-density, sloping site. There's plenty of concentration here with two-thirds whole bunch and sinewy tannins. Savory and floral, medicinal herbs and spices offset the sweet and ripe red fruit.” | JULY 2025

Escaroth Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

93 POINTS - Top 3 Marlborough Pinot Noir - ‘The 2021 Pinot Noir Escaroth is a full meal in a glass, just like Violet Beauregard’s chewing gum in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. It’s perfumed with red and black fruits, and I swear I got a whiff of roast beef too. With yields of 3.2 tonnes per hectare, there’s a richness of substance and structure. The finish is focused with real grip and concentration.’ | JULY 2025 

Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020

93 POINTS - ‘The 2020 Pinot Noir Settlement Vineyard is unforced and aromatically enticing. This is ripe, textural and satisfying, yet there's tension on the finish that draws it out thanks to whole clusters in the ferment. While red and plum fruit still dominate the aromatics, this veers towards savory with dried herbs and delicate festive spices.’ | JULY 2025