Emma Jenkins' MW Musings: Do we need wine?
OPINION: At the recent Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference, the Porto Protocol’s Marta Mendonça said, “Grapes are not the thirstiest of crops, but they are a luxury crop”.
While there were no associate panellists or detailed varietal summaries produced, members received some insight with the inclusion of class score graphs with their results. This marked my final year as Panel Lead, with Jane Skilton MW taking up the role for the coming three years.
Sparkling Wines and Pétillant Naturel
A solid class across the regions, with notable quality and skilful winemaking evident in the Vintage flights. Rosés were less consistent, while the pet nats impressed with clarity and variety expression.
Sauvignon Blanc
Clear vintage variation was evident, with high cropping letting down too many Marlborough wines in 2025. The better regional blends showed good weight and texture, Wairau wines displayed heightened florality, Awatere intensity and freshness, and Southern Valleys restrained purity. Weaker examples lacked mid-palate concentration, had clashing acid/residual sugar, or awkward phenolics. Central Otago and North Canterbury were praised for thoughtful finesse and restraint, Hawke's Bay for rich complexity, and Wairarapa viewed as a sophisticated "dark horse". The 2024 wines looked very strong nationwide. The better alternative styles (including vintages as far back as 2018) were praised for sophisticated oak use, while others were let down by poor winemaking choices, including dominating oak and reduction.
Chardonnay
Marlborough delivered many standouts from across the region, with its cool climate spine of acidity evident throughout, although at times overzealous winemaking smothered the fruit. Hawke's Bay was also very strong. The outstanding quality of the 2024 vintage was clear, but judges were also impressed by wines from the trickier 2022/23 vintages. The 2022/23 Central Otago wines were more rewarding than the 2024s, which showed markedly high acidity. Waitaki was praised for its elegance, though some wines were overworked. Nelson had clear highlights alongside some uneven winemaking choices. Wairarapa showed understated power and strong technical skill. Wines north of Hawke's Bay too often struggled with poor fruit quality, and at times, dubious winemaking decisions.
Pinot Gris
Dominated by Marlborough entries, the 2025s again showed the impact of high cropping. The best wines had good concentration and effective use of phenolics. The 2024s were stronger overall, showcasing good regional variation.
Riesling
A diversed array of vintages and regions, with vintage having greater impact on style/quality. The best dry wines showed purity and succulence without residual sugar to mask shortcomings. The off-dry and medium flights were more variable, lesser wines struggled with sour acidity.
Gewürztraminer
Some exemplary wines, particularly from the medium than dry classes. Others struggled with hollowness or lack of varietal character.
Lesser Planted Whites & Orange Wines
Solid Albariño with generally clear varietal character and good winemaking attention to detail. Chenin Blanc delivered good highs alongside notable lows. Grüner Veltliner and other whites were a mixed bag, the best examples showed clear varietal character, texture and sensitive winemaking choices. Orange wines formed a short but largely exciting class.
Rosé
The best wines spanned the regions, showing great fruit purity, vibrancy and sound winemaking. Too many wines attempted to use residual sugar to hide shortcomings in fruit quality.
Pinot Noir
Central Otago's run of recent strong vintages made a confident showing, with discernible subregional influences, particularly from Bannockburn, Gibbston and Bendigo. Regional blends were generally less impressive, a dynamic also seen in Marlborough's regional wines. Its subregional Pinots were more convincing, with particular standouts from Southern Valleys' 2024s and Wairau's 2023s. Wairarapa's challenging 2022/2023 conditions were evident, but the 2024s showed promise, albeit in a restrained style. The smaller regions also highlighted the quality of 2024, with especially strong wines from North Canterbury and Waitaki. Nelson was more of a mixed bag, often showing greener elements.
Syrah
A very solid class, predominantly from Hawke's Bay, with other strong standouts from Marlborough. Wines showed excellent freshness and concentration, with the 2021 vintage performing particularly well. Poor oak choices, overt reduction and sometimes microbial issues dogged some wines.
Cabernet and Blends
All bar three wines came from Hawke's Bay, spanning a range of vintages. Many were strong, with good ripeness, density and ageing potential. Cabernet Franc-led wines stood out for their "juicy, fleshy, salivating" styles.
Lesser Planted Reds and Chilled Reds
A small but very mixed bag. The best were clean and fresh, showing good varietal expression. Judges noted that some chilled reds displayed notably hard/green elements.
Sweet Wines
Four highly diverse wines, showing strong overall quality.
Natural Wines
Where numbers permitted, these were grouped within their varietal classes, otherwise they were clearly identified within flights. Overall, a solid showing with good technical competence. There was a notably fresh, interesting set of Pinot Noirs.
