The best wines of the Year - 2025

Welcome to the end of the year round up where I look at my ten favourite wines of the year. This is what I consider to be the best of the best wines that I tried in 2025.

Missed: This year there was no ‘Pinot Day’, the infamous day of sampling sensational examples of nine year-old Pinot Noir, from across the world – because, as it turned out, by the end of July – there was no Curt Thomas. The organiser of that spectacular day (and best friend) died mid-July and his absence has been keenly felt every day since.

Busy: Last year I missed judging at the New Zealand International Wine Show by 36 hours, travelling back from Europe. I squeezed in two days judging this time around. I made a couple of field trips, visiting Gisborne to Hawke’s Bay in one; and to Nelson and Marlborough in another. Gisborne and Nelson were two of the remaining regions that I had yet to cross off my list for wine visits. Here’s hoping that the joints last well enough for me to travel to a couple more – Waitaki and Alexandra in 2026.

Independent: I chose to use the money that it would have cost me to go to the Pinot conference – to do those two trips earlier in the year. I can only realistically go on trips a couple of times in a year as I travel independently – no-one pays me to go on this, unlike some ‘sponsored’ highlight reels you might see on Social Media. I’m also against the idea of people paying me to taste their wine – I believe the life of a reviewer/judge is conflicted enough without payment playing a part.

Benchmarking: I organised three of the WineFolio Top 10 Tastings – benchmark tasting sessions for varietals in New Zealand. These are the “original” list of wines that you’ll find called ‘Top 10’ in New Zealand – and are enjoying a surge in popularity – I had more entries than ever before – and a good few more than certain other not-to-be-named similar (magazine) tastings. 2025 saw ‘Top 10 Tastings’ of Syrah, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc – the winners of those judgings are all in this article – they are all well worth seeking out – as is everything in those Top 10 lists.

The best: The wines I’m putting in the list this year could easily show off the myriad bottles of older vintages from here and there that I had the pleasure of sharing with friends during 2025, but I’m aware that any list I write should have some relevance to readers!! There were some real treats – 30, 40, even 50-year old wines that still looked good. But the only couple that I’ll pop in the list at the end are ones I tried at trade shows or tasting events, and could reasonably be available if you really sought them out.

Anyway – onto the wines…one question – is this delicious?

The Best Red Wine of 2025

Testify Pinot Noir 2018 (Martinborough, NZ)
This is the first vintage of making a Martinborough Pinot Noir where talented winemaker Daniel Brennan got to really call the shots (picking dates, cooperage etc). I liked it on release, and am glad to be able to try it again now with years of bottle age. It is a light ruby colour in the glass – really quite translucent. The perfume has bags of savoury elements to it – that classic Martinborough ‘bloody steak’ note and an earthy, forest floor character too. Blood orange, cherry, musky incense, dark seville marmalade, blueberry, salted caramel and rose petals. An elegant balance between tannin and acidity gives structure amid the complex layers of flavours. A touch of silky texture now, and then back to savoury, with soy and marmite on the endless finish.

The Best White Wine of 2025

Chris Scott ‘The Florigeum’ Chardonnay 2024 (Hawke’s Bay, NZ)
A selection of wines that I was particularly keen to get my paws on once I heard about them, were the three Chardonnays that winemaker Chris Scott released in November. The top-priced one was the one to impress me the most. A deep, lemon-green-gold colour in the glass. A zesty balance of stonefruit and citrus, with hazelnut, cardamom, nutmeg, quince, oat biscuit and lemon curd. Concentrated and luxurious, with more depth and richness than its siblings. The structure shows some oak toast and vanilla, but this a measured, background note that suits the style. Acidity is fine and polished – as a whole the wine is fine and elegant with clarity and gravitas in equal parts. Texture is plush and adds volume towards a finish that is quite seamless and lengthy. A stunning debut.

Apart from those two Best White and Best Red wines, these are in no particular order…

Chateau Garage ‘Lorenzo the Magnificent’ 2024 (Hawke’s Bay)
A dense garnet-ruby red in the glass. The bouquet is an exquisite marriage of the two varieties, with cherry, plum, orange rind and medicinal herbal notes wedded to blackcurrant, elderberry, cigar box and pencil shavings. Perhaps lighter across the palate on first taste than expected, but there is quickly some muscle, sinew and then tannin grip to show. Acidity is bold and fresh, but the spine and structure is well-balanced across the multiple elements at play here. The back of the palate is where things get interesting – when the tension shown throughout ebbs, and a velvet texture at the end is rewarding and pleasing. The finish is elongated, with a playful jostle of sweetness and drying.

Misha’s Vineyard ‘Verismo’ Pinot Noir 2019 (Bendigo, Central Otago)
From their single-vineyard site in Bendigo. 50% Clone 5, 41% Clone 777 and 9% Abel, with a small amount of whole bunch in the ferments. The top-level Pinot Noir from this producer. A deep ruby/burgundy colour in the glass. An inviting and complex scent of ripe red berries, cherry, pomegranate, layered with herbs, spices, wood smoke and lilac florals. Take your time as the wine unwinds and produces savoury, mineral and floral flavours to match the juicy fruits. Dry, with long and supple tannins matched to that toasty oak, and a bright zing of acidity. A lot packed in to one glass. The finish has a minerality and widens across the palate, with super length.

Helio Chardonnay 2024 (Hawke’s Bay)
A bright golden green colour in the glass. The bouquet is varietally pure Chardonnay, with grapefruit, satsuma, apricot, greengage, preserved lemon and crushed green herbs. More peach, even some charred pineapple comes through on the palate – ripe and generous. There’s a bright and saline acidity – with a clean line through the centre, giving plenty of direct, energetic drive. A hint of smoky toast shows at finish, but this is wine of balance and some power. The finish is persistent and salivating.

Trinity Hill ‘Prison Block’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (Hawke’s Bay)
An opportunity arose to re-taste a wine, from the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay, that I first tried back in 2022 – and see what effect a couple more years of development in bottle might make. It is a dark purple/garnet in the glass, with a very varietally-specific perfume. Smoky, ripe and power-packed. Blackcurrant first, then cherry, damson and elderberry – following with dark chocolate, capsicum, salami and woody herbs. Youthfully tight and solid on the palate. There is a balance between toasty oak and grippy tannin forming the spine, with the lush black fruits flowing around that core. The finish is lengthy, firm and dry.

Catalina Sounds Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (Marlborough)
This wine also won the 2025 London Wine Competition award of Sauvignon Blanc of the Year! So, of its type, it is considered the ‘Best Wine in the World’! It also won the WineFolio Top 10 Tasting of Sauvignon Blanc. The bouquet here is pure Marlborough Sauvignon, with a twist. Yes, there are lots of ‘green’ notes – apple, lime and greengage, but also some nectarine, lemongrass, fennel and passionfruit. Dry, with a bristling acidity that verges on salty giving freshness and drive through the palate. Bright and juicy at first, it is then quite direct and linear, with just a touch of minerality before a mile-long persistence to the finish.

Astrolabe ‘The Farm’ Riesling 2020 (Marlborough)
From the edge of the Top 10 in 2022, to top spot this time. Crisp perfume with bags of citrus, but also honey, pear, green herbs, nectarine and rose petal. Subtle and wispy, with a lightness of touch as it flits across the palate. A dry style, but feels generous and juicy – possibly due to the saline acidity that is flinty and salivating. Wines that ‘change’ as you savour them are hard to meet, and worth savouring when you do. This one takes you on a journey through every sip – complex, layered and enigmatic. A worthy winner of the Riesling ‘Top 10 Tasting’.

Easthope Family Winegrowers ‘Home Block’ Syrah 2024 (Hawke’s Bay)
Blueberry, cranberry, plum, root beer, orange peel, date and floral top notes of pot pourri, rose petal and flowering herbs. The balancing act here is exquisite. Whole bunch gives that clove spice and delicate dry floral, but there is a delicate oak as well – it is densely packed, with a dry, intensity. The aromatics seem to accent the flavours here too – with savoury coming ahead of sweet. Layers of ‘sous bois’, black pepper, fennel and graphite sit neatly between those pliant, spicy tannins. A balanced acidity gives a tremendous line into a tension, power and harmony at the back of the palate. That final element was the differentiator between good, and first, in the Top 10 Tasting.

Kumeu River Mate’s Chardonnay 2019 (Auckland)
A bright golden green in the glass. Youthful concentration defines the bouquet – smoky, spicy and ripe with citrus, stone fruit, pear and vanilla biscuits. Bursting with energy, it is however already well-balanced, with just a whisper of pithy tannin needing more time to integrate at this point. The oak and acidity form the spine, with a rounded texture adding depth and plushness. The finish has amazing length and harmony. Excellent now, look for this to improve further in the next five years.

Special mention to these older vintages that may be available with some fossicking.