Blank Canvas
Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020 750ml

LAST BOTTLES

ACCOLADES

‘The classy, youthful 2020 vintage was hand-harvested from clone 777 vines planted in the early 2000s in the Omaka Valley. Bright ruby, it is mouthfilling, sweet-fruited, concentrated and structured, with ripe cherry and plum flavours, complex and savoury. Still very fresh and vigorous, it's well worth cellaring to 2025+.

5 STARS | MICHAEL COOPER MA ONZM

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‘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.’

95 POINTS | EMMA JENKINS MW | DECANTER | AUGUST 2024

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‘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.’

95 POINTS | BOB CAMPBELL MW

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‘Settlement is an interesting vineyard in Omaka, organically farmed, with clay/loam soils. This is made from 777 clone Pinot Noir, hand picked, in a challenging season because of lockdown. The result is a fine, fresh, quite chiselled wine with tart raspberry and cherry fruit with good structure and acidity, and then a little generosity on the mid palate. Finely poised, this isn’t just about the bright fruit, but there’s also a bit of grunty structure. I wouldn’t be surprised if this aged gracefully over the next decade.’

94 POINTS | JAMIE GOODE | JANUARY 2026

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‘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.’

 94 POINTS | CAMERON DOUGLAS MS

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‘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.’

93 POINTS | REBECCA GIBB MW | VINOUS.COM | From: New Zealand Reds: Making the Bucket List (Jul 2025)

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‘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 Sustainable. Drink now. Screw cap.’

92 POINTS | JAMES SUCKLING

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‘I like the Settlement Vineyard. It is a topographically varied place, with an assortment of varieties and clones servicing many different cuvees and producers. Here, the 2020 Settlement Vineyard Pinot Noir is sappy and spiced with star anise, sour red cherry, layers of sarsaparilla and freshly grated nutmeg. The acidity in the mouth is lively to the point of verging on tart, but it has energy and life, which I like. Nice wine! 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.’

90 points | ERIN LARKIN | WINE ADVOCATE

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‘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.’

17 POINTS | JULIA HARDING MW | JANCISROBINSON.COM