New York-based Wine Enthusiast magazine’s annual buying guide will be released in mid-December, and The Landing Wine’s intense and complex wines have made a strong showing for New Zealand.
Five of The Landing’s wines feature in the 2023 guide: The Landing 2022 Rosé (92), the Boathouse 2022 Pinot Gris (90) and the Boathouse 2020 Chardonnay (89), with The Landing 2021 Chardonnay (94) making the prestigious Editor’s Choice list and the Boathouse 2022 Rosé (91) being named as a “Best Buy”.
More than 2600 wines were blind-tasted for the guide, with the panel of judges saying there was much to enthuse about. The Landing’s 2021 Chardonnay was the top-ranked New Zealand Chardonnay, with the judges awarding it a score of 94 out of 100 (Superb/A Great Achievement)) and describing it as having “An enticing and transparent nose of lightly roasted buttered cashews, preserved lemon and cantaloupe give this NZ Chardy, from the northern Bay of Islands, salty, windswept seaside vibes. There are precision, freshness, curves and textural appeal—a well-executed and harmonious bottling.”
The Landing’s 2022 Rosé also came in for high praise, with a score of 92 out of 100 (Excellent/Highly Recommended), with the judges noting that the palate is “dry and crisp, with textural interest, and a big lift of acidity that complements rather than overpowers the gentle berry and stonefruit flavors.”
In the Best Buys section, The Landing’s 2022 Boathouse Rosé was noted as having “lovely, mouthwatering acidity and similarly delicate flavors to the nose”, with the judges commenting that as it’s been made “with intention and food-friendliness in mind, this could easily become a summertime fridge staple.” The Landing 2022 Pinot Gris was described as offering “prickly acidity and fruit weight on this restrained, textural, food-friendly Pinot Gris”, while the “easygoing” 2020 Boathouse Chardonnay got a nod as being “full-bodied, with textural weight yet also freshness, there’s an earthy, mushroomy note to the honeyed fruit and toast flavors.”
The five wines were the first set of wines from The Landing to be considered for review by Wine Enthusiast. Five of The Landing’s red wines – including the estate’s signature Syrah – have also been submitted for review in the future.
The New Zealand wine reviews were led by Christina Pickard, who specializes in wines from Australia, New Zealand, England and New York. As a presenter and educator, Christina was the co-host of one of wine's first podcasts, The Crush, regularly presented on television and live in the U.K. and was the founder of the School of Wine in Western Australia. Earlier this year, she hosted a Chardonnay Masterclass in New Zealand, where she spoke on the changes in the United States Chardonnay market and changing popularity of styles.
For further information, images or interviews, please contact:
New Zealand: Peter Jones, Director, The Landing Wine Company, peter.jones@thelandingnz.com
United States: Adam Cooper, Managing Director, Cooper Import - The Landing Wines USA, adam.cooper@cooper.company