Description

This year, Pyramid Valley and its sister estate Smith & Sheth did something few producers would dare. They put their Chardonnays, served blind, against the greatest names in white burgundy, including Leflaive, Raveneau and Comtes Lafon, with some bottles costing up to 28 times more. Thirteen Masters of Wine and four Master Sommeliers tasted in Christchurch, London and Burgundy itself, and New Zealand took the top spot in three of the four flights.

The man behind the challenge is Steve Smith, one of New Zealand's few Masters of Wine. It isn't his first time taking on France: having founded Craggy Range, he pitted Hawke's Bay reds against Bordeaux's first growths in 2009. Few people have done more to prove New Zealand is far more than Sauvignon Blanc.

Pyramid Valley was planted in 2000 by Mike and Claudia Weersing, who spent 15 years searching the world for the right site before settling on the limestone and clay slopes of Waikari in North Canterbury. Farmed biodynamically, it became one of New Zealand's most admired estates, and in 2017 Steve bought it with Brian Sheth.

Now Steve joins us to pour six wines, opening with two contestants from that Burgundy vs New Zealand challenge. The first, Low Burn Estate Chardonnay 2024, topped its flight ahead of grand cru Chablis from Louis Jadot and Domaine William Fèvre, a flight in which even Jancis Robinson MW couldn't identify a single wine's origin. Our second pour, Kererū Road Chardonnay 2024, faced village Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault in the opening flight.

The rest of the evening goes beyond Chardonnay, with Orange 2023 and three Pinot Noirs: Snakes Tongue 2024, Low Burn Estate 2024 and the Pyramid Valley 2021, showing how these wines evolve in bottle. With both a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir from Low Burn, we will explore one Central Otago site through two grapes. Expect sharp insight into site, farming and what separates great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from goo

Date: Wednesday 4th of November
Sessions: Choose between 6:30pm to 7:15pm and 7:30pm to 8:15pm
Venue: Highbury Vintners, N5 1UA
Tickets: £10 per person, exclusive 15% on a mix of three wines on show.