Our ambitious benchmarking idea – Opposites Attract – has put our Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth Chardonnay to the ultimate test, tasted blind against some of Burgundy’s finest wines across three tastings in Christchurch, London and Burgundy. The results make a compelling case for our wines to have a place at the world’s fine wine table.

The Opposites Attract idea comes from some simple truths. Burgundy is home to the world’s greatest wines made from the chardonnay grape. At almost the exact antipode of Burgundy sit the chardonnay vineyards of New Zealand. This famous white grape grows no further away from its spiritual homeland than in New Zealand. To make the story even more interesting, sitting within New Zealand we have chardonnay vines growing on rare soils that are geologically similar to the mid-slopes of the Côte d’Or, where the greatest chardonnay wines are made. In our sunny, maritime and at times cool climate, some have made analogies that wine from these vineyards show a close similarity to the white wines of Burgundy. Opposites Attract.

So, we decided to test the idea.

In our view the only way to work out whether you truly measure up alongside the best is to judge and test yourself directly and without bias against the very best. The judgement needs to be repeatable, valid, independent and made by the most respected people. Over the last two months we have done just that with the wines that best represent our natural selves, our vineyards. Our tūrangawaewae.

Our suite of 2024 chardonnays from Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth were tasted blind and without bias alongside some of the finest and most highly acclaimed white wines from the 2023 vintage in Burgundy. In each flight, the white Burgundies were between two and nine times more expensive than the Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth wines. We put ourselves up against the A-team!

The comparative tastings were repeated in Christchurch, London and Burgundy over nine weeks from 20 July to 14 September 2026. The wines were assessed by 43 people that represent some of the finest palates in the world from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, USA, Denmark and Spain. There were 13 Masters of Wine, four Master Sommeliers, and buyers from some of Australasia’s and Europe’s most respected fine wine merchants.

Our series of comparative tastings has shown that chardonnay from the antipode of Burgundy deserves a place at today’s fine wine table. Across flights containing wines at village, premier cru, and grand cru classification, the wines of Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth were judged equal to – and, in many cases, superior to – their considerably more expensive Burgundian counterparts.

When scores across all three tastings were combined, the Smith & Sheth chardonnays topped two of the four flights. In a third, the “Singularity and Special Occasions” flight, they occupied second, third and fourth places, behind only Guffens-Heynen from the Mâcon. The Smith & Sheth CRU Heretaunga Chardonnay was the highest rated wine in the “Everyday Deliciousness” flight across the combined tastings, ahead of highly acclaimed wines from Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and the Mâcon at up to twice its price. This wine represents exceptional value.

In its debut vintage, the Smith & Sheth Les Graviers topped the “Rare and Definitive” flight, alongside some of the most revered white wines of Burgundy priced at between £350 (NZ$820 / AU$660) and £900 (NZ$2,100 / AU$1,700) per bottle. Across all 24 wines and all three locations combined, Les Graviers achieved the highest overall score of the tastings. A spectacular result.

In the “Cool and Refreshing” flight, Pyramid Valley Low Burn Chardonnay was the clear flight leader in all three tastings – the only wine to do this - with Pyramid Valley North Canterbury Chardonnay second. Together, they outranked three significantly more expensive grand cru Chablis.

Across wines spanning quality classifications from village to premier cru and grand cru, and vineyards from Burgundy to Hawke’s Bay, North Canterbury and Central Otago, the results provide a ringing, independent endorsement of Pyramid Valley and Smith & Sheth’s potential to make fine chardonnay.

In the blind tastings, 58% of tasters identified the Smith & Sheth wines as Burgundy, while 46% identified the Pyramid Valley wines as Burgundy.

These results go a long way to answering the key question of these tastings: Does Chardonnay from the antipode of Burgundy deliver the same drinking experience for lovers of fine white Burgundy? On quality, style and drinking experience, these results very clearly say yes - while also demonstrating incredible value.

I was truly gratified that some of the world’s most respected wine professionals accepted our invitation to these quite ambitious tastings in Christchurch, London and Burgundy. While each will, in time, pen their own individual reviews of these wines, collectively they helped answer a question that we feel new fine wine lovers need to have answered: Does Chardonnay from the antipode of Burgundy deliver the same pleasure and quality as fine white Burgundy?

While we don’t speak for all of New Zealand here, what we have shown is that when you have an almost obsessive focus on vineyard selection, design and viticulture, and then farm and make the wine with great care, hand-in-hand with nature, as we do, the wines may well deserve a place at the table alongside some of Burgundy’s finest white wines. The idea is not either/or. It is simply saying to the new fine wine lovers of the world that their journey with these wines can extend to a place and producer at the geographical opposite of Burgundy. A place that enjoys the vitality and energy of its Pacific Ocean isolation. A place of bright light, big oceans and dramatic mountains. A place away from the intense continental world. A place of beauty and of people who have a powerful relationship with their land. A place where – it seems – fine wine can be created.

Steve Smith MW

Vigneron and Co-owner, on behalf of Brian Sheth and the Aotearoa New Zealand Fine Wine Estates team