Nevis Bluff Wines is a Central Otago label made by Dean Shaw of The Central Otago Wine Company (COWCo) in Cromwell. The name references the Nevis Bluff landmark in the Kawarau Gorge. Central Otago's semi-continental climate, with warm days, cold nights and a marked diurnal swing, produces intensely coloured, richly perfumed Pinot Noir, while free-draining schist and loess soils restrict vigour and concentrate flavour. Shaw draws on his long experience in the district, having first worked in Central Otago in the mid-1990s, to select and manage the fruit. The 2024 growing season delivered ripe, structured Pinot fruit, and this single-vineyard wine reflects the perfumed, dark-fruited character for which the region is known.

The fruit was vinified to capture Central Otago's depth and perfume, with fermentation and time on skins to draw colour and fine tannin, then maturation in French oak to add spice and integrate structure. The wine is gorgeously styled, showing dark plum, floral notes, thyme, smoked game and hazelnut on the nose, and is richly weighted yet refined, with velvety texture and fine-grained tannins carrying a long, satisfying finish. It was rated 98 points and awarded a Double Gold at the 2025 New Zealand International Wine Show, and is drinking well now with cellaring potential to around 2034. Precise whole-bunch and new-oak proportions for this release are not published.