Pegasus Bay Riesling 2019

Pegasus Bay is a family affair; the Donaldsons have been making delicious wine in Waipara since 1970. On release the colour is lemon-straw. The bouquet is a zesty fusion of quince, citrus blossom, lemon meringue and green apple, cloaked in a spicy mineral underlay. In the mouth the experience is also multi-layered, displaying both richness and precision, texture and poise. Charming sweetness is backed by refreshing acidity and a hint of spritzig that creates a vibrant tension, ensuring the wine remains perfectly balanced with a fresh and lively finish. Try with duck liver pâté.

Pegasus Bay Riesling 2018

The Waipara Valley is in the South Island of New Zealand, 30 minutes drive north of Christchurch. To the east Waipara Valley is separated from the ocean (Pegasus Bay) by a range of hills which protect it from the cooling winds of the Pacific. To the west lie the Southern Alps (Main Divide), from whence the region’s hot nor’west winds derive. Its sheltered position, but proximity to the sea, give it warm days, cool nights and a dry autumn, resulting in a very prolonged ripening period. This promotes intense flavour development and optimal ripeness, while retaining good natural acidity. Within the Waipara Valley Pegasus Bay vineyard gets maximum protection from the Pacific’s easterly breezes by being tucked up under the lee of the Teviotdale Range. Heat summation during the day is promoted by smooth stones and gravels left behind by an ice age glacier. The soil is free draining and of low fertility, resulting in naturally reduced vine vigour. This produces low yields of optimally ripened, high quality, flavourful grapes, which fully express the qualities of this unique setting. The outcrop of land on which these grapes were grown consists largely of weathered stones and mineral rich gravels. These were shorn off New Zealand’s Southern Alps by an ice-age glacier, which carried them down the valleys and deposited them in selected sites. The vineyard has warm days, but the nights are amongst the coolest in the Waipara Valley, which helps draw out the ripening period and retain good natural acidity. This individual terroir is especially suited to riesling.

An unusually large vineyard staff allows operations such as shoot thinning, crop thinning, bunch exposure and fruit selection to be carried out meticulously.

With its large diurnal range and long lingering autumns, North Canterbury is an ideal playground for riesling, making it possible to create concentrated wines that still possess favourable acidity and finesse. Our house style involves giving the grapes an extended “hang time” and picking (when possible) with a portion of noble botrytis, to enable our site to express itself harmoniously through this variety. Due to this summer being one of the hottest on record however, the grapes achieved physiological ripeness a little earlier than usual and were picked in late March. Following harvest, the free run juice was fermented slowly at cool temperatures to help the wine express the unique characters of our region. At all stages, the wine was handled very carefully to help retain a little of its natural carbon dioxide. This has resulted in a small amount of spritzig, which adds extra liveliness to the wine.