Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Waipara Valley Dry Riesling 2020

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Waipara Valley Dry Riesling 2020Dry style Orange zest & melon Ginger & toasted spice Refreshing acidity "Impressively complex and engaging with golden apple, toasted spice, orange peel and potpourri aromas, it's powerful yet graceful with excellent weight and persistency. Richly textured and mouthfilling, it's brilliantly structured by firm acidity, finishing superbly long and flavoursome" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Dec 2021 "Picked late with a good portion of botrytis and fermented to

• Dry style
• Orange zest & melon
• Ginger & toasted spice
• Refreshing acidity

"Impressively complex and engaging with golden apple, toasted spice, orange peel and potpourri aromas, it's powerful yet graceful with excellent weight and persistency. Richly textured and mouthfilling, it's brilliantly structured by firm acidity, finishing superbly long and flavoursome" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Dec 2021

"Picked late with a good portion of botrytis and fermented to dryness. The result is a ripe, complex riesling with ginger, cinnamon, anise, mandarin zest and bush honey flavours" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2021

"Distinctive, floral, aromatic and classic with aromas of lime-flower and blossoms, honeysuckle and a botrytis tickle. A silky texture as the wine touches the palate with immediately contrasting acidity then flavours of lime and lemon, apple and honeysuckle. The botrytis accentuates concentration and honeyed fruit flavours carried by acidity and youthful vigor. A delicious wine, drinkable today and in ten years or more" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Oct 2021

"Grown on the Glasnevin gravels in the lee of the Teviotdale Range, Pegasus Bay’s riesling vines are 30+ yrs old now and each year they strap in to help the Donaldson family create one of New Zealand’s most age-worthy wines. Named after matriarch Christine Donaldson and her superlative singing skills, this wine erupts with orange zest, honeysuckle, layers of lime and quartzy minerality resulting in a dry, lipsmacking finish" Yvonne Lorkin, Oct 2021

"Bright, pale yellow with a gold hue and some depth, even colour throughout. The nose is full and complex, filled the glass with aromas of lilies, beeswax, honey, unfolding mandarin, grapefruit zest, melon, along with ginger spice. Full-bodied, dry to taste, intense aromas packed on the palate. Mandarin, lemon, grapefruit zest melded with plush melon, unfolding beeswax, honey, white lilies and a spicy layer of ginger dusting. The fruit is rich and concentrated, enriched by the complexing characters of botrytised grape, showing profound nuances of beeswax, honey and white lilies. The ginger spice layer has clarity, elevated by integrated, mouthwatering acidity. A slightly unctuous mouthfeel retains complex flavours and contributes to an opulent appeal. This complex flavour bomb made from Riesling with a portion of botrytis infected grapes shows a sophisticated range of flavours with depth and intensity" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Oct 2021

"Beautiful riesling, offering dried apples, peaches and lemons with hints of wax, following through to a full body with layers of fruit and a light salted-caramel edge to the finish. Hints of botrytis spice. Lightly sweet mouth feel" James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com, Oct 2021

"I’ve always thought of Pegasus Bay’s dry Riesling as a concentrated version of orange zest on speed, thanks to its incredible depth of flavour and impressively lingering finish, which lures you in for another sip or three. This new 2020 release is a little drier than in recent years, but the wine is consistently a stellar Riesling with purity, complexity, delicacy and power. It’s a wine for the long haul, but like all Bel Cantos, it’s a stunner right now too" Joelle Thomson, Drinksbiz, Nov 2021

"Beguiling and powerful nose, matchstick, musk, dry honey, orange zest. Weight and depth to this, with a touch of spritz. The palate builds on the nose, adding orange and apricot kernel, while a touch of corruption adds interest and intrigue. A floral, sweetly fruited aspect runs through this, delightful texture too. Fascinatingly complex and long. Serious stuff" Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times, Oct 2021

Upon release it is lemon-straw in colour. An enticing array of aromas swell from the glass, orange zest, quince, and melon, supported by beeswax, blossom, sweet spices and a touch of flint. The palate is full bodied and richly textured, with a pleasing mouthfeel and ripe phenolics that add structure and length. While concentrated, the wine still possesses a fresh and lively tension, it’s refreshing acidity delivering a long harmonious finish.

The vineyard is located within the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, on free draining, north facing terraces. It benefi ts from being in the lee of the Teviotdale Range, giving maximum protection from the Pacifi c’s easterly breezes and thus creating a unique mesoclimate. The vines are over 30 years old, with a large proportion planted on their own roots. They are located on the “Glasnevin Gravels” where greywacke stones, silt and loam have been washed down from the mountains over the millennia. The soil is 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 terroir. The vineyard has warm days, but the nights are amongst the coolest in the Waipara Valley, drawing out the ripening period of the grapes, while still retaining good natural acidity.

Settled weather over flowering provided a healthy fruit set, which was then thinned back to desired levels. The ensuing summer was dry with very little rain, resulting in perfectly ripened small berries full of intense flavour and concentration. Thankfully, our harvest was able to proceed during the C-19 lockdown, and an unbroken autumn full of warm days meant each variety was picked at its optimum ripeness.