Pegasus Bay

Hand harvested bunches of grapes with at least 30% noble botrytis were fermented slowly at cool temperatures in stainless steel to retain the bold, richly deep fruit characters and varietal purity of late harvest Riesling. Aromas span the range of limes, mandarins, peaches, cantaloupe melons and comb honey, with a hint of root ginger. While mouth filling and concentrated, it has a lively core of crisp acidity and minerality that provides a perfect foil to its lusciousness and draws out the lingering aftertaste. With careful cellaring this wine should develop extra complexity and depth over the next decade and live well beyond.

Dry, full bodied, iconoclastic Riesling from New Zealand's king of spatlese styles, Mat Donaldson and his winemaking team at Pegasus Bay Winery, which is New Zealand's greatest Riesling producer. 

This wine, Bel Canto, is the queen of the winery's Riesling range. It is bone dry with 5 grams per litre of residual sugar due to high brix (grape sugars) at harvest time and a small percentage of noble rot (also known as botrytis). It drinks well now and can age for the long term; up to and beyond 10 years. 

Extended hang time on the vines has resulted in the intensely ripe, tropical fruit flavours in the grapes which were picked to retain refreshing, high but balanced acidity. The free run juice was fermented slowly at cool temperatures to retain fruit characters and varietal purity. Alcoholic fermentation was left to continue until residual sugar of 5 g/l was achieved. Retention of a little of natural carbon dioxide gives spritz character to add liveliness and accentuate freshness.

One of the South Island's most powerful, full bodied, dry and rewardingly complex Chardonnays. The talented Pegasus Bay winemaking team produce this exceptional wine with its flavours of ripe citrus, honeydew melon and stone fruit (peach and nectarine). Notes of flintyness add complexity and a long finish. There are also some underlying savoury notes (toast and brioche) as a result of the secondary fermentation and lees contact in the barrel. The palate is concentrated, however, the earlier picking has resulted in a wine that remains elegant and focussed, with refreshing acidity and a lingering finish.

Made from riesling hand-picked from the same vines multiple times in late autumn, choosing only the most beautifully noble botrytic fruit on each occasion. Further hand selection was done in the winery retaining only the best berries. These were gently pressed and a small amount of very rich juice at 45 brix was obtained. It was allowed to settle and the clarified portion was then fermented over many months at low temperatures in order to help retain its special aromas and flavours. The juice was so concentrated that when the fermentation stopped it still had a rich, natural sweetness. It was made in the style of an Alsatian Selection de Grains Nobles or a German Trockenbeerenausl?sen.

The wine is a bright lemon-gold colour. The abundant aromas and flavours evoke impressions of ripe cantaloupe melon, mango, pineapple, lychees, and manuka honey. On the palate, the wine is rich and unctuous. Underneath this, however, there is a streak of minerality and fine acidity that keep it fresh, lively and refined, drawing out its lingering after flavours.

Source - Pegasus Bay

Succulent blend of two great white grapes originally from Bordeaux in south west France and now put to deliciously intense use in this sweet, raisony and super concentrated luscious white wine. Botrytis plays a strong role in this delicious wine with its lingering flavours and deep, full body. 

One of New Zealand's best Gewurztraminers - rich full bodied, medium sweet style nicely balanced by refreshing high acidity due to the cool climate of the South Island. 

Its aromas are of ripe mandarin, rose and Turkish Delight with notes of fresh ginger that complement the richness of this great white from Mat Donaldson and his talented winemaking team at Pegasus Bay Winery in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. 

Pegasus Bay has an excitingly diverse, if sometimes surprising, array of different grapes growing in its vineyards in the Waipara Valley, the heart of North Canterbury, many of which were planted to see what would fit. And thanks to the long dry autumn growing season, quite a number of different grapes can ripen fully here. This enables varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and even Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen and produce wines such as this full bodied, juicy, age worthy red. If climate change continues, who knows what we will see coming from this stellar, family owned wine producer.

This wine drinks well now and can age and improve for the next five to seven years. 

Full bodied, dry, dark and delicious, this is one of the most structured Pinot Noirs we have in store here at Regional and if you like Pinots that can last the distance, get in quick because it has a big fan club.. The wine is made entirely from hand picked, estate grown grapes, many grown on their own roots (ungrafted) and all benefiting from a dry, windy region where soils are arid and the result is relatively thick skinned berries when it comes to Pinot Noir. The wine is made by a talented team, headed up by Mat Donaldson, whose family are among the earliest pioneers of modern winemaking in North Canterbury and they have deservedly built up a massive following for their outstanding wines, both red and white.

This Pinot is a keeper. Big, bold, dry and elegant right now, it will also age and evolve positively for up to and beyond a decade in a good wine cellar.

Prima Donna is the top Pinot Noir and best red from Pegasus Bay Winery, made from a blend of barrels tasted by the winemaking team and chosen for their quality and superior style. It is produced by Mat Donaldson and his winemaking team, who aim to create the most complex and balanced Pinot Noir possible in this wine, which is part of Pegasus Bay?s reserve series wines. 

Traditional Burgundian winemaking sees the inclusion of approximately one third of the grapes in this blend fermented as whole bunches. The maturation is in French oak, approximately 45% new, for 18 months, using oak barriques from selected artisan Burgundian coopers.

This wine drinks well now and can also age superbly for 10 years and further, in cool cellar conditions.

* Prima Donna Pinot Noir is produced only in vintages regarded as exceptional quality. 

Mat Donaldson and his talented winemaking team create this fabulous Riesling, which is modelled on the best full bodied wines from both Germany and Austria. It is made from grapes given a long hang time on the vines and is, consistently, one of New Zealand's greatest white wines every year, thanks to winemaker Mat Donaldson and his talented team of Riesling devotees at Pegasus Bay Winery in the Waipara Valley, North Canterbury. It is succulent, medium dry, concentrated and rich in taste with a honeyed texture and and notes of lemongrass, lemon zest and ripe mandarins leading into a full bodied, weighty, off dry white with high but balanced acidity providing a long finish.

* This wine may form a natural sediment over time due to the winery's minimal handling philosophy. It has been cold stabilised by the winemaking team at Pegasus Bay.

This stunning South Island Sauvignon Semillon blend is a maverick New Zealand take on the classic white Bordeaux blend, offering fresh, bright and delicious aromas of ripe apple, lime, gooseberry and passionfruit. The Sauvignon (70%) brings fruit flavours and excellent acidity while the Semillon (30%) brings fruit weight, richness and age ability, due to its pronounced acidity. 

Both varieties were aged on their natural deposits of yeast lees for approximately 10 months, prior to blending. This lees contact brings creaminess and body. Once bottled, the wine was left to age for another year before release, allowing the varietal characters to integrate further.

This wine drinks deliciously well now, preferably served in a large glass, but it has a long history of great age ability too and is a good wine for the cellar.

Pegasus Bay whites have the X factor and this awesome blend of four grapes is no exception. It's made from Semillon and Chardonnay which add toasty, rich, dry and creamy notes to this off beat wine style. Ultra ripe Semillon from 33 year old vines was fermented naturally with its solids to add some funky complexity, and then aged on lees in old oak barrels for 2 ? years. A little Gewurztraminer and Muscat add aromatic interest and appeal. 

The longer than usual period in oak has given this wine a toasty and nutty character, with extra richness on the palate. There are also hints of citrus blossom and some floral notes. Skin contact during the fermentation has added savouriness, however, the wine still has crisp acidity that provides for a lively and refreshing finish. A full bodied and complex wine, not for the faint hearted. Funkier than a night on the town with James Brown!

One of New Zealand's top five Chardonnays, in our view, and consistently outstanding, both on release and for the long haul in a dark, cool cellar. The next vintage of the great Pegasus Bay VIrtuoso Chardonnay is 2020 and the wine will be released during 2024; according to the winemaking team at family owned, Pegasus Bay Winery, they are tasting the wine regularly and will release it "When we feel it is at its optimum".  We look forward to sharing this great wine with you, our customers, when it arrives in. 

And in the meantime, for a powerful full bodied Chardonnay with all the bells and whistles, we await the next vintage of Virtuoso. 

The wine regularly spends 50% in new French oak. It's the top Chardonnay from Pegasus Bay winery in North Canterbury. Flavours span the range from candied citrusy acidity of lemons, ripe orange and a hint of mandarin and white peach. It's a blend of the tastiest barrels of Chardonnay each year and will continue to evolve beautifully for the next five to six years, potentially even longer.