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.

Maestro is made in the warmest vintages only in North Canterbury. It is a dense, dark, dry, full bodied blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a smidgeon of Malbec in for good measure.

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.

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.

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.