Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir Red Wine 2019 New Zealand 75cl

Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir is an expressive and complex red wine from Waipara Valley in North Canterbury. The vineyard experiences warm days and cool nights, enabling good flavour ripeness whilst retaining acidity. The soils are poor, reducing vine vigour and resulting in naturally concentrated grapes. The winemaking techniques are artisanal and a nod to Burgundy. 40% of the grapes are fermented as whole bunches, and the destemmed fruit is handled gently to preserve as many whole berries as possible. A cold soak before fermentation aided extraction of supple tannins, before fermentation with natural yeasts. Punch downs were lightly used, twice daily during fermentation, and a post-fermentation soak was used to extract more complexity and texture from the skins. When ready, the wine was transferred to 40% new oak barriques from Burgundy coopers. Malolactic conversion occurred naturally during the warmer summer months, and the wine remained in barriques for 15 months in total, before bottling. The quality of the fruit and the patient winemaking is evident in the superlative quality and character of the finished product.

The Donaldson family have remained owners of Pegasus Bay since its inception in 1986. Founder Ivan Donaldson actually planted the first vineyards in the region, 10 years prior. All four of his and Christine's sons are now involved in the family business. The hard work is done in the vineyard, as with most great wines, and the work in the cellar is aimed at keeping handling and interference to a minimum.