Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019

On release it has an appealing lemon hue. The bouquet is sumptuous and compelling, both fruit driven and intriguingly savoury. Aromas of ripe peach, nectarine and green apple are interlaced with toasty notes of roast chestnut, smoky bacon, flint, sandalwood, and a whisp of struck match. The palate is a deluxe showcase of multi-layered richness and precision. Dense and textured, yet fresh and vivid. A gloriously expansive mouthfeel is perfectly balanced by a whip of rousing acidity that shimmies across the midpalate, setting up for an explosive and gratifying finish.

The vineyard is located within the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, on free draining, north facing terraces carved out of New Zealand’s Southern Alps by an ice-age glacier. It benefits from being in the lee of the Teviotdale Range, giving maximum protection from the Pacific’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. 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 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.

We use traditional Burgundian winemaking methods. The fruit was hand-picked in stages during early April and then the whole bunches gently pressed. The non-clarified juice was then put into large French oak barrels (puncheons), 70% of which were old in order to limit pickup of oak flavour. In these it underwent primary fermentation by the grapes indigenous yeasts. The wine was then matured in the puncheons on its natural deposits of yeast lees (sur lie). In the summer after harvest it started to go through spontaneous secondary (malolactic) fermentation. It was regularly tasted during this time and the fermentation was stopped when the ideal balance was obtained. It had approximately 12 months maturation prior to bottling.

18 months