Pegasus Bay is a family-owned and run business within the Waipara Valley, led by patriarch and Neuroscientist Ivan Donaldson. Free draining and low fertility soils produce low yields of high quality, flavourful grapes, which fully express the qualities of Pegasus Bay’s unique setting. The range of wines is led by diverse and ageworthy styles of Pinot Noir and Riesling, with highly expressive Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon blends complementing the portfolio.
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2019
Pungent, intense, heady bouquet. Distinctive and complex with lime, orange rind, and marmalade characters with hints of beeswax and lavender. A rich, weighty, powerful wine with excellent flavour and concentration, balanced by fresh acidity. Impressive.
Rating: 96 Points
Source: New Zealand Wine Rater, Stephen Bennett MW, Lynnette Hudson
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2019
Richly ripe and gorgeously fragrant, showing golden peach, orange peel, honey and mixed spice characters with seductive savoury nuances. It's opulent yet focused and refined with silky texture backed by vibrant acidity, finishing immensely long and delicious.
Rating: 95 Points
Sam Kim – Wine Writer, NZ, www.wineorbit.co.nz, March 2021
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2019
Aromas of beeswax and grapefruit marmalade. Slightly spritzig. Lots of citrus fruit – grapefruit ands lime. Plus, peach and nectarine, with a hint of muscatel raisins and a lengthy dry finish. Yum.
Source: Phil Parker, Ponsonby News, NZ, March 2021
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2019
Made from late-harvested grapes with a good portion affected by botrytis. A small amount of carbon-dioxide was captured in the bottle to promote freshness. The result is a very palatable off-dry riesling, with lively flavours that include peach, honey, apricot and wildflowers.
Rating: 93 points
Source: Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2019
… late-harvested with 'a good portion of noble botrytis', 2019 vintage is bright, light yellow/green, with a gently honeyed bouquet. Still youthful, it is mouthfilling, with intense, ripe, grapefruit-like flavours, a hint of marmalade, and a crisp, dryish, lasting finish.
Rating: 5 stars
Source: Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide 2021
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2019
A clean and juicy fruit expression on the nose, much less botrytis-influenced than usual. Sweet lemon and floral, apple aromas with clover honey and very subtle musk. The bouquet of fruit is counterbalanced by a sweet herbal note, like
camomile or basil, with the promise of mouthwatering acidity punching through. On the palate, the palate enters with a sliver of sweetness which quickly tapers down to a pithy, phenolic dry finish. Powerful, rather than racy - there is a broadness to the mid-palate expression and the appetising bitterness in the phenolics shifts the structural focus away from fruit/sugar towards the interplay between the phenolics and the acidity. Fruit quickly gives way to a grippy,
unfurling stony complexity. This is serious Riesling - it does one thing and it does it
extremely well - tense, coiled power in the manner of the impressive German trockens.
Rating: 17+/20
Source: Stephen Wong MW, Wine Sentience, NZ
