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 2020
Impressively complex and engaging with golden apple, toasted spice, orange peel and potpourri aromas, it's powerful yet graceful with excellent weight and persistency. Richly textured and mouthfilling, it's brilliantly structured by firm acidity, finishing superbly long and flavoursome.
Rating: 96 Points
Source: Sam Kim – Wine Writer, NZ, Wine Orbit, www.wineorbit.co.nz

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
A huge, distinctive, aromatically prodigious, wine that leaps from the glass with aromas of orange blossom, marmalade, apricot, ginger and Manuka honey. The palate is in juxtaposition to the bouquet, where one might expect a lush, soft wine it is in fact, dry, serious and full-flavoured with powerful, challenging phenolics that push the boundaries. This is an engaging, expressive wine that stands out from the crowd. Rating: 96 Points
Source: Stephen Bennett MW & Lynnette Hudson, NZ Wine Rater

Pegasus Bay BEL CANTO Dry Riesling 2020
The top dry Riesling of the Donaldson family, made in a style that is meant to emulate a Smaragd Riesling from Austria's Wachau, with its proportion of botrytised grapes fermented to dryness. An immediate flinty note pops up, its smokiness leaching into molten candle wax and bright, ripe citrus: grapefruit lends tanginess while tangerine adds brighter notes. With more air, hints of ripe quince come through. The dry palate takes all these elements but adds a pleasantly bitter, textured, pithy edge reminiscent of apple pip and peach skin. The concentration is immense; there is fluidity, waxy citrus richness and flow, and the finish is dry with a lasting sense of that lovely pithiness. Unusually, 10% of the 2020 vintage was matured in 500-litre used puncheons.
Rating: 94 Points
Source: Anne Krebiehl MW www.decanter.com

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
Picked late with a good portion of botrytis and fermented to dryness. The result is a ripe, complex riesling with ginger, cinnamon, anise, mandarin zest and bush honey flavours.
Rating: 93 Points
Source: Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review

Pegasus Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
Pegasus Bay’s winemaking family, the Donaldsons, have already reserved the word “maestro” for one of their great red wines (which more than lives up to the moniker) but if only it could also be used for Bel Canto – the greatest Riesling aromatic wine they make each year. This is one of the top wines in New Zealand with its exquisite balance of intense orange and mandarin and beautiful structured acidity adding succulence to the enormous concentration of flavour.
Rating: 19.5/20
Source: Joelle Thomson , Drinksbiz

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
Bright, pale yellow with a gold hue and some depth, even colour throughout. The nose is full and complex, filled the glass with aromas of lilies, beeswax, honey, unfolding mandarin, grapefruit zest, melon, along with ginger spice. Full-bodied, dry to taste, intense aromas packed on the palate. Mandarin, lemon, grapefruit zest melded with plush melon, unfolding beeswax, honey, white lilies and a spicy layer of ginger dusting. The fruit is rich and concentrated, enriched by the complexing characters of botrytised grape, showing profound nuances of beeswax, honey and white lilies. The ginger spice layer has clarity, elevated by integrated, mouthwatering acidity. A slightly unctuous mouthfeel retains complex flavours and contributes to an opulent appeal. This complex flavour bomb made from Riesling with a portion of botrytis infected grapes shows a sophisticated range of flavours with depth and intensity.
Rating: 19+/20
Source: Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
Pegasus Bay’s winemaking family, the Donaldsons, have already reserved the word “maestro” for one of their great red wines (which more than lives up to the moniker) but if only it could also be used for Bel Canto – the greatest Riesling aromatic wine they make each year. This is one of the top wines in New Zealand with its exquisite balance of intense orange and mandarin and beautiful structured acidity adding succulence to the enormous concentration of flavour.
Rating: 19.5/20
Source: Joelle Thomson, Drinksbiz

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
Beguiling and powerful nose, matchstick, musk, dry honey, orange zest. Weight and depth to this, with a touch of spritz. The palate builds on the nose, adding orange and apricot kernel, while a touch of corruption adds interest and intrigue. A floral, sweetly fruited aspect runs through this, delightful texture too. Fascinatingly complex and long. Serious stuff.
Rating: Outstanding Source: Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times, NZ, www.odt.co.nz

Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020
Ivan Donaldson planted the first Canterbury vineyard in 1976 before going on to start Pegasus Bay with his wife Christine a decade afterwards. Thirty-seven years later the family business is still at the top of the New Zealand wine tree, with this Riesling, sourced from a single vineyard in Waipara, one of the best in the country. “Rich, mineral, slight petillance, dried fruits, apricots, honey: a complex, full rich style – a food wine with a touch of marmalade and a long, long finish,” said the judges.
Source: NZ - TOP 50 WINES The Wine Merchant Magazine UK 2023

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