Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 6pk 2019
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 Chardonnay 2019
There’s no mistaking the power and intensity of this wine, before I even begin to take in the aromas - the scents of oak spice, lees and toasted yellowstone fruit invade the senses. Roasted cashew nut and baking spices, peach and nectarine, roasted apple and grapefruit peel. There’s also a baked custard and hard clay earthy quality. Bold and proud bouquet overall. Full-bodied, oaky and fruity with flavours that mirror the bouquet from stone fruits to citrus, barrel to earth. Youthful with some fruit and wood tannins, a decent acid line and persistent lengthy finish.
Rating: 95 Points
Source: Cameron Douglas MS
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019
Poor flowering followed by near-perfect weather resulted in a small crop of intensely flavoured grapes in perfect condition. From ungrafted 30-year-old-plus vines and a very favourable vintage, it’s a smooth-textured chardonnay with white peach, lemon curd, grapefruit and spicy oak flavours. Appealing purity and power. A sophisticated and complex wine.
Rating: 95 Points
Source: Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019
Superbly complex and inviting with ripe stone fruit, grapefruit, gun smoke and roasted hazelnut aromas, it's powerful and richly expressed on the palate offering outstanding depth and textured mouthfeel. Great presence with a prolonged gratifying finish. Rating: 95 Points
Source: Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, www.wineorbit.co.nz
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019
Gunflint, bonfire embers, preserved lemon, moving to tropical fruits, baking spices & warm bread. Incredible shaft of acidity running through this giving drive and vividness. There’s a sense of fineness and reserve to this yet no mistaking the underlying power. Great structure with flecks of grapefruit on the long, beguiling close.
Rating: Excellent to Outstanding
Source: Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times, NZ, www.odt.co.nz
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019
This is one of the South Island’s most powerful, full-bodied, dry and rewardingly complex Chardonnays with its flavours of ripe citrus, honeydew, melon and peach. Flinty notes add complexity, which comes from both cool climate high acidity and lees contact from ageing in the barrel. The flavours are elegant and focused with a lingering finish.
Rating: 19/20
Source: Joelle Thomson, Drinksbiz
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019
Strapping yet delicate, richly flavoured yet subtle, this sophisticated North Canterbury wine is one of the country's best Chardonnays grown south of Marlborough. Muscular and taut, it typically offers a seamless array of fresh, crisp, citrusy, biscuity, complex flavours and great concentration and length. Estate-grown at Waipara, it is based on ungrafted, Mendoza-clone vines (over 30 years old), hand-picked and given lengthy oak aging (the 2019 vintage was fermented and lees-aged for a year in French oak puncheons, 30 per cent new). The 2019 vintage is bright, light yellow/green, with a very fragrant, complex bouquet. Mouthfilling, it is concentrated, with vibrant, peachy, mealy flavours, oak complexity, fresh acidity and the structure to mature well. Full of personality.
Rating: 5 Stars
Source: Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide, www.michaelcooperwines.com
Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2019
Who needs the Commonwealth Games when you’ve already got a glass full of gold right here? An absolute Southern icon chardonnay, this wine roars with smoked apricot and juicy nectarine niceness while the palate is generously layered with stonefruit and grapefruit intensity. It’s beautifully balanced, and boasts slightly charred oak and waves of gumtingling textures that last and last. It’s outstanding. Simple as that.
Rating: 5 Stars
Source: Yvonne Lorkin, www.yvonnelorkin.com NZ
