Pegasus Bay Riesling Bel Canto 2019
"...this vintage (5*) is a very powerful, weighty wine, with concentrated, peachy flavours, hints of oranges and honey, good delicacy and a dry, lasting finish." Michael Cooper
| Winemaker | Matthew Donaldson |
|---|---|
| Organic | No |
| SKU | 300161 |
| ABV | 13.50% |
Pegasus Bay's Bel Canto Riesling is a premium single varietal from New Zealand's Waipara Valley, where warm days and cool nights yield perfectly ripe, rich fruit while retaining a wonderful knife-edge acidity.
Bel Canto means "Beautiful Singing" in Italian, and the wine is based on hand-selected grapes from the estates mature, ungrafted vines at Waipara, in North Canterbury, which are late-harvested with a good portion of noble botrytis.
Pegasus Bay is a family-run winery, one of Canterburys top estates and rated in New Zealands Top 5 producers by Robert Parker. The Donaldson family have been seriously involved in wine since the early 1970s and were pioneers of local grape growing and wine making.
Pegasus Bay is an accredited member of the NZWG sustainable viticulture program and are firm believers of using natural methods to combat pests and diseases rather than the application of unnecessary pesticides and herbicides.
Stephen Bennett 96. 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.
Ronan Sayburn. One of the best Rieslings to be had outside Europe is the ‘Bel Canto’ Riesling produced by Pegasus Bay in Canterbury; it’s made in a similar way to Smaragd wines, the best wines of Austria’s Wachau region. It takes on texture and richness as the grapes are allowed to develop certain amount of botrytis rot before harvesting.
Tantalising array of aromas: nectarine, peach, apricot, and citrus fruits, mandarin, orange, and lime, with a floral element, giving hints of honeysuckle and orange blossom. Big and powerful in the mouth with spice, lingering mango and crushed ginger, zingy minerality, and crisp acidity.