Pegasus Bay Whole Bunch Fermented Waipara Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Pegasus Bay Whole Bunch Fermented Waipara Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2021Dry style Grilled stonefruit Smoke flint Full bodied "Pale, green tinged Sauvignon with a mix of tropical fruit, citrus and savoury oyster shell flavours. The wine opened up as it sat in the glass and deserves to be aerated to get the best out of it. It's a complex and sophisticated wine that's in a class of its own" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jul 2023 "Enticing and engaging, the beautifully lifted bouquet shows grilled stone fruit,

• Dry style
• Grilled stonefruit
• Smoke flint
• Full-bodied

"Pale, green-tinged Sauvignon with a mix of tropical fruit, citrus and savoury oyster shell flavours. The wine opened up as it sat in the glass and deserves to be aerated to get the best out of it. It's a complex and sophisticated wine that's in a class of its own" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jul 2023

"Enticing and engaging, the beautifully lifted bouquet shows grilled stone fruit, grapefruit, golden apple, dried herb and savoury pastry aromas, leading to a wonderfully weighted palate displaying richly textured mouthfeel backed by beautifully pitched acidity. Wonderfully flavoursome and complex. The wine was whole bunch fermented" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Dec 2023

"Bright, even, pale yellow. The nose is vibrant and lifted with citrus, green apple, apple blossom, melon, tomato vine and a hint of smoke flint aromas. Full-bodied, grapefruit, apple and apple blossom aromas melded with tomato vine, gunflint and melon. The mouthfeel is silky and oily in texture, entwined with integrated vibrant yet soft acidity, unfolding herbaceous nuances and delicate spice, and a sustained finish. This Sauvignon Blanc has a seriousness, structure and fine texture" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Aug 2023

"A pungent and fruity bouquet with scents of cape gooseberry and apple, tropical flowers with fresh green herb statements. there’s some mineral and nettles then a layer of exotic fruits, lemon skin and white spice. On the palate a crisp, dry and vibrant texture with acidity carrying flavours of citrus and herbs, some tropical fruit moments and phenolic textures. Well made, ideal for aperitif pour and with fresh oysters or mussels. Best drinking from late 2024 through 2029" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2023

"Guavas, gooseberries, kiwi fruit and boxwood aromas. Sea shells, too. Medium to full body, with an oily texture. Excellent density and persistency with a distinct herbal undertone" James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com, Oct 2022

"The 2021 Sauvignon Blanc has an inclusion of Semillon, and the fruit is picked a little later than the Main Divide Sauvignon Blanc. This is rich and complex on the nose, with white pineapple, a hint of jalapeño, sweet pea, kiwi fruit, white pepper, tatami mat and orange peel. It is mineral and graphite and good. A portion of this wine was left on skins for a significant period of time. I tasted some of these portions from barrel while I was at the winery, and they are thrilling ... a shame to mix it in with clean stainless, perhaps! Some solids are in the wild ferment, and it's left on lees in older oak. It's "a little bit funky" Erin Larkin, Robertparker.com, Dec 2023

Upon release it has a subtle lemon hue. The bouquet is vibrant, an intoxicating assortment of tropical and citrus. Heady aromas of passionfruit and pineapple flirt temptingly against a backdrop of grapefruit, green apple, lemon peel and a hint of gunflint. The mouthfeel is textured yet precise, with a rousing whip of acidity and simmering phenolics that give the wine increased structure and length. A complex and serious Sauvignon Blanc, displaying intense varietal character, a multi- faceted palate, and a long salivating finish.

The vineyard is located within the Waipara Valley of North Canterbury, on free draining, north facing terraces. 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 35 years old, with a large proportion planted on their own roots. They are located on the “Glasnevin Gravels” where greywacke stones, silt and loam have been washed down from the mountains over the millennia. The soil is 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.

Cold weather during bud burst resulted in lower crop levels, hence no further fruit thinning was carried out. The subsequent warm dry summer served up perfectly ripened small berries full of intense flavour and concentration. Favourable conditions continued into autumn, allowing the grapes to be picked at their optimum ripeness.

The grapes were picked in separate batches during the first half of April, the aim being to produce a spectrum of ripe yet zesty aromas and flavours in the finished wine. After gentle pressing of the berries, the free run juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks at a cool temperature, to help the wine express its varietal purity. A selection of the fruit was fermented using whole bunch, and then matured on skins for 200 days, to give added complexity. A small portion of barrel aged Semillon has also been included in the finished wine, for extra richness and texture. Both varieties were aged on their natural deposits of yeast lees (sur lie) for approximately 10 months, prior to blending.