PEGASUS BAY MAESTRO MERLOT / MALBEC / CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2020

Only made in exceptional years, the Maestro is a highly sort after wine that sells out quickly on every release. It is a wine of depth and character with layers of flavours and will rank as one of Pegasus Bay's great Maestro releases.

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"It has an alluring deep purple tone. The nose is a volley of dark, earthy, and savoury notes, meshed on a lavish and complex canvas. Black forest fruit, mushroom, aged soy, and smoked game, bolstered with hints of liquorice, mixed spice, eucalyptus, and a whisp of tree moss. The palate is rugged and coiled, showcasing bold tannins and exhilarating acidity that converge to create a formidable backbone. Decadent fruit weight and impressive concentration play the perfect support role, giving balance and harmony, ensuring the wine remains expansive and richly textured throughout its sustained and lasting finish.

Settled weather over flowering provided a healthy fruit set, which was then thinned back to desired levels. The ensuing summer was dry with very little rain, resulting in perfectly ripened small berries full of intense flavour and concentration. Thankfully, our harvest was able to proceed during the C-19 lockdown, and an unbroken autumn full of warm days meant the fruit was picked at its optimum ripeness.

Maestro is part of our reserve series and represents the very best of our Bordeaux fruit. As with all our reserves, this celebrated claret style wine is only made in exceptional years. After being picked in mid-April, the grapes began fermentation naturally in stainless steel tanks. During this process the juice was regularly drained and sprayed back over the cap of floating grape skins (rather than plunging), to ensure a perfect tannin balance was extracted from the fruit. The wine was then gently pressed off and put into French oak barriques (approx. 50% new). The following summer, when the weather warmed, it underwent a natural malo-lactic (secondary) fermentation. After maturing in oak for 2 years, a selection from the best barrels was carefully blended to produce the most balanced yet complex wine possible. The finished product is a blend of approximately 45% Merlot, 40% Malbec, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, December 2024 (2020 Vintage)
"Fabulous bouquet and palate with texture and weight, complexity and style, there’s a classic Peg-Bay signature of soil and barrel spice inputs and impacts. Dark berries and bitter chocolate, blackcurrant and smoky wood spices. Dry, weighty and lengthy with complexity and charm, length and youth. Poised for ageing still with best drinking from 2028 through 2038+."

5 Stars & 95/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, December 2024 (2020 Vintage)
"Complex and engaging, the wine shows dark fruit richness, smoked game, bouquet garni, mixed spice, and cedar characters on the nose. The palate is equally satisfying with excellent concentration and expansive mouthfeel, superbly structured by seamlessly integrated tannins. Opulent with grace and harmony, finishing impressively long and refined. At its best: now to 2035."