PEGASUS BAY MERLOT / CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2023

Pegasus Bay Merlot Cabernet is a wine that is an exception and exceptionally good! It is a wine that defies its cool climate origins and delivers rich, deep, earthy, dark fruited flavours on a strong grounded palate. We absolutely love it!

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Inky purple in colour, the bouquet is richly fruited and fragrant, resembling dark forest berries, melded with wood spice, cinnamon, cigar smoke and dried herbs. The palate is superbly weighted, with a seductive silky texture, and layers of polished tannins. Mouth-filling, it offers succulent fruit intensity, while retaining poise and a delicious sense of brightness. Our 2023 Merlot Cabernet is commanding in structure, incorporating richness, tension and a savoury, moreish finish.

This wine is made in the same style as the celebrated Claret from Bordeaux, using traditional methods. After being picked over several weeks in April, the grapes began fermentation naturally in stainless steel tanks. During this process the juice was regularly pumped 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. 20% new). The following summer, when the weather warmed, it underwent a natural malo-lactic (secondary) fermentation. After maturing in oak for 18 months, the various batches were then carefully blended in varying portions to produce the most complex and balanced wine possible. The finished product is predominately Merlot, with the remainder comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and a small amount of Cabernet Franc."

Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, October 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"Great colour intensity with youthful hues at the rime lead to a bouquet of dark berries and lots of Doris plum ideas – fresh and baked. Dense, rich and weighty bouquet overall enhanced with scents of sweet tobacco and barrel spices, wood smoke and earth smoke suggesting dark clays and stone. Excellent weight and style, firmness of youthful with some big tannins to tame and acidity to carry the intensity, fruit and freshness. A delightful wine to consider and decide alongside high protein foods. Length and well made with best drinking from 2028 through 2036+."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, September 2025 (2023 Vintage)
"This is splendidly fruited with enticing complexity, showing blackcurrant, dark plum, bouquet garni, game, and assorted nut aromas. It's wonderfully weighted and plump in the mouth, displaying fleshy texture backed by chalky tannins, making it sturdy and robust with a persistent, satisfying finish. At its best: now to 2033. "