PEGASUS BAY PINOT NOIR 2020

This is not the Pegasus Bay's flagship Pinot Noir, but it sometimes beats its big brother and has been consistently good for many years. A much-lauded style with intensity and an array of plum, berry, oak, toasted nut, mineral and anise spice flavours. There's a delightfully rustic hint to the wine, perhaps from the fine, ripe tannins.

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"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 each variety was picked at its optimum ripeness.

Upon release the wine has a bright ruby hue. The nose is layered and complex, with earthy notes of undergrowth, woodsmoke, truffle and pot pourri juxtaposed against dark cherry, cranberry, crushed lavender, and hints of clove. In the mouth the wine is generously proportioned, polished tannins and a seam of refreshing acidity tap dancing cheekily across on a broad silky palate. Fresh and vibrant yet concentrated, with a structured frame. The finish is spicy, decadent, and sustained, leaving lingering impressions of velvety depth."

Reviews for the 2019 vintage below…

5 Stars & 96/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, August 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Gorgeously styled and seductively complex with dark berry, smoked game, walnut and spicy oak characters with a lovely floral overtone. The concentrated palate offers outstanding power and drive, together with refined mouthfeel and graceful texture, finishing impressively long and expansive. At its best: now to 2034."

5 Stars Michael Cooper (2019 Vintage)
"This is one of North Canterbury's greatest Pinot Noirs, typically very rich in body and flavour. Many of the vines are over 25 years old and the wine is matured for 15 months in French oak barriques (about 40 per cent new). The 2019 vintage is bright ruby, with a fragrant, savoury bouquet. Mouthfilling and supple, it is still youthful, with rich, ripe flavours, nutty and complex, and a very harmonious, finely textured finish. Best drinking 2023+."

5 Stars & 95/100 Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review, July 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Made with 40% whole-bunches. Spent 18 months in French oak barriques (40% new). Complex pinot noir that is a little closed at this stage, although it opened up as it sat in the glass. Dark berry, cassis, violet, mixed spice, new leather and spicy oak flavours supported by firm, ripe tannins."

Rated Excellent & 94/100 Cameron Douglas MS, July 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Ripe, concentrated, varietal and complex bouquet with aromas of boysenberry, plum and dark cherry. Aromas of of new and seasoned barrel with toasty, nut and dark spices combination layering in complexity, shape and form. Youthful, vibrant and promising. On the palate – delicious! with a mirror of the bouquet showcasing fruit then mineral stony layers, firm textures from tannins then acidity. Wood spices with fine through firm tannins building power and length. A wine for the cellar till late 2023 then drink though 2030."

5 Stars & 19/20 (95) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, July 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Bright, ruby-red, slightly lighter edged. The nose is elegantly full, complex range of aromas filled the glass, thyme, lavender melded with black cherries, blackberries, followed by a lifting of black pepper and subtle earthiness. Medium-full bodied, elegantly presented aromas of blackberries, black cherries, almost plummy fruit interweave black pepper, lavender and thyme. The palate is rounded and smooth; silky-fine tannin provides a light grip and emphasises the spices. Fragrant aromas of lavender and thyme are attractive, complementing the black fruit beautifully. This is a charmingly fragranced Pinot Noir with flavours of floral, black fruit and earth with concentration and finesse. Match with wild boar and herb-crusted lamb rack over the next 8+ years. Handpicked, approx 40% whole cluster, wild fermented to 13% alc, 7 days post-fermentation maceration, aged in Burgundian coopers for 15 months, 40% new oak."

93/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, November 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Red and black fruits, some perfume, quite smoky/toasty, cedar oak, spice and dried herb too. It’s fresh and maybe a little brighter than some vintages, and offers something of a fresh tomato and tamarillo tang, strawberry and blood plum, firm tannin, with a finish that’s quite long, but also curiously bitter and sappy. Idiosyncratic as ever. I’d say a few years will see it come up pretty nicely."