PEGASUS BAY VIRTUOSO CHARDONNAY 2021

The top Chardonnay produced from Pegasus Bay's oldest Mendoza clone vines (30+ years). This is a wine of considerable power and intensity and full of the usual Pegasus Bay personality.

Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Virtuoso is part of our reserve series which we only make in exceptional years, provided it does not compromise the quality of our estate wines. It is a selection from the best barrels, coming from some of the oldest plantings in the vineyard.

As with all our Chardonnay’s, we use traditional Burgundian winemaking methods. The fruit was hand-picked in stages during the second half of March and then gently pressed. The non-clarified juice was then put into large French oak barrels (puncheons), 40% of which were new to achieve optimal oak balance. In these it underwent primary fermentation by the grape’s natural yeasts. The wine was then matured in the puncheons on its natural deposits of yeast lees (sur lie). In the summer after harvest, it started to go through spontaneous secondary (malolactic) fermentation. It was regularly tasted during this time and the fermentation was stopped when the ideal balance was obtained. It had approximately 10 months maturation prior to bottling.

In the glass, Virtuoso 21 exudes a radiant golden hue. The nose is striking and full, with enticing aromas of white peach, hawthorn flowers, roasted hazelnut and miso butter, underlain with subtle baking spices and a flinty nuance. There is great harmony between tension and texture on the palate, with a rich and lavish mouthfeel complimented by invigorating acidity that adds length and breadth. Powerful yet infinitely elegant, this is a multi-layered and engaging experience with a prolonged, gratifying finish."

5 Stars & 97/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, June 2025 (2021 Vintage)
"Immensely complex and engaging, the bouquet presents aromas of citrus peel, golden peach, gun smoke, oatmeal, and hazelnut. It's concentrated and powerfully expressed on the palate, exhibiting outstanding weight and a creamy flow. Splendidly framed by bright acidity, leading to a persistent, sumptuous finish. At its best: now to 2035."

96/100 JamesSuckling.com, December 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Excellent tightness yet deep and dense with sliced cooked apples and citrus as well as some vanilla, cream and hints of salt. Subtle chalky texture. Long and flavourful, this is tangy with hints of caramel at the end. Give it three or four years, but it’s already beautiful."

Rated Outstanding & 96/100 Cameron Douglas MS, June 2025 (2021 Vintage)
"Immediately complex and bold with shape, form and power. Aromas of ripe yellow stone fruits, wood smoke and lees, baked apple and quince, roasted nut and burnt butter. On the palate full-bodied, taut and new still with textures from acidity and fruit power to the same of oak and nutty-lees complexities. Delicious and fresh, a fantastic example with a lengthy and exuberant finish."

5 Stars Yvonne Lorkin, July 2025 (2021 Vintage)
"Mat Donaldson and his team only create a Virtuoso when the fruit is exceptional, and in 2021, clearly the Chardonnay gods were smiling on their vineyards in Waipara, North Canterbury. The result is a deeply smoky, complex wine laced with baked stonefruit, charred pineapple and grilled grapefruit. Caramelised, spicy oak bolsters these veins of vibrant fruit and seamlessly integrates them into a seriously silky, deliciously muscular and elegant style which should be in every Chardonnay fan’s cellar. There’s a softly creamy ribbon running through the wine and it wraps around the smoky notes in perfect tune."

Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times (2021 Vintage)
"Exuberant nose jumps out to greet you. Gunflint, struck match, warm baguette, ripe peach, toffee apple, so engaging and complex. Power and wonderful depth of flavour without ever feeling heavy. Dances in the mouth, vibrancy and liveliness, now picking up a hint of licorice, though it’s pointless divining the parts as it’s all about balance, integration and the sheer completeness of this. Crackingly good."

19/20 Joelle Thomson, July 2025 (2021 Vintage)
"Virtuoso is the long awaited outstanding queen of white wines made at Pegasus Bay; the longest aged Chardonnay made at the winery which, in this case, also comes from an outstanding vintage. This full bodied, savoury, complex and full bodied Chardonnay was made from hand picked grapes which were harvested progressively and fermented with the grape's natural yeasts in French oak puncheons, 40% of which were new. This translates into a beautifully integrated, full bodied Chardonnay with creamy textural qualities and aromas of fresh goat’s cheese, almonds, cedar and spice. A great wine now but the 2021 Virtuoso will come into its own with ageing in bottle."

5 Stars & 19+/20 (96) Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, June 2025 (2021 Vintage)
"The nose is full and bold, with aromas of gunflint, roasted almond, stonefruit, butter popcorn, lemon sherbet and spice. Full-bodied, aromas of lemon sherbet and peach have a pure core, entwined with butter popcorn, Oriental spice, roasted almond and flint. The rich, flinty elements are well-proportioned and powerful yet elevated, flowing smoothly along a creamy mouthfeel and enlivening acidity, which provides balance and elegance to an impressive, sustained finish. A robust, flinty Chardonnay with outstanding balance, elegance and layers."