Pegasus Bay Estate Waipara Valley Gewürztraminer 2025

Description

Floral, Off-dry, Spice

"The enticing bouquet shows honeydew melon, mango, lychee, rose petal, and warm spice aromas, followed by a succulent palate that's velvety and flowing. Gorgeously complemented by subtle sweetness and beautifully pitched acidity, making it flavoursome and highly enjoyable" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Oct 2025

"A totally delicious wine with a fragrant and increasingly intense bouquet of summer flowers and white fleshed fruits. There’s lots of spice and herbs then a core of fresh fruits return. Fabulous silky texture with a contrasting phenolic herbaceous side enhanced with acidity and ripeness, spice and gentle barrel complexity" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Oct 2025

"Bright, even, pale yellow. The nose is full, with aromas of rambutan, lychee, rose water and ginger. Full-bodied, off-dry to taste, aromas of lychee, ripe apple and rambutan, entwined with crystallised ginger and rose water. The fruit shows concentration on a weighty, oily mouthfeel. Ginger spice elevates and complements the sweetness, leading to a generous, long finish. An expressive off-dry Gewurztraminer" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Oct 2025

"Invitingly perfumed, it is weighty, with rich, vibrant peach, pear, lychee and spice flavours, savoury notes adding complexity, gentle acidity and an off-dry finish. Showing obvious potential" Michael Cooper, Nov 2025

"The nose leaps out of the glass, rose petal, musk, lychee, stony minerality, yet not just about sweet fragrance, there’s a deeper register too. The palate continues the journey, structure here rather than blowsiness, freshness too, closing with an apricot kernel/almond bittersweet quality that lends this a drier feel. The nose tightens slightly, teasing rather than effusive, the palate lovely" Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times, Feb 2026

Shimmering pale gold in the glass, the bouquet is richly fruited and enticing, with impressions of lychee, rose petal, white peach, and ginger, underlain with warming spices and mineral nuances. The luscious personality is echoed in the mouth, flaunting a rich and juicy palate, kept energetic by subtle sweetness and ripe phenolics, that fully engage the tastebuds on the long and succulent close. Voluptuous, exotic, varietal and intense.

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 close to 40 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.

Settled and very hot weather over flowering delivered a bumper fruit set, which necessitated a considerable amount of fruit thinning to maintain wine quality. An unseasonably wet and tepid January was followed by variable weather and a cooler than average autumn, delaying ripening. Judicious management with vigilant discussions on picking dates and rigorous bunch selection ensured that the fruit arriving at the winery was of the highest quality possible. Although sugar ripeness was retarded, physiological ripeness of the fruit was more advanced, favouring delicately nuanced and charming wine styles.

After picking during late March and early April, the grapes were crushed and then left in contact with their skins. Following pressing, the cloudy juice was transferred into old oak puncheons, where it was left to ferment naturally. The wine was then matured for approximately 3 months in these barrels prior to bottling.