Part of the Family of 12, making wine since the 1970′s, and named after the bay in which their vineyards lie, Pegasus Bay have established themselves as Waipara’s premium winery. Waipara is about 45 minutes north of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island.

The soil structure is gravely deposits on flats and terraces in the central and west of the valley, limestone derived clays on hillsides and valley floor to the eastern side and gravely loams over alluvial subsoil in the southern part of the region making it an ideal viticultural area and should have its own Appellation to protect it from misuse.

Now with about 1200 hectares under vine it has begun to challenge Central Otago for Pinot Noir and Hawke’s Bay for Chardonnay, but it’s real string in the bow is that of Riesling, although I am far more interested  in the regions Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Wine Review: Pegasus Bay Chardonnay 2008.

A deep golden straw colour that belies such a youthful wine. The air is filled with expressive aromas of lively grapefruit and lemon zest with a subtle hint chalky creaminess. The palate is full and  reminds me of baked apple and lemon pie that finishes off with me sucking on a lemon riverstone that lingers for a good 45 seconds.

This is serious Chardonnay from Waipara that would challenge many French wines and certainly rival many from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s unofficial home of Chardonnay!

92 Points
5 stars
RRP $35

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Written by Jayson Bryant

Jayson’s roots in wine began when his father literally dragged him round France and injected his passion into him. From the age of 8 his family took month long holidays in France travelling through all regions and sampling their wine.
UnScrewed has reinvented the concept of wine tasting in New Zealand and along the way found a new and willing audience. In addition to encouraging straightforward wine tasting, Jayson educates viewers about the effects of regional factors (soil, sun, wind) on wine flavours, and how to buy wine.

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