“ … a stunning bouquet with intense, complex, savoury aromas … A well-poised wine with plenty of enjoyment factor.”
- Stephen Bennett MW & Lynnette Hudson, NZ Wine Rater, NZ
Finale
THE FAMILY
The Donaldson Family have been seriously involved in viticulture and winemaking for over 40 years. Founder Ivan Donaldson planted the first Canterbury vineyard in 1976 and went on to establish Pegasus Bay in 1986 with his wife Christine. It is a true family business with all four of their sons now involved.
THE VINEYARD AND VINES
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 over 30 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.
THE SEASON
Variable conditions over flowering resulted in a moderate fruit set. The subsequent warm summer then allowed the grapes to ripen beautifully. Late season conditions were favourable for the development of noble botrytis, essential for the production of this wine style.
THE HARVEST AND WINEMAKING
Finale is part of our reserve series and is only made in exceptional years, being dependent on specific conditions at the end of the season leading to noble rot. Modelled on a French Sauternes using traditional Bordeaux techniques, the wine is a Semillon/Sauvignon blend. Only the most beautifully raisined, perfectly botrytic bunches were selected to make this wine. A small amount of very concentrated juice was then obtained from these grapes and put into new French artisan oak barriques (50% new), where the two varieties were left to ferment separately. The wine was then matured in these barriques on its natural deposits of yeast lees (sur lie) for 12 months, prior to blending and bottling. This is a lesser amount of new oak and shorter ageing period than previous Finale’s, the intention being to accentuate the wine’s vitality and finesse.
THE WINE
On release it is bright gold in colour, the bouquet an enchanting medley of ripe apricot, ginger and lemon curd, with a hint of honeysuckle and a whisp of baking spice. Botrytis has resulted in a mouth feel that is rich, textural and unctuous. The Semillon contributes structure and length, while the Sauvignon component adds refreshing acidity to ensure the wine remains perfectly balanced with a lasting finish.
2019
“ … A midweight style that has rich, sweet fruit within its core … The finish retains a freshness that keeps this wine moving along despite its high levels of sweetness …”
- Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, USA
“ … this dangerously delicious dessert wine is all kinds of evil on the sweet sensation front … it’s lusciously refreshing … Outstanding.”
- Yvonne Lorkin, www.yvonnelorkin.com, NZ
“ … A luscious, honeyed sweet white that is full-bodied with amazing depth on concentration and a long zesty finish.”
- Joelle Thomson, Drinksbiz magazine, NZ
“A super-delicious offering … an opulent palate displaying delectable sweetness brilliantly balanced by vibrant acidity. Richly textured and creamy, making it hugely appealing.”
- Sam Kim, www.wineorbit.co.nz, NZ
“ … Full-bodied, luscious to taste, a captivative palate with multilayers … This excellently complex noble Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend has vivid layers and brilliant acid balance.”
- Candice Chow, www.raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz, NZ
“Fantastic bouquet of preserved stone fruits, honey and honeysuckle, moments of elderflower and beeswax, exotic fruits and grapefruit … high acidity, plenty of sweetness, balanced, exotic, fresh and lengthy”
- Cameron Douglas MS, www.camdouglasms.com, NZ
“Flavours that suggest a medley of dried fruits … A luscious, decadent dessert wine.”
- Bob Campbell MW. The Real Review, NZ
“A fragrant nose, offering aromas of quince, apricot, candied lemon with cinnamon and floral undertones. Sweet, yet balanced, with bright acidity and elegant, zesty character. Vibrant and flavourful with a long, fresh finish. Fantastic sweet wine.”
- James Suckling Wine Reviews, www.jamessuckling.com, USA
“A wine with a real ‘Wow!’ factor … mouthfilling, with concentrated stone-fruit and honey flavours, … great richness and harmony"
- Michael Cooper, Michael Cooper Buyers Guide, NZ
2017
“… Very powerful; concentrated and long; … rich and layered. Firm; powerful; …”
- The Six Nation Wine Challenge
“ … full and rich, deep and concentrated … A powerful and exotic wine ….”
- Huon Hooke, The Real Review, AUS
“ … palate is lusciously flavored and has a super rich, long and scintillatingly luxuriant texture. A great sweet wine. World class!”
- Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com, USA
“ … Super rich and opulent … lavishly expressed with a lengthy delicious finish …”
- Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, wineorbit.co.nz, NZ
“ … it’s the most gum-numbingly gorgeous, luxuriously toffee-laced, manuka honey-drizzled, apricot jam-jammed thing I’ve tasted in a long, long time. And it’s beyond perfect here.”
- Yvonne Lorkin, NZ Herald, NZ
2014
“ … this is powerful and intense, with great depth. Very sweet and full-bodied, the palate has extremely rich and succulently opulent flavours … the mouthfeel is fulsome and unctuous … This is a powerful and opulent Noble Sauvignon Blanc …”
- Raymond Chan, raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz, NZ
“ … Layers of dried fruits, spice and exotic tropical fruit flavours add dimension and complexity. A pure and powerful wine …”
- Bob Campbell MW. bobcampbell.nz, NZ
“ … Concentration on the fore here, oily, rich and mouth-filling with powerfully intense flavours of spices and marmalade that linger endlessly … long and intense finish. Compelling stuff”
- Mark Henderson, Otago Daily Times, NZ
“ … lovely limey acid spine that keeps the palate fresh and juicy. Great length”
- Winestate magazine, AUS
“ … deep apricot and kumquat-marmalade core with long, stylish balance.”
- Nick Stock, jamessuckling.COM, USA
2011
“... very distinctive and packed with energy. On the palate - fantastic! Delicious, honeyed, oozing flavour and texture with huge sweetness equaled by acidity and richness” .
- Cameron Douglas MS, camerondouglasms.blogspot.co.nz, NZ
“Deep golden yellow colour with orange hues and lighter green-gold tints on the edge. The bouquet is full, bold and solidly concentrated with rich and ripe aromas … This is a very rich, complex-layered decadent dessert wine”
- Raymond Chan, raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz, NZ
“...notable complexity on the nose and palate. …substantial body, with super-rich peach and apricot flavours, an oily texture and a lush, raisiny, superbly sustained finish. A wine to ponder over.”
- Winestate Magazine, AUS
2011
" . . . deep gold, very sturdy, Sauternes-style wine. Lush and very sweet, with notably concentrated, peachy, honeyed flavours, and hints of apricots and raisins, . . . . hard to resist.
- Michael Cooper, Buyers Guide, NZ
2010
"….offers a pretty straw to light golden colour and aromas of preserved lemons, musk and pineapple pastry with a touch of dried herbs. Fully sweet and luscious in the mouth, it has a lovely satiny texture and plenty of expressive, somewhat earthy flavours marked by crisp acid and finishing long. Drink this one now to 2019+.
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, USA
"Powerful, ripe citrus fruit, honey and nutty oak elements fill the palate providing great depth and texture."
- Raymond Chan, raymondchanwinereviews.co.nz, NZ
"Densely packed, complex aromas of ripe yellow stonefruits … full-bodied and concentrated, this has layers of flavour that emerge in the glass. Powerful, ripe citrus fruit, honey and nutty oak elements fill the palate providing great depth and texture …. the wine finishing stylishly and with lingering waxy and nutty nuances … This is a concentrated Sauternes-style dessert wine with an array of flavours that will become more complex over the next 6- 8 years."
- Michael Cooper, Buyers Guide 2012, NZ
"Bright gold in colour, oozing toasted nuts, citrus, grapefruit and spices, with a hint of creamy caramel, intense, textural and complex.”
- Charmian Smith, Otago Daily Times, NZ
