A mild spring and a warm summer and early autumn produced beautifully ripe fruit. Rain in the late autumn encouraged a little noble botrytis that has given the wine extra richness and concentration while still allowing it to clearly express its spectrum of natural varietal flavours.
The French clone of muscat (muscat à petits grains), from which this wine is made, was grown in stony, freely draining soil. This terrain accumulates the heat by day and then releases it during the night, aiding the ripening of this Rhône Valley varietal. Crops were modest, assuring good ripening.
The ultra-ripe grapes were hand-picked and then gently pressed. The juice fermented very slowly and it took almost a year for this process to complete. It was then bottled almost immediately to help preserve its exciting muscat characters.
On release the wine is a star bright lemon hue. Its voluptuous aromas and flavours speak of tropical spices, Turkish musk and the tantalising, heady, sweet but indescribable perfumes of an oriental bazaar. Big-boned, mouth filling and rich on the palate, its muscularity is balanced by an off-dry finish and impressions of crushed root ginger that linger on the palate well after swallowing.
“Wonderful, intense aromatics of flowers and white spices … Fleshy, fruity, spicy and delicious. There’s texture to this wine from phenolics and fruit tannins, the acidity pushes these along nicely, but the wine always comes back to the fruit. Nice lengthy finish, balanced and well made.”
“An exquisite, concentrated, intensely aromatic sweet white wine made in the mould of an Alsatian Muscat … Muscat Petit Grains occupies a few rows of vineyard area at Pegasus Bay winery in North Canterbury and makes this beautifully aromatic wine.”
“ … This Alsatian style Muscat is powerful and opulent with complex interest and a sustained, spice finish.”
“ … This is a rich and lush Muscat with a mouth-filling palate and a complex range of flavours.”
“Richly fruited and engaging … impressively long and delectable”
“ … A delicious wine that coats the palate leaving lasting flavours”
“The powerful 2017 vintage was estate-grown at Waipara and matured for six months in old oak puncheons … Already delicious”
“ … ravishingly decadent, very richly textured and unafraid to harness sweetness for intensity … (an outstanding, superior example and worth seeking out)”
“… the lovely 2016 vintage is perfumed and mouthfilling …”
“The ultimate aromatic grape variety … An impressive curiosity”
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