Pegasus Bay Riesling 2025

Pegasus Bay Riesling is an organic white made by the Donaldson family in the Waipara Valley, Canterbury, on New Zealand's South Island. The estate has adapted Burgundian practice to the Pacific and farms to a sustainable viticulture accreditation. Waipara sits in the lee of the Teviotdale hills, which shelter the vines and give warm days, while cool nights off the coast preserve the high natural acidity and floral aromatics of Riesling. The free-draining, limestone-influenced soils add a stony minerality. The wine is aged on its fine lees, which softens the acidity and adds a subtle texture, and the style keeps a touch of natural sweetness that balances the grape's firm acid line rather than reading as sweet. The colour is pale lemon with green flecks. The nose is bright and floral, with lemon and citrus peel over white peach and orchard blossom, backed by a light honeyed note. The palate is racy and precise, the citrus fruit stretched over a taut mineral core, the faint sweetness lifting a long, saline finish. Serve well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees.