The crop level of this variety was reduced by a spring frost but this was otherwise an ideal grape growing season with a warm summer and a long lingering dry autumn.
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.
The grapes were hand-picked and then crushed, only the free run juice being used to make this wine. It was fermented in old French oak puncheons and then matured in these on the wine’s natural yeast lees for a period of 8 months to add complexity and texture without oak flavour.
The aromas and flavours evoke ripe cantaloupe melon, citrus flowers, orange zest, cinnamon, crushed root ginger and sandalwood. These are supported by a hint of underlying savoury complexity. The wine expands on the palate to become mouth filling and unctuous but there is a seam minerality and crisp acidity to balance the off dry finish..
“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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