2016 Pegasus Bay Encore Noble Riesling Half Bottle 375ml, North Canterbury

Concentrated, luscious dessert wine with bush honey, pineapple, ginger and ripe peach flavours. A strong botrytis influence doesn't mask the wine's varietal definition. Assertive acidity helps drive a very lengthy finish. 28 SEP 2017

96 points Bob Campbell MW The Real Review

Pegasus Bay is one of New Zealand’s great family-owned estates, established by the Donaldson family in North Canterbury’s Waipara Valley. Riesling has long been one of the estate’s signatures, thriving in the region’s long, dry autumns and cool nights. Encore is their gloriously decadent noble Riesling, produced only when conditions allow botrytis to work its peculiar magic, concentrating the berries into tiny parcels of intensely flavoured fruit.

The 2016 vintage has now had a decade to evolve, allowing the youthful sweetness to gather layers of savoury complexity. Noble rot concentrates sugar, acidity and flavour simultaneously, while North Canterbury’s cool climate provides the natural freshness needed to stop the wine becoming heavy. The result is luscious but beautifully alive, with mature honeyed richness balanced by a bright citrus spine.

Deep gold in the glass, the nose spills out with apricot conserve, candied orange and ripe peach alongside mānuka honey, marmalade and saffron. With air come beeswax, ginger, dried pineapple and a little toasted almond. The palate is rich and unctuous, with layers of stone fruit, citrus preserve and honey cut by mouthwatering acidity. Botrytis brings a wonderful spicy, almost gingery complexity before a long finish of apricot, orange peel and warm honey.

Now for the dangerous bit: crème brûlée with a properly shattered caramel top, tarte Tatin, apricot and almond tart, Roquefort with honeyed walnuts or foie gras on toasted brioche. My pick is the Roquefort — salty, creamy, funky blue cheese against cold, luscious Riesling is one of those combinations where dessert suddenly becomes the main event.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2036+.