2016 Pegasus Bay Pinot Noir Aged Release, Waipara

Layered, focused and well crafted, with plenty of volume. On the nose it shows forest berries, wet stones, wild herbs, bark and a hint of forest floor. Medium-bodied with fine, polished tannins. Broad and textural, with a savory edge on the mid-palate. In control and attractive, with a lingering finish. Sustainable. Drink or hold.

96 points Kevin Davy for James Suckling, March 2026

Impressively fresh for its age, this ten-year-old pinot still packs a punch. The palate is an amalgam of ripe black and red berry fruit, cherry, plum and savoury herbs alongside a charry barbecue note. The tannins show signs of resolving, finishing chalky and fine while still being present. A faint hint of flint lingers, giving it a drying finish. The fruit has broadened and softened to approachability but there is some gas left in the tank yet. Drink to 2032.

94 points Stephen Wong for The Real Review, September 2026

Deep red colour with the merest trace of purple. The bouquet is complex, mellow and subtle, showing appropriate maturity in its complexities of roasting-pan juices, black cherry, soy sauce and ashy whole-bunch nuances. The wine is full-bodied and solidly built, with concentration, drive and terrific structure. It would cope with the heartiest of foods. The finish is firm and balances a substantial core of sweet, richly-ripe fruit. It's not subtle, but is an impressive pinot in typical Pegasus style. Drink to 2032.

94 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, May 2020 [ed. this review is for the original/initial release of this wine]

This wine comes to us from Pegasus Bay’s Aged Release program, which showcases wines from excellent vintages matured under optimal conditions at the winery to showcase their long-term potential.

From the near-perfect 2016 season, the fruit for this wine was handpicked at various stages of maturity.

A third of the grapes were placed at the bottom stainless-steel fermenters as whole bunches, and the balance destemmed on top while retaining as many whole berries as possible. The ferments were kept cool at the beginning to extract the soft, silky tannins from the pinot noir skins, with indigenous yeasts starting the ferments after roughly a week as they warmed up. The ferments were hand plunged twice a day, and the wine allowed to macerate on skins, vat pending, for roughly a week post-ferment.

The pressed wine matured for 18 months in Burgundian oak barrels of which 40% were new, and the final wine blended as a barrel selection of the parcels deemed suitable for the style of this wine.

About this producer

Planted from 1985 onwards, the Pegasus Bay vineyard sits in Waipara Valley, a 45-minute drive north of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island. It enjoys protection from the Pacific’s easterly breezes, a prolonged ripening period with substantial diurnal temperature variations. The alluvial Glasnevin gravel soils here are free draining and low in fertility, resulting in naturally reduced vine vigour.

The Donaldson family, viticultural pioneers in the region, remain the owner-operators of Pegasus Bay. Minimal intervention at all stages from vine to bottle typifies the winemaking approach: sustainable viticultural management, low crop levels, minimal handling of fruit, natural malolactic fermentation and clarification by settling, without the use of fining agents. All wines are made from estate grown fruit.