2025 Pegasus Bay Encore Noble Riesling Half Bottle 375ml, North Canterbury

Please note that this is a sweet wine in a 375mL half bottle

Intense, powerful aromas of grilled pineapple, mango, papaya and rock melon. There is plenty of botrytis influence which contributes dried apricot and manuka honey characters. Super sweet but in no way cloying thanks to the succulent acid spine. Drink to 2034.

91 points Jane Skilton for The Real Review, January 2026

Encore is a luscious botrytis-style dessert wine made in the style of the Alsatian SGN (Selection de Grains Nobles) and German TBA (Trockenbeerenauslese) wines.

The Riesling grapes for this wine were left on the vines until late April and hand-picked choosing only the beautiful botrytis affected berries. Further hand selection was carried out in the winery before the grapes were gently pressed for the rich juice that was fermented cool and slow in a small stainless-steel fermenter. The wine was bottled with 212g/L residual (natural) sugar.

Serve lightly chilled on its own or with a festive citrus fruit dessert.

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.