The 2009 Virtuoso Chardonnay is a barrel selection wine, from older vines on their own rootstocks and naturally fermented/aged in French oak puncheons, 50% new. It’s currently a little closed offering delicate straw, meal and lemon/lime aromas with hints of apple and pear tarts plus just a little cedar. Crisp, concentrated and medium bodied in the mouth, it’s still young and taut but has a gorgeous satiny texture and a long finish. Drink this one 2013 to 2018+. The Donaldson family initially planted vines at this Waipara estate in 1986, at first with a whole fruit salad of vines including a mix of Bordeaux varietals. With the benefit of trial and error, now the focus at Pegasus Bay is on Riesling and Pinot Noir. Husband and wife team, Lynnette Hudson and Matt Donaldson, are the dynamic duo heading-up winemaking these days and, as the notes of the verticals of back vintages I tasted with them will attest, the wines from this commendable estate not only have staying power, they just get better and better. Importer: Empson USA, Alexandria, VA.

Produced from the Mendoza Chardonnay clone and matured in 500L French puncheons where it rested on its lees until the following spring, the 2004 Virtuoso Chardonnay reminded me of a Corton-Charlemagne though the palate could still benefit from a few more months in bottle as the oak still needs time to meld into the structure of this outstanding wine. The flight of Pinot Noirs continued to illustrate their Burgundy influence, the reds often reminiscent of Morey-Saint-Denis. Although winemakers Matthew Donaldson and Lynette Hudson look as if they have just got in from an all-night rave, they are presently producing some of New Zealand’s most exhilarating, Burgundyinspired white wines, their reds suffused with earthy flavors. They are demonstrating the potential of the Canterbury wine region and constitute one of New Zealand’s best producers. Their whites are exhilarating and seem best between a year in bottle and around fiveyears. Importer: Empson (USA), Inc., Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900; fax (703) 684-2065