Pegasus Bay is a small family owned winery producing some of New Zealand's best wines, this Pinot and a stunning Sauvignon Blanc Semillon are amongst them. A deep, compelling and multi-faceted Pinot Noir it displays supple, ripe tannins. Drink now or lay it down.

JEAN-NOEL GAGNARD Cuvee L'Estimee , Chassagne-Montrachet

An ethereal Pinot Noir, it has a nose of violets, boysenberry, plum, black olive and vanilla. Telling the story of the vintage, it is sweet-fruited and pretty with cherry,raspberry and blackberry, along with savoury tapenade and a touch of char and spice. Possessing talcy tannins and lively acidity, complexity builds mid-palate and it has a long, harmonious finish.

DOMAINE HENRI MAGNIEN Gevrey Chambertin , Gevrey-Chambertin

Winemaker’s comments: The Tiger Pinot Noir is a single vineyard wine made from grapes grown in our Tiger vineyard in the Lowburn sub-region. The vineyard is on sloping land up off the valley floor and this elevated cooler position allows the vineyard to ripen slowly, building layer upon layer of flavour nuance and soft silky tannins. The wines from this vineyard typically display spicy aromatic red berry fruits and violets. The palate is characterised by a broad structure and layers of fine integrated tannin and fruit which is more textural than structural. The Tiger is always quite shy and reticent in its youth and after 4-5 years in bottle it really blossoms and expresses itself. Wine notes: Opens with an aromatic potpourri of fresh red berry fruit, warm spice, and dried herbs. There are layers of fine silky tannins. The broad structure provides a seamless frame and space for the lingering interplay of red berry and savoury flavours slowly fading with calm persistent clarity and detail.

The Yarra Yering Pinot Noir is produced from what are amongst the oldest Pinot Noir vines in the Yarra Valley. Always aristocratic, fragrant with intense aromas of sweet strawberry and ripe plums, the Yarra Yering Pinot rounds out with mouthfilling notes of the same with a length hard to ignore.

This 20ha vineyard was planted on red clay loam soil at Woori Yallock in 2001 by Lou Primavera, with whom Giant Steps has a long-standing grape-supply relationship. Pinot Noir (114, MV6 and G8V3 clones) grown here on the north and north east facing slopes at 230m is noted for its complex structure and pronounced perfume. The 114 and MV6 are fermented as whole bunches in open vats, while the G8V3 is destemmed, given a long cold-soak and fermented separately to enhance its aromatic contribution. All ferments use indigenous yeasts and the whole-bunch components are periodically foot-stomped to release additional juice. The wines are pressed to 228 litre, French barriques (about 8% new) for 11 months before blending and bottling without fining or filtration.