Pegasus Bay, Waipara Valley - with age, the song stands the test of time.

With awareness, care, and delicacy, the Opera Singer fine tunes their instrument, their voice, ready for performance with nuance and power of expression. An aged wine also often calls for the care and aeration that decanting offers (sedimentation aside), allowing the wine to relax, spread its' wings, find its' voice.

It's high time for a rebuttal of the economically driven tendency to infanticide of wine releases fresh from the bottling run of the winery - the rush to market of wines just out of barrel, slurped to bottle and hoofed to bonded warehouses, ready to go, eager to be paraded, seldom to be cellared. Pinot Noir possesses about it that most graceful of ageing potentials that's anathema to the (all too New World) tendency to drink wine in its' infancy. Who pays for the cellaring is open to conjecture, but it's a given that that time and expression can be the most suitable of bedfellows, that the complete evolutionary arc may be realised, or at least glimpsed.

Visiting from New Zealand, Pegasus Bay and Ed Donaldson gifted a wonderful opportunity to showcase the ageing potential of wines from a top New Zealand producer spread over a different ranges of wines, different cultivars, and multiple vintages all the way back to 2001.

Estate Pinot Noir - showing earthy sous bois undertones, red fruits and raspberry pips, long-chain tannins are indicative of this quality range. A notch up from the Main Divide range which show great value, primary fruited but with good grip and structure.

let's get serious - served from Magnum estate Pinot Noir 2001 - still with a wonderful acidity, truffley and earthy sous bois, earl grey tea, sage and garden herbs, top medium+ length, serve alongside a village Gevrey Chambertin and take your pick.

made in only the best years, Prima Donna is the Reserve range of oldest vines selected from the best barrels in the best vintages. Bringing an extra meaty savoury dimension to fruits of the forest, there's real depth and layers, roasting meats, sage and thyme herbs, good tannic grip and retaining a marked acidity, these are masculine and flex muscle, able to stir like Pavorotti.

Auslese style Riesling with some botrytised fruit for added lusciousness and richness, honeyed citrus and a medium+ acidity make for toothsome wines with poached sweet orange and baked apple fruit, age begets wines of fine song. 

Encore, take a bow. Trockenbeerenaulese style, 200 grams/litre residual sugar juxta zippy acidity, the song never ends.

...and finally, Finale. Barrique matured Noble Semillon only produced in years nature permits, from old and new French barrels and aged for 2 years. Oxidative rancio fruit with candied fruits, barley sugar, burnt sugar and savoury nut brittle, it's a food match playground.