I visited Peregrine on my first ‘Field Trip’ to Central Otago back in late 2019, and interviewed winemaker Nadine Cross (here > https://winefolio.co.nz/?p=2288). Since then I’ve kept an eye on this label that produces “one of those Central Otago Pinots that I tend to introduce as ‘quintessential Central Pinot’ – one that you’d give to someone who’d never tasted a Pinot Noir from this region before – and that sums up the style of the region in a glass” as I said in a review of the 2015 vintage. Today I’m tasting through the current releases from Peregrine, with Justin Hart. We start with this…
Peregrine Pinot Gris 2022 has about 20% of the juice go into old oak barrels for fermentation, producing a dry style that has plenty of golden fruit flavours and a toasty spice note that fills the nose and follows up on the palate. Not just the classic Pinot Gris flavours, but brimming with peach, apricot and fig too. Smoothly textured and with a balanced finish that has great persistence.
Peregrine Rosé 2022 is one with a deeper than average tint to the pink colour – despite from pick to press being only 3 hours. Made from 100% hand-picked Pinot Noir, it has both of the requirements to satisfy this rosé judge (me) – a lip-smacking dryness, and juicy fruit flavours. Raspberry, red liquorice and crushed herbals, a zesty acidity ending in a dry, mineral-rich finish.
The Peregrine Chardonnay 2021 is a wine that I was intrigued by when I visited the winery – it was destined only to be available to Wine Club members – the unavailabilty of which, I mean, is only going to make you want it more.. I did get to review it (here > https://winefolio.co.nz/?p=2236) and it’s back across my path today. Hand-picked Bendigo fruit, whole-bunch pressed into 300l hogshead barrels – about 25-30% new – and wild fermented. The structure is tight and lean, but there is also some ripe fruit framed by that toasty oak. It has good balance and fits into that ‘new style’ of less malo, less reductivity, more focussed Chardonnay that I’m getting into.
The Peregrine Pinot Noir is the most important wine they make Nadine calls it that “it is about making every wine that quality and style and that expectation”. Interesting today to revisit that 2015 vintage, but also to taste the 2020 vintage alongside. Normally you might look at and judge any development, but with that quality and elegance as a hallmark, it is also looking at how that flows through, across five years.
Bendigo can have very marked vintage variations, but looking at the 2015 and 2020 Pinots together, I see a family trait of minerality, freshness and structure but also an accessibility and clarity that is more than just the flavours. I get blood orange, spice and thyme, but the tannins in both have a fuzzy grip to them, and a plush roundness to the palate and texture that is very appealing. The ’15 has the edge on balance, with the 2020 a juicy, youthful wine but with some development ahead.
I also got to taste the Saddleback Pinot Noir 2020, and it is surprising just how good an ‘entry level’ Pinot Noir for $30 can be. It’s very much a hand-picked, well-crafted wine in the style of the others, but with a little less oak, and perhaps less detail to the palate. Juicy, spicy and with an inviting floral nose, it is one to look out for in the supermarket.
