2012 Felton Road, Bannockburn Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand

2012 Felton Road, Bannockburn Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand

Product: 20128008264
 
2012 Felton Road, Bannockburn Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand

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Description

This is typically made up of one third each from the three vineyard sites, Calvert, Cornish Point and the original Elms Vineyard. The 2012 is full of energy yet with a maturity of material compared to the early years. Ripe but fresh, excellent length. Exceptionally fine texture.
Jasper Morris MW - Wine Buyer 

Succulent roast lamb, rosemary, new potatoes, fresh peas, mint, butter and all washed down with a fruity yet elegant glass of Pinot Noir...what's not to like? In the wine trade there is much talk of 'place' and the importance of different vineyard sites, soil types and climatic conditions; this attention to one's surroundings extends far further than the wine itself and very often helps when making food and wine pairings, as local cuisines can evolve to suit their vinous counterparts.

New Zealand has long been exporting both lamb and wine and it therefore seems sensible for us to pair the two, despite being many miles from source. Felton Road's Bannockburn Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from each of their vineyards sites, namely Calvert, Cornish Point and Elms. The fruit is as ripe as one would hope for from a New World Pinot, however there's a European restraint about the wine-making which adds extra depth and complexity. All that's required now is friends and/or family, a long table and the first flush of spring for all of these ingredients to combine perfectly. 
Nicholas Stewart - Wine Buying Team

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate92+/100
The 2012 Pinot Noir has lovely floral nuances with some herbal accents and a great core of fruit. Very elegant in the mouth with a nice backbone of tannins and acid, this vintage is a true beauty.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 30/12/2014 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17/20
Bright ruby (not much blue despite the wines' youth). Intensely ripe on the nose but no sweetness on the palate. Quite a change of style! Quite grown up. Lots of excitement and reverberation on the palate. Dry finish and real savour. Very long and punchy.
Jancis Robinson - jancisrobinson.com - 21-Oct-2013 Read more
Decanter17.5+/20
Youthful and concentrated with pronounced violets and intense red fruit. This has lots of crunchy berry fruit with a good structure and length. Impressive purity and very fresh. Read more

About this WINE

Felton Road

Felton Road

The Felton Road winery in New Zealand's Central Otago was bought by Nigel Greening, a self-described Pinot Noir "addict" from England, in 2000  and has been farmed organically & biodynamically since then.

Their grapes are entirely grown in their own 'Elms Bannockburn Vineyard' which has a northerly exposure to help maximise ripeness.

Felton Road's winemaker Blair Walter's experience in Oregon and Burgundy has stood him in good stead for coaxing the best out of the property's vines. He adopts a 'hands off' approach in the unique three-level winery, which is built into the hillside, with the aim of producing wines of elegance, complexity and exceptional depth of fruit.

The result is that Felton Road produces a rare beast - A suberb Pinot Noir wine, one of the best examples from outside Burgundy, plus an equally great Chardonnay.

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Central Otago

Central Otago

Central Otago is the most southerly wine region in the world and is responsible for five-point-five percent of a href=/region-3-new-zealand>New Zealand's vines (1,253 hectares in 2006). Central Otago was first identified as a site of serious Pinot potential in 1895 by Italian viticulturalist Romeo Bragato, drafted in by the government to treat the Phylloxera louse, subsequently recommending grafted rootstocks as a remedy in 1901. It had been thought to be worth even more during the Gold Rush days of the 1860s, before being turned over to merino sheep and later fruit orchards until the 1970s. In 1976, Gibbston Valley's alluvial gravel soils were the first to be planted in the area.

It's a measure of the success of the Central Otago ‘brand’, and the appeal of its full-bodied Pinot Noirs, that the region has experienced a 350 percent increase in the vines planted there, and a 125 percent increase in the number of new wineries over the same period (up to 89, or 16 percent of the country's total); as per b>Marlborough's relationship with a href=/grape-sb-sauvignon-blanc>Sauvignon Blanc, b>Pinot Noir now represents approximately 75 percent of the Central Otago vineyards. That the region's capital, Queenstown, annually plays host to the country's Pinot Noir forum is further proof of the region's significance. More controversially, the recent rush to secure vineyards within this now fashionable viticultural zone has led to a rash of criticism over the quality of some of the newcomers.

Located at the foot of South Island, the region may be on the 45th parallel south, but its site among the Bannockburn Hills of the Southern Alps (at approximately 200 metres above sea level) ensures a continental climate, if one dogged by frosts and marked by significant swings in temperature (up to 40 degrees Celsius at times). Soil profiles vary between the deep silt loams of the Bannockburn sub-region, while the wider Cromwell Basin displays both sandy loam over calcium deposits as well as alluvial loess over schist. Vinification typically involves French-oak barrel ageing of between 10 to 18 months.

Stylistically, the Gibbston Valley wines (such as those of Peregrine Wines) show a sweet, soft red raspberry and strawberry fruitiness, while the warmer Bannockburn/Loburn areas produce more powerful, tannic styles with black cherry and thyme notes b>Felton Road's range is a prime example. Fine Riesling is also produced amongst the schistous soils.

Recommended producers: Amisfield Estate, a href=/producer-3606-felton-road>Felton Road, Peregrine Wines, Ostler Vineyard.

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Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.

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