Pinot Noir Block 5
2022
Felton Road is an astonishing overnight success story. In just over 20 years Felton Road has become the global benchmark for New World pinot noir and has played a massive role in making Central Otago a new buzzword in the world of wine. Felton Road winemaker Blair Walter is an exceptional character, blessed equally with intellectual brilliance and extreme modesty. He is a captivating and insightful speaker, with the special ability to articulate complex ideas in such a way that they are made to...
See the FELTON ROAD detail page for more information on this brand
Very fragrant nose here with deeply woven complexity. Earthy nuances, bracken, leaves and spiced red cherries abound with roses and violets, as well as blueberries. The palate has long tannins that extrude deep along a central spine. Lots of blueberry and red-cherry flavors. The contained, fleshy feel of the palate is really something and this always powerful wine is in such, supple and fluid form.
See detailed press review
The 2020 Pinot Noir Block 5 offers up a mouthful of gorgeous Pinot Noir that's perfectly ripe without being overripe, blossoming in the mouth but retaining focus and shape as if it is wearing a pair of control pants. It's a wine that’s at ease with itself, offering rich red berries, fruitcake, festive spices and a subtle floral lift. There are plentiful tannins – in the context of Pinot Noir – and they coat the mouth like melted chocolate, making you want to lick your lips long after drinking. Overall, a finely balanced wine that has captured power and seduction in the same package. Lengthy, brooding finish.
See detailed press review
There is an opulence and intensity here yet it remains fresh and vivid with orange peel and ripe strawberry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body with firm and racy tannins that give it tension and focus. Clear and naked in so many ways giving it a clarity that is appreciated. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Better in two or three years.
See detailed press review
Intensely aromatic with a mix of plum, violet, cherry, dried herb, wet slate and mixed spice flavours. A complex, harmonious wine that gives equal prominence to all of its flavours without allowing one to dominate. Needs time to fully express its potential.
See detailed press review
An alluring style that draws you in with its silken texture. It is pure, inviting and might be called sumptuous if not for an arrow-like line of acidity and whole-bunch-derived sappiness bringing up the rear, taking that ethereal texture and urging this wine forward. The finish is interminable, with satisfying savory, spicy characters persisting alongside woody herbs and broody black fruit. At 14.5% alcohol, there is the merest hint of heat, which is the only minor gripe in this near-perfect Central Pinot.
See detailed press review
Crushed berry, Ceylon tea leaves and white pepper make for a brooding and alluring nose. The palate takes up this aromatic theme, enabled by a very fine, clear streak of bright acidity. A frame of graceful, firm tannin lends structure to this elegant wine. Really poised, long and aromatic. Matured in just 25% of new French oak for 16 months.
See detailed press reviewSituated on a gentle north-facing slope in the heart of the Elms vineyard. A firmly structured pinot with concentrated plum, dark cherry, violet, and savoury/spicy flavours that suggest coffee and dried herbs. Clearly a long-distance runner.
See detailed press review
Packs a bunch of power and precision on a delicate frame, with notes of fresh rose petals, lavender and cinnamon mingling with cherry compote, raspberry and cranberry. Reveals additional details of sandalwood, Earl Grey tea and forest floor that linger effortlessly on the finish
See detailed press review
Plush, showing off a seamless, harmonious quality to the silky pomegranate, black cherry and cranberry flavors, with loamy forest floor, cedar and cardamom seed notes that linger on the finish.
See detailed press review