Chardonnay Bannockburn
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...
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Notes of fleshy white peach and citrus fruits with hints of soft spice, clotted cream, white flowers, green apple skin, crushed river stone, pine nuts and softly spoken oak. These characters transpose neatly over onto the palate which shows a slick, textural flow while remaining taut with a high tensile acid cadence and plenty of carry, clarity and nervy energy.
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Apple-pie, crust and lemon-rind aromas follow through to a full body, layers of fruit and phenolic intensity. Hints of licorice and lemon rind. Serious complexity. Very honed texture.
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Aromas of lemon zest, sliced pear and apple blossom followed by sour cream, toast and subtle sea spray minerality. Medium-bodied, moderate acidity. Pure and delicate. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification.
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Made from Cornish Point and Elms fruit. A distant touch of toasted hazelnut is gentle on the nose. Lemon and notes of polenta appear later. The palate seems lithe despite its alcoholic heft of 14%, there seems to be a wonderful translucency that speaks of brilliant sunshine and brisk coolness. Texturally this reveals a light touch and masterful use of oak that allows lemon above all to shine through. Just 5% of oak was new - how beautiful.
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A creamy and polished wine with green apples and lime with stone aromas and flavors. Medium body. Pretty balance of fruit and acidity. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification.
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While the owner of Felton Road calls this wine its everyday Chardonnay, this would be the height of winemaking sophistication for many NZ producers. Whole-bunch-pressed and wild-fermented in French oak (less than 10% new) before undergoing periodic bâtonnage; there's no fining or filtration here either. The result is an understated and elegant Chardonnay with delicate white stone fruit flavors and a subtle element of oak-derived cashew nuts.
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