By Raymond Chan and Sue Davies
In just over
a decade, Felton Road
has become one of the superstars of Central Otago
and one of the top producers in the country, making particularly fine Pinot
Noir that is highly respected in the wine world. The style of the Pinots is one of burgundian
complexity with New Zealand
fruit sweetness, and it compares well with that from anywhere in the
world. However, Felton Road is equally successful with
the other varieties it produces. Felton Road’s
Riesling is nearly as highly sought after as the Pinot Noirs, and Chardonnay is
handled superbly, arguably superior to any other maker in the region.
With a 12,000
case production, Felton Road
remains a small, boutique label. Its
output is based on vineyard plantings in the approximate proportions of 70%
Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay and 10% Riesling. Owner Nigel Greening, hailing from the U.K. is now resident in Central
Otago, and his team led by winemaker Blair Walter and
viticulturist Gareth King continue to develop Felton Road, taking the operation closer
to full Demeter certification for its biodynamic regimes. The sense of settled purpose pervades, and Felton Road looks
to maintain its position at the head of the field.
This tasting
of Felton Road’s
latest releases with Blair Walter was a superb one, with a range of wines that
are at the very top level of what New Zealand is achieving. The standard is truly international, and the
wine expressions are individual and representative of ‘terroir’, as the single
vineyard and ‘Block’ wines across all three varieties tasted demonstrate. However, this tasting also included a special
look at ‘winemaker signature’. Three
different winemakers with identical lots of fruit putting their ‘stamp’ of
style on the resulting wine. We tasted
2008 ‘Calvert Vineyard’ Pinot Noirs from Felton Road, Craggy
Range and Pyramid Valley. This was an intriguing part of the tasting
that continued an experiment begun with the 2006 vintage.
Here are our
notes and scores on the wines tasted:
Flight One: Chardonnay
This variety
has been difficult to handle in Central Otago. There are ripeness issues and oak handling
must be sensitive. Unoaked expressions
similar to Chablis, have been touted as the way to go, yet these do not measure
up well in general. Felton Road picks relatively early,
recognising a narrow optimum window for balance, employs oak, but with great
care. The Felton Road Chardonnay 2008 (18.5-/20), at 14.0%
alc, was all barrel fermented in 10% new oak and given batonnage with
malolactic conversion. With slight
golden hues, this showed a full, ripe citrus and mealy nose with plenty of
barrel ferment nuttiness. Tight on the
palate, this possessed very fine cool citrus fruit flavours, delicate
mealiness, refreshing acidity and real elegance of style. The Felton Road ‘Block 2’ Chardonnay 2008 (18.5+/20),
at 13.5% alc, was all Mendoza
clone, barrel fermented and matured 12 months in 12% new oak. Pale straw in colour, this was tight and
backward in expression, but the purity and clarity stood out. The palate was very powerful, concentrated
and brooding, very much a white burgundy style, that will need another 2-3
years before its true potential will be realised.
Flight Two: Felton Road Pinot Noirs
Blair Walter
sees the Felton Road Pinot Noirs as expressions of site and vintage, and his
‘intervention’ has evolved to a minimalist degree, believing that much of the
quality of the wine is the result of the biodynamic-based work of viticulturist
Gareth King. Three Pinot Noirs were
tasted in this flight. Firstly the
‘regular’ Felton Road Pinot Noir 2008
(19.0+/20), at 14.0% alc, 11 clones of fruit from the three estate sites, 20%
whole bunch and aged 11 months in French oak.
Bright purple ruby colour, this had a full, harmonious and balanced
bouquet of dark plums and cherries, sweet and well-ripened. Full, fresh, ripe and plummy on the palate,
the integration and balance of the extraction and excellent oak subtlety
allowed immediate accessibility. Classic
Central Otago vibrancy of fruit. A wine that will drink well over the next 5+
years easily. Next was the Felton
Road
‘Cornish Point’ Pinot Noir 2008 (19.0/20), at 14.0% alc. A single vineyard wine, vines planted in
2000, 20% whole bunch and 11 months in Burgundian coopered oak. Full purple ruby-red in colour. Tightly bound in expression on nose, but with
excellent floral perfumes, minerals and steel, along with dark berry
fruits. Fine, firm, tight, with tannins
showing prominently as well as acidity.
Great intensity and depth and real length. A wine that will develop well over the next
5-7 years plus. Then on to the rare Felton
Road
‘Block 5’ Pinot Noir 2008 (19.0-/20), at 14.0% alc, from Block 5 in the
Elms vineyard, vines planted 1999, 16-23% whole cluster, 18 months in 38% new
French oak. Purple ruby red with light
edge. A backward wine at this stage,
tight and taut with lifted black fruits, oak and minerals. On the palate, great extraction with finesse,
black fruits and savoury forest notes along with minerals. Dramatic wine with the potential to develop
over a decade.
Flight Three: ‘Calvert Vineyard’ Pinot Noirs
Identical
parcels of fruit from the Calvert Vineyard, managed by Felton Road were given to Blair Walter, Adrian Baker of Craggy
Range and Mike Weersing of Pyramid Valley to vinify. This was an exercise that first started with
the 2006 vintage. Our tastings of the
three Calvert wines from the 2006 vintage have yielded consistent results in
style for the producers. Appreciation an
preferences vary according to personal and subjective taste. Would the 2008s appear to follow this
pattern? We served the three 2008
Calvert wines blind. First in this
flight was the Pyramid Valley ‘Calvert’ Pinot Noir 2008 (18.5+/20),
14.3% alc, 25% whole bunch, 14 months in 25% new French barriques. Mike Weersing made 700 cases. Dark, deep purple-red coloured. This had tightly bound, classical dark cherry
and berry aromas, very fresh, with a steely and minerally aspect to its
expression. This tightness and taut
tension was carried on the palate, and the acidity was prominent. Violets and florals gave the wine a real
lift, and a spicy element came through.
Fine-grained tannins also showing through. This has obvious potential to
develop over the next 5-7 years. It was
the second preferred by the group of tasters attending. Next was the Felton Road ‘Calvert’ Pinot Noir 2008 (19.0+/20),
at 14.0% alc, 20% whole bunch and given 11 months in French barriques. Dark purple hued ruby red. This was a wine with great beauty and
elegance, the bouquet particularly redolent of florals. Also seriously structured with fine tannins,
this had a sumptuousness, sweetness and juiciness of fruit expression. Great length.
Somewhere in between the style of the ‘regular’ Felton Road Pinot Noir
and ‘Block 5’? Easily the most preferred
wine of the flight for this group of tasters.
Finally, the Craggy Range
‘Calvert’ Pinot Noir 2008 (18.5/20), at 14.2% alc, 15% whole bunch and 10
months in 33% new French barriques.
Dark, deep, purple ruby-red colour.
Solid, full, broad, with dense dark plum aromas, very concentrated on
bouquet. Again, dense and solid in
expression on palate, full tannins, but open and attractively accessible. Black fruits with smoke and spice notes. What it may lack in elegance, it more than
makes up for with its richness and breadth.
However, the least preferred of the three wines by the attendees. Generally, the wines were identified
correctly by the tasters. Many felt
there was a family resemblance in all of the Felton Road Pinot Noir wines. I felt the wines continued the style
expressed with the 2006 ‘Calvert’ wines, made by each of the three different
winemakers, all of them of great quality.
Flight Four: Riesling
Seen now as
the variety that is next successful in Central Otago
after Pinot Noir. Felton Road has been extremely successful
in the varied interpretation of the varied styles. With the 2009s tasted, all were very
youthful, and all three were capable of aging very well, soaking up or throwing
off any reductive notes. One attendee
felt tasting the wines was ‘infanticide’.
First was the Felton Road Dry Riesling 2009 (18.5+/20), at 13.0%
alc. and 5.9 g/l rs, fruit from the Calvert and Elms vineyards. Pale straw yellow in colour. This had great purity and clarity of florals
and limes, with a steel edge. Excellent
concentration and depth to the nose. Dry
on palate, the richness of lime fruitiness and its intense up-front expression
gave it a sense of power. Showing
extremely well and will continue to do so for 5-6 years easily. A crowd favourite was the Mosel
styled Felton Road Riesling 2009 (19.0-/20), at 10.0% alc and 53 g/l rs, fruit from
the Calvert and Elms vineyards. Very
youthful in appearance, pale straw with green hues. Gentle aromatics of florals, jasmine and
limes with a tinge of honey. Medium
sweetish, but absolutely no cloying on the palate. Beautiful and subtle with its marmalade,
florals and honey, some soft textures on palate, but fine, soft acidity keeping
the balance. A keeper for 6-8 years. Thirdly was the Felton Road ‘Block 1’ Riesling 2009 (18.5/20), at
9.5% alc. and 65 g/l rs, fruit from Block 1 of the Elms vineyard. Gemanic in style, this was very youthful in
colour with straw green hues. A wine of
immense subtlety and finesse, with delicate florals and blossoms, a touch of
honey, but a slight touch of reductive sulphide, a sign of its youth. Sweetish palate, this possessed fine
concentration, richness in a refined way, a delicacy of floral expression,
somewhat shy and subdued, partly from the reduction. This will develop beautifully over the next
7-9 years.