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All tasting notes
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.4 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 20 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by tanduybui on 4/1/2022 & rated 89 points: This is quite a fine chardonnay but it lacks fruits, depth and excitement. All very competent and it is very well balanced but the lack of fruit does not move the game forward. How much citrus, lemon, tangerine and fresh acidity does one need?
Driink now or 3+ years. (1077 views) | | | Tasted by kingkanu on 3/21/2021: Opens up nicely after an hour or so in the glass/ bottle and would probably like a decant. I love the nose, it’s lemon citrus and tangerine, orange blossom, and quite flamboyant. It’s intense on the palate, really lovely tingling acidity which carries the fruit through the long mouthwatering finish and ends with a touch of cashew (1729 views) | | | Tasted by Mascarello59 on 1/1/2020 & rated 91 points: Rather consistent with my previous note even though slightly more advanced and rounded. (2065 views) | | | Tasted by Bell Gully Cellar on 11/19/2019: AJLB reviewed 2019 (1980 views) | | | Tasted by Markus IWC on 9/15/2018 & rated 93 points: Felton Road Block Bonanza #2: Elegant nose with citrus, dust, petroleum, smoke, gunpowder and some graphe notes.
Tart and refreshing on the palate, nice acidity, gooseberry, intense and long.
Loads of minerals, almost champagne like minerality.
5 BV, 1 WV. (1786 views) | | | Tasted by kingkanu on 8/1/2018: This was just delicious, while clearly new world had some classic ripe Chardonnay flavours, some oak for sure, but it sat well with the fruit, impressively good at this stage of its life (2218 views) | | | Tasted by Martin G on 9/22/2016 & rated 92 points: Wonderfully balanced Chardonnay. A bit more oak than I had expected, but it is very nicely integrated, and there is a splendid acidity which makes this wine a wonderful accompaniment to salmon with hollandaise. (2902 views) | | | Tasted by hairynosedwombat on 9/13/2016 & rated 90 points: On the nose, grapefruit, gooseberry, freshly cut grass and a hint of steak on the grill, of all things! On the palette, the grapefruit and gooseberries continue, along with hints of key lime, and toasted honey. Long after all the other tastes subside, I ended up with a creme brulee finish. I'm glad I bought more than one of these. (2650 views) | | | Tasted by Gurto on 8/9/2016 & rated 88 points: Doft: kanderad citron, mango, ananas, fläderblom, ostronskal, lite anis/fänkål och tydliga kolaremmar
Smak: Fet tropisk frukt med fat som drar rejält åt det gräddiga och kolasmöriga
Smak: Gott och fin koncentration men känns lite "too much" med det tropiska och det lite väl gräddiga. Känns inte överfatat men kanske väl mkt malo? Saknar liksom elegans. Kanske behöver det mer tid men just nu kan jag inte ge mer än 88p (2574 views) | | | Tasted by David J Cooper on 7/9/2016 & rated 91 points: Clear bright yellow. Very bright tropical fruit, pear and mineral nose. The flavours were more stone fruit. As the wine opened up there was a hint of oak both in the nose and finish. Very nice bit of acid to clean up.
I have very little experience with NZ Chardonnay. Don't expect the textbook Chardonnay clues. (2312 views) | | | Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 4/10/2016 & rated 78 points: Best of New Zealand wine lunch (Donato Enoteca, Redwood City): Moderate concentration straw.
Reductive (burnt rubber).
~20% new oak (burnt toast).
Strange yogurty/buttery finish (malo? yeast issue?)
- medium plus body
- medium plus acid
- feels 13.5% (actually 14%) (2517 views) | | | Tasted by karl.1480 on 3/28/2015 & rated 92 points: Pale lemon color. Small bubbles is appearing.
Youthful, complex nose with a medium+ aroma intensity. Sulfuric minerality galore right off the bat, cap gun smoke, some toasted oak, ripe lemons and limes, crushed stones, fresh cut herbs and green apples. Lovely and refreshing nose!
Dry with medium+ acidity, medium+ body and pronounced intensity on the palate. Flavors of super ripe lime, fresh pineapples, apple core, cap gun smoke, toasted oak and salt licorice. Medium++ finish with loads of crunchy green apples, crushed stones and lime juice.
This is a crazy good wine! Tremendous balance and a lovely freshness. Will develop nicely over the next 4-6 years but it's drinking really good today. A treat! (1947 views) | | | Tasted by Lilja on 3/28/2015 & rated 94 points: This is outstanding and crazy delicious! I knew from the first sniff that I would enjoy this!
Light colored with some residual gas left in the bottle leaving a tiny spritz. Nothing disturbing though.
The nose is dominated by sulfide minerality, crushed stones, match sticks and exquisite oak. Slightly roasted but behind the gunpowder there is some very fresh fruit. Unripe peaches, lemons and limes together with a whole bunch of apples.
Medium+ to high acidity with a medium(-) body, nothing I would expect as the bottle declares 14% abv. This feels feather light and incredibly refreshing. High intensity with a long finish.
Incredibly happy to try this, and my blind guess was without any hesitation white Burgundy of noble heritage. Will probably evolve nicely over the years. (2446 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 2/14/2015: Prince Saturday tasting - Random selection (Prince Sydney, 40 Hansard Street): aromas of lemon over peach, spice, slight butter and cream. On the palate there is an initial spritzy quality then tangy citrus and stone fruit. There is some mid-palate fur, notes of butter and oak on the long finish as well. Good (2335 views) | | | Tasted by Mascarello59 on 2/12/2015 & rated 92 points: Aromas of green apple, grapefruit, toasted popcorn.
Uplifting crispy acidity, well balanced with citrus fruit, medium body and a nice long finish. Ok to drink from now but will improve well into 2020. Not sensational but very, very good! 92-93p. (1930 views) |
| Felton Road Producer website
Our Wines
Felton Road is a specialist wine producer making a small range of limited bottlings which express the terroir and minerality of vineyard blocks and sites, and the regionality of Bannockburn in Central Otago. The expression of the wines is guided sensitively and sympathetically to also fit within the parameters of what makes the great wines of the world the best. Felton Road has 32 ha of vines, Demeter certified since 2010, with Pinot Noir accounting for 70% of the output; Chardonnay is 20% of the production and Riesling is 10%. There are only approximately 12,000 cases of wine made each year, 75% of which is exported to 35 different countries. It is this international acceptance and perspective that makes Felton Road unique.
A good winemaker has a thousand ways to make a wine "better" but, better by whose assessment? It has taken us over a decade to gradually acquire the confidence to understand that the wine should be what the wine should be.
Like any good parent, one should encourage but not mould. If one sees a trait that is perhaps not what one would like to see, the solution lies not in how to cure the problem. but in learning to understand where it came from. Each year we have a new family to raise and our increased understanding can pass back to the new generation's schooling in the vineyard.
Gravity flow is the start of a gentle process, avoiding the need to pump fruit uphill. Ferments are spontaneous from the wild or indigenous yeasts that are in our vineyards and winery. Inert gas is shunned. Oak is a subtle companion not a loud guest. The Malo is simply a function of letting the warm spring air into the cellars. Pinots are unfined and unfiltered, Chardonnays are increasingly treated in the same way. The bottlings of single vineyard and single block wines are based on their speaking of a place, not on their size or hierachy of flavour.
Our Land & Vines
Considerable research by Stewart Elms (hence the Elm tree logo) in 1991 identified the north facing slopes at the end of Felton Road, Bannockburn as being one of the warmest and most ideal sites in Central Otago for the growing and production of premium wine. Heat summation data and soil maps of the area, developed as a result of the construction of the Clyde dam, were helpful in this decision. The three different soils identified are free draining with low fertility characteristics, and combined with the unique climate, are ideal for the production of premium quality Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling.
Our vineyards are managed by our own viticulturist, Gareth King, and his team of dedicated staff. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking and bunch thinning are all carried out by hand as required to ensure optimum quality fruit. Inter-row planting of various different cover crops in order to assist in controlling vine vigour, and to improve soil health and general biodiversity.
Mulch is also used in drier parts of the vineyard to help retain moisture, minimise the requirement for irrigation, and to balance areas of lighter more free draining soils. Organic compost is made utilising the winery waste, and organic cow manure and straw.
Since 2002 the vineyards have been managed organically and biodynamically, and in 2010 all three vineyards were awarded full Demeter certification. Pruning is carried out to leave desired bud numbers thus ensuring moderate controllable yields and to create an even, light penetrable canopy. Irrigation is usually necessary during the later dry summer months. Soil moisture levels are carefully monitored and water is applied only when necessary to maintain appropriate soil moisture levels. All grapes are carefully hand picked, keeping separate any quality differences within blocks due to clones, rootstocks and viticultural trials.
The Elms Vineyard - 14.4 Hectares
History & Location
The Elms Vineyard at the end of Felton Road lies in a gently sloping, north facing valley cut into the Bannockburn hills at the southern extremity of the Cromwell basin. Immediately above the vineyard lies Stewart Town and a large dam, where water was stored for sluicing the slopes of Bannockburn during the gold-rush which started in the 1860's. The fact that this valley was untouched by the gold miners is possibly a reflection of the deep benches of heavy soil that form much of its structure: soils unlikely to hold significant amounts of gold. After the gold miners departed, the slopes were left for sheep to graze until Stewart Elms discovered the site's potential for great Pinot Noir. He started to plant in 1992 and Felton Road began.
Cornish Point - 7.6 Hectares
History & Location
Cornish Point is an old gold miners settlement located adjacent to the Hartley and Reilly diggings where the first large find of gold was made in the Central Otago gold rush. It was named after the Cornish gold miners who lived there and was abandoned in the late 19th century then planted as an apricot orchard in the mid 20th century. We planted it to vines in 2000. Bordered on one side by the Clutha River and on the other by the Kawarau (now both flooded at this point to form Lake Dunstan), it is unique in being almost totally surrounded by water.
The vineyard is adjacent to the entrance to the Cromwell Gorge which results in steady airstreams. This as well as the proximity to the lake, both help minimise frost. Additional spring frost protection is provided by a flipper vine row sprinkler system for when temperatures really plummet. Although the edges of Cornish Point were eroded by sluicing or other digging, the vineyard itself is undisturbed soils.
Calvert Vineyard - 10.1 Hectares
History & Location
Calvert Vineyard is located just 1km east of the Elms Vineyard on Felton Road. The gentle north facing slopes lie immediately below the hills of the Bannockburn gold sluicings, now a historic park. Bailley's Gulley tailrace that carried away massive amounts of sluiced gold workings divides the property and provides excellent cold air drainage to minimise frost risk. The vineyard land had been home to a few sheep, rabbits and briar bushes until planting of vines began in 1999.Chardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeNew Zealand New Zealand Wine (New Zealand Winegrowers)South Island Noeth Island (wine-pages.com)Otago On weinlagen-info |
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