2019 Felton Road Pinot Noir Cornish Point

Community Tasting Notes (15) Avg Score: 92.2 points

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  10/23/2023 - Kim Gerner wrote: 90 Points

  Australian and new Zealand tasting (Copenhagen): Tasted 10 different cuvees from Leeuwin Estate and Felton Road.
  
  This wine. More savoury style than the others. No notes taken. 90+

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  10/4/2023 - Juliansi Likes this wine: 92 Points

  My last bottle.. and this keeps getting better, its developed even more mouthfeel and weight over the past year since I had my previous bottle.
  
  Ripe strawberries, dark cherries, and that signature intense floral bouquet. Love the earthy notes on the mid palate too.
  
  Acidity medium+ gave this a great chance to be paired with the delicious char siew ... welcome to KL, Jes. Its been years!
  
  Grand Imperial
  Plaza Damas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  4 Oct 2023

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  5/20/2023 - Ulveström Likes this wine: 93 Points

  If anything I would have wanted a more tannic grip but otherwise fantastic! Packed with fruity sweetness, concentrated allthough quite sharp. Will benefit from 2-5 more years I believe to make fruit a bit more secondary.

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  12/1/2022 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Bottle off the wine list over lunch at Sage. Screw-cap. Finished off the bottle easily.
  Appearance pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
  Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with aromas of dried leafy earth, dark vegetation, dark red cherries, black cherries. Developing.
  On the palate, dry, good high acidity, medium alcohol (13.5%), smooth medium tannins, very good layered full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury earth, dark undergrowth, dark red cherries, black cherries, dark spices. Sweeter fruits with more air.
  Very good quality. Reflects the Central Otago terroir astutely. Already a charmer of a drink at this young stage, and has the chops for some age too.

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  10/5/2022 - Juliansi Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Beautiful nose of strawberries, which just seems to pull you in to enjoy this beautiful Kiwi Pinot.
  
  Reading Jancis Robinson's review highlighted that this has a richer nose compared to the more basic Bannockburn blend, I will check again tonight on Day 2. In her tastings, she went on to say that "It is almost impossible to spit this!".
  
  This is both an elegant as well as feminine Pinot, with some much needed density on the palate and luscious hints of rose petals as this Pinot warmed up. The finish was medium-long on the 1st night of pouring.
  
  Quite similar to the two Bannockburn 2020 Pinots we enjoyed in the past week, thus I question of this Cornish Point bottling warrants the USD 10 premium over its more humble sibling?
  
  JoeYee recommended that this wine further opens up with more complexity after some hours, or even 24 hours later, so I will be trying the 2nd half of my bottle later tonight!
  
  Overall, Felton Road farms in 4 properties, which total 32 Ha in Bannockburn, Central Otago, NZ's south island. This wine is a single plot wine, from Cornish Point vineyard which is close to water creating what is described as a mesoclimate.
  
  Having only started in 1991, Felton Road has continued to live by "Refusal to compromise". It is proudly and truly fully organic and biodynamic, with Demeter certification. Fruit has to be "pure", whilst the estate works and lives in a sustainable manner.
  
  This includes utilising gravity flow, wild yeasts, wild malolactic, an avoidance of fining and filtration as well.
  
  Felton Road describes 2019 as an excellent vintage, lets see what happened weather-wise?
  
  This 2019 vintage is described as an "in-between", where 2017 was concentrated, and 2018 was lighter on the palate. Whilst the 2019 crop was expected to be lighter, the bunches ended up heavier then the norm, thus the overall tonnages were normal.
  
  Mid-October saw frost, and this was the most severe since 2003. The wineyards had to actively frost fight, even through the night, to prevent damage to the infant shoots. Soil moisture helped some of these vines recover.
  
  In December, at Cornish Point, fruit set was varied and small shattered bunches were observed in its free draining soils. Then in January, the rain came and the season became very wet (Over 20 mm). Oddly, right before this, there was a period of drought at the end of Dec and 1st week of Jan!
  
  February saw equally high rainfall, with moderate temperatures. 2019's grape development was described as gently measured, and thus pleasing. Harvest at Cornish Point began on the last days of March, with the majority of picking having to be done in a short 12 day window.
  
  Shared my bottle with Colin who popped by to pick up some wines at my home, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 5 Oct 2022

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