2003 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 5

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 90.5 points

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  10/19/2011 - TheBosWineGuy wrote: 94 Points

  Colour: Really dark for a pinot. My friend informed me that the dark colour is a signature of C Otago wines. Fair enough - no shiraz in there he says. Nose: this was unremarkable upon opening. I started to get all the things I look for in a great pinot after about 10 minutes of it being open. Red fruits, spices, and amazing bacon fat. Palate: savoury, fleshy, spicy, hot dogs, raspberries. Lovely stuff. Towards the end of the bottle I started getting mushrooms that turned into truffle oil, which was worth the price of admission. Really special wine from New Zealand.

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  10/2/2010 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  The last bottle of six. Tonight the 2003 Block 5 provided true pleasure. Just the right amount of fruit and maturity combined with a present but very subtle and palatable amount of oak this wine is at its peak right now. I am deeply sorry to have more or less mis-judged 3 bottles from the six I bought and thought they already had peaked... The 2003 Block 5 is an amazing wine full of deciduous forest, wet stable, red fruits, and a purity and complexity which is hard to find in Cali or Oregon Pinots. If you have any bottles left - drink up. Highly recommended.

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  9/1/2010 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  This is the best lesson I have thus far about drinking windows, bottle variation and never to trust "the experts". The Block 5 I had last year and rated 83 points, thinking it had already peaked and was not drinking very well, my guess is those two bottles were just coming out of the tunnel. Bottle number 3 (from 4 bought) is lovely tonight. No signs of the empty palate, the quick fading etc. Of course the bottles I tried a year ago might have been damaged somehow. No matter what, tonight the 2003 Block 5 is delicious revealing exactly what you expect: rainy deciduous forests, red berries, subtle old used saddle leather and a rich but somewhat elegantly restrained fruitiness. Recommended.

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  10/2/2009 - Christoffer78 wrote: 83 Points

  Sad, but this peaked 12-18 months ago.

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  8/22/2009 - Christoffer78 wrote: 89 Points

  With Involtini à la Milanese (soflty boiled in white wine, gremolata and salcissia) the -03 Block 5 showed its best side. Mature red fruits and saddle leather. Still high acidity but very subtle tannins. Do not give any air before serving. Only lasted for about 30 minutes in the glass.

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