"Somewhereness"
Felton Road wines always stand out amongst their peers. Nigel Greening and his team have made a real name for themselves for the delicacy, texture and gentleness of their wines. As is so often the case in the World of Wine, beauty is found on the margins. Central Otago is New Zealand's coolest and driest region. A continental style climate with big day and night temperature differences. The mission here is to make wines that reflect these conditions and their clay/loess soils. Wines that have "somewhereness," to quote Nigel.
Read MoreThis means, aromatic, fruity Pinots of sensuality, purity and "quaffability," as he puts it, which is something he feels his newly-released 2018s have in spades. The vintage was unusual - starting off with record heat and drought throughout flowering up until veraison. Just as these conditions were becoming cause for concern the weather changed on the 1st February. Temperatures plummeted and it rained, resulting in one of the coolest and wettest ripening periods the estate had ever seen. Harvest was one of the most precocious ever, starting on the 28th February. Having been so dry earlier in the season the late rains did not bring disease and fruit ripened even more fully than usual - revealed in the red wines by a distinct gloss and creaminess to the tannins. Alcohols averaged a balanced 13.5%.
A very good vintage akin to the 2008s in style - though arguably much better given the ever-increasing strides in quality this dynamic winemaking team have achieved over the last ten years. Attractive, easy to enjoy wines that reflect a place and a vintage; the Felton Road ethos is ever present in this range of 2018s.
Quantities of the Block wines are extremely limited and will be allocated on the basis of purchasing one case of Block 3 or Block 5 with one case of any other 2018 Felton Road Pinot or Chardonnay. If you wish to place an order, please contact your account manager or follow the links below.