2020 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir

The 2020 vintage was slightly cooler than the average growing season, resulting in wines with more profound character and depth. Blair Walter noting: "We have great expectations for the 2020 wines." Fruit sourced for their wines are fully organic and follow biodynamic viticulture, ensuring the highest quality fruit arrives at the winery. From there winemaking is intentionally hands off with gravity flow, wild yeasts, wild malo, and an avoidance of fining and filtration to help preserve the expression of its terroir.
Felton Road farms four properties totaling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. The fruit for this wine is a blend of four vineyards; Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms.

Aged for 13 months in 30% new French oak barrels with the inclusion of 20% whole clusters in the ferment. Opaque dark red black colour with a dark purple red hue. Fragrant violet, dark cherry, anise and plum aromas meld into forest floor, a subtle meatiness and spicy cedar. Flooding the palate is a rich, powerful core of dark cherry, dark plum and anise flavours which are underscored by spicy cedar, earth, infusions of fresh herbs and dried meats. Fresh finish with a polished but firm tannin structure that leads into a long aftertaste that has a sturdy feel to it.
Cellar 6-8 years.
Alc. 14%

Other Reviews....
A perfumed nose of strawberries, sour cherries, raspberries, violets, vanilla and baking spices. It’s medium-to full-bodied with lively acidity and fine tannins. Balanced and compact with a velvety texture and a bright core of fruit on the mid-palate. Long finish. Chewy. Needs a few years to soften, but already impressive. Screw cap.
95 points
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