Pinot Noir Block 5 2011

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2011 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 5 – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Pinot Noir. Enkeltmark ifølge arket: The Elms Block 5 (The Elms vineyard). Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: Subtle aromas of exotic spices, dark roses, violets and dried red fruits. The palate is instantly about texture, richness, copious fine dark tannin and hints of spice; but fruit takes a distant back seat somewhere way down in the darkness. In a few years the treasure chest will no doubt open, but right now it is all intrigue. Polished and seamless with the usual luxuriant Block 5 finish. Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms three properties totaling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. Block 5 is situated on a gentle north facing slope in the heart of The Elms vineyard and was planted in 1993. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity Vinification: 20% of the fruit was retained as whole clusters with the remainder carefully de-stemmed directly to the fermenters by gravity without harsh pumping. Long pre-fermentation soaks of 8 days prior to fermentation with indigenous yeasts and punched down by hand up to four times per day with a total time on skins of 21 days. Pressed off and barrels filled immediately by gravity to the underground barrel cellars. The wine spent 16 months in barrel (35% new French) with two rackings and no fining or filtration, before bottling in late-August 2012.