Riesling Block 1 2012

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2012 Felton Road Riesling Block 1 – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Riesling; alkohol 8.5%. Enkeltmark ifølge arket: The Elms Block 1 (The Elms vineyard). Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: While initially quite reserved aromatically, hints of spring blossom, white peach and apricot come to the fore. In contrast the palate detonates through the mouth. Rich dollops of peach ice-cream, intense lime, layer upon layer of a cornucopia of fruit until the palate gradually crisps and allows the mineral and acid to bring the whole show to an end. Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms three properties totaling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. Block 1 is a north facing slope immediately west of Block 3 on The Elms vineyard. It consists of the same Waenga soils (deep silt loams) as Block 3 and starkly contrasts the schist gravel soils of our Riesling in Blocks 2 and 4. 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. The spring started with warm temperatures and dry soils which encouraged even and strong early season growth. However, cooler and wetter weather set in for the remainder of spring. Flowering occurred in early December amongst hot and sunny conditions and was therefore fast and successful. The later part of the summer was punctuated by almost weekly cool southerly weather systems which moderated ripening and were somewhat welcomed after such a hot midsummer period. Rain associated with some of these weather events meant vine mid-rows were green, vine canopies were healthy, but without excessive vigour, and little requirement for supplemental irrigation. Yields in Riesling were around 25-30% down on normal. The weather over harvest was warm and stable with a very orderly flow of fruit to the winery. Riesling from Block 1 was carefully hand-picked followed by whole bunch pressing. The juice was settled overnight followed by a 3 week fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The fermentation was stopped by chilling to balance the high natural acidity with residual sweetness of 67 g/L, resulting in the low alcohol of 8.5%. The wine rested on fine lees with minimal processing before bottling in lateAugust to highlight the delicate Riesling characters. Vinification: Beginning with meticulous site selection and vineyard design started in 1991, Felton Road's story is one of refusal to compromise. […]