Chardonnay Block 6 2020

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2020 Felton Road Chardonnay Block 6 – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Chardonnay. Enkeltmark ifølge arket: The Elms Block 6 (The Elms vineyard). Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: Stone fruit, lemon and white blossom. The mouthfeel opens broadly, then coats and intrigues with mineral and refined summer fruit characters. Purposeful, deftly handled and not a step out of place. The naturally low-yielding 2020 vintage has provided great fruit depth and texture in this classic rendition of Block 6. Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms four properties totaling 34 ha in the Bannockburn subregion of Central Otago. Block 6 was planted in 1993 and is positioned on a north facing slope immediately south of Block 5 on The Elms vineyard. Its higher elevation (282-300m) and steeper slope favourably intercepts the sun but results in it being more wind exposed. 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: Mendoza clone Chardonnay from Block 6 was whole bunch pressed, settled overnight and flowed by gravity to barrel in the underground cellar. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts in seasoned French oak (no new oak) was followed by a long and complete malolactic over the spring and summer. After 17 months in barrel (11 months on gross lees) the wine was racked carefully to tank for bottling in early-September 2021. The wine was not fined or filtered.