Chardonnay Block 6 2024

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2024 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: Benefitting from gentle, northerly exposure, the mature vines of Block 6 channelled every minute of golden autumn sunlight into a wine of arresting vitality. Sensitive elevage has tempered the exuberant peach and grapefruit characters, allowing notes of brioche and hazelnut to add a sense of depth. A saline edge emerges on the finish as the fruit reaches its crescendo, at once both slaking and inspiring thirst. Complexity from simplicity. Vineyard & viticulture: Vintage After a wet September, spring commenced with good soil moisture and bud burst occurred at the normal time of early October. Temperatures hovered around average with December being warm and dry, enabling a successful flowering and fruit set. The dry conditions prevailed throughout January and February limiting berry size and setting the scene for fruit with elevated phenolic material and complexity. Judicious use of irrigation was required to maintain sufficient vine health throughout this sustained dry period. Temperatures never spiked and hovered around average enabling a slow and steady path to maturity. A distinctive feature of March 2024 was the cool night temperatures preserving acidity, freshness and precision of fruit character. Chardonnay was harvested from 18-27 March. Vinification: 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. Predominantly Mendoza with some Dijon clone 95 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 late-August 2025. The wine was not fined or filtered.