Pinot Noir Block 3 2020

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2020 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 3 – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Pinot Noir; 13 måneder på fad, 30% nye franske fade. Enkeltmark ifølge arket: The Elms Block 3 (The Elms vineyard). Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: The nose contains all the characteristic array of complex aromatic notes we have come to expect from Block 3: exotic spice, dried herb, leather and deep, dark fruit. The first sip is captivating: how can a wine with such power and concentration be so enthralling yet ethereal? Further study is definitely required. It’s about balance and harmony, finesse and detail. The tannins are copious and muscular, but their chocolate coating tempers the decadence of the fruit. Wow! Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms four properties totalling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. Block 3 is situated on a gentle north facing slope in the heart of The Elms vineyard where a deep bench of silt soil is interspersed with calcarious seams. 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. Early vine development was steady with spring temperatures being average or slightly below and low rainfall. Flowering occurred during cool and relatively wet conditions causing smaller berry size and low bunch weights. Cooler conditions prevailed throughout the growing season, in particular March which was one of the coolest we have experienced. With the natural moderate to low yields and cool and extended ripening conditions, flavours were ripe and concentrated, with good vibrancy and acidity. The cooler and edgier growing season combined with our intensive viticultural inputs, contribute to the 2020 Block 3 possessing profound character and depth. The higher elevation and heavier soils meant the Block 3 was harvested relatively late between April 11-20. Vinification: The unique gravity flow winery enabled the grapes to be gently destemmed directly into open-top fermenters without pumping, retaining 20% as whole clusters. Traditional fermentation with a moderately long maceration on skins has extracted good colour and tannin with considerable depth of flavour. This wine was aged for 13 months in 30% new French oak barrels from artisan Burgundian coopers. In accordance with our non-interventionalist approach to winemaking, this wine was fermented with indigenous yeast and was not fined or filtered.