Riesling Block 1 2020

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2020 Felton Road Riesling Block 1 – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Riesling; alkohol 9%. Enkeltmark ifølge arket: The Elms Block 1 (The Elms vineyard). Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: Exotic tropical fruit, frangipani and wild ginger lead on this flamboyant rendition of Block 1. The astonishing depth of fruit on the palate almost completely masks the sweetness and is reminiscent of biting into a delicious Central Otago tree ripened nectarine. The bright acidity forms a distinct backbone that provides freshness and lingering length. An absolute classic with virtually limitless cellaring potential. Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms four 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. 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. Riesling from Blocks 4 and 2 were harvested on April 15 and 20 with Block 1 on April 30. The cooler and edgier growing season combined with our Bannockburn sites and intensive viticultural inputs, contribute to the 2020 Rieslings possessing profound character and depth. Vinification: Riesling from Block 1 was carefully hand-picked followed by whole bunch pressing. The juice was settled for 7 days followed by a 4 week fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The fermentation was stopped by chilling to balance the high natural acidity with residual sweetness of 69g/L, resulting in the low alcohol of 9.0%. The wine rested on fine lees with minimal processing before bottling in early-September to highlight the delicate Riesling characters.