Felton Road Estate Pinot Noir retasted

I am retasting this wine two days after the tasting, or, in other words, two days after the bottle being opened. The wine is still holding on, with more noticeable acidity, it feels lighter and more drinkable on the whole. There is more fruit (prunes) and greater minerality (ink, rubber) and ends with a green sappy finish. This was not decanted on the night and perhaps it should have been. Better and easier to drink than Wednesday! Still, I would not rush to buy a case.

Felton Road tasting, blame it on the vintage?

Last night, the tasting group gathered to taste ten Felton Road wines (see list below), all from the 2006 vintage, with the exception of the 2005 Pinot Noir Block 5. I was really looking forward to tasting the wines of this very successful New Zealand winery. I was planning on publishing my notes on all the wines. Unfortunately, the results were not as good as expected. I will publish the notes on the Rieslings, which happened to be the most successful wines of the evening. I am puzzled when I try to understand what is going on with the other wines, as this was my first tasting of Felton Road's whole range. The least we can say about the Chardonnays is that they have plenty of character. Although both the Elms Vineyard and the estate Chardonnay are very crisp, to the point of being steely, I could not link them to Chablis or to any other Chardonnay producing corners of the world. Both were very bitter and austere and gave not an ounce of pleasure to anyone seated at the table. There is no doubt that the generously oaked estate Chardonnay needs time, but the style is so unusual and unfriendly that it is difficult to predict a future for that wine.

On tasting the 2006 Pinots, all tasters experienced a burning sensation caused by the impressive 14.5% abv. If, on the nose, the wines displayed some of the charms associated with Pinot, on the palate, they were slightly bruising, demanding and abrupt. You felt that the charming raspberry fruit and perfume associated with Pinot Noir were present but masked by the heat of the vintage. Blair Walter, wine maker at Felton Road, does mention in his comments on the Felton Road web site that they experienced some intense heat in 2006. This is not hard to believe when you taste the Pinots (also of note, in 2006, Central Otago's has known an increase in production of 220 % on the two previous vintages, magic!!). The Block 5, a big Pinot by any standard, showed more elegance and more obvious Pinot character, but was from 2005.

Probably half of the tasters enjoyed the Vin Gris, a Pinot Noir based white wine of the very lightest pink hue. Somewhat savoury, bone dry and full of character, it will go down well with food.

If the wines of Felton Road are somewhat disorienting and demanding, they are certainly far from being dull. I look forward to tasting other vintages. If you are able to shed some light on the wines, please feel free to comment below. Now, the Riesling notes:

Block 1 Riesling 2006

On the nose, it is yeasty, with sweet lime and fresh mineral notes. Sweet with good balancing acidity, rich yet very fresh and lively, with the same finish of freshly-squeezed orange and lemon juice as in the estate Riesling, but with more elegance. With age, the sweetness will mellow leaving a complex Riesling of great varietal character and richness. Delectable now, but will reach a summit in a few years. Great length and weight achieved at a very humble 9.5% abv. 17.5 / 20

Riesling 2006

Light petrolly and some mineral notes, but mostly yeasty on the nose; unexpectedly medium dry with lively acidity, great balance and good weight, with a finish reminiscent of freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice. Very clean and crisp, feels less full bodied than the Dry Riesling, but then, there is less alcohol. 16.5 / 20 £13.95 Imbibros (UK)

Dry Riesling 2006

Quite pale and smelling yeasty, lively and fresh; feels bone dry (although I know there is approximately 10 grams of residual sugar!), clean, pure and crisp with good weight and length. Alive! 17 / 20 £13.95 Imbibros (UK)

Wines tasted:

Dry Riesling 2006

Riesling 2006

Block 1 Riesling 2006

Chardonnay Elms Vineyard 2006

Chardonnay 2006

Vin Gris 2006

Calvert Pinot Noir 2006

Pinot Noir 2006

Block 3 Pinot Noir 2006

Block 5 Pinot Noir 2005