Very much enjoying this wine. It’s a serious Pinot Noir from Central Otago’s most famous winery, Felton Road. I visited in February, and all the hype you hear about this winery is justified. The Pinot Noirs are superb.
Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2008 Central Otago
14% alcohol. Lovely sweet slightly meaty nose with dark cherry and raspberry fruit: smooth and quite elegant with lovely purity. The palate has intense sweet dark cherry fruit, some raspberry freshness and nice concentration and texture. Nicely complex with some minerality as well as lovely richness. Superb. 95/100
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7 Comments on World class Kiwi Pinot: Felton Road Cornish Point
I was fortunate enough to meet Nigel Greening at a tasting in Brisbane about a year or so ago. This was the only item I bought on the night – and yes it was delish. I look forward to being able to pull this one out of storage at some point and reacquainting myself.
Do you have any particular views on drinking windows on this wine Jamie?
Cheers
Stuart
I’m with St – “delish” sums up this kind of wine. However, it does not make it great in the way in which top Burgundies are great. It’s “too easy” for a start. Truly great wines, perhaps like truly great people, need to grow on you.
(sorry, missed a “u” after the “St”)
good question: it’s delicious now, but has the potential for development. I’d see this as a 10 year wine, improving over the next five years and then hitting a plateau.
Cheers Jamie
Alex – I am happy to be a Saint!
As a Pom living in Oz I made a conscious decision upon moving here to focus my drinking on Aus and NZ wines: part ethics in terms of reducing food miles; part logic in that having lived in Europe I didn’t feel the desire to buy European and I also wanted to open myself up to more Aus/NZ wines that wouldn’t necessarily have made it to main street UK.
That said I haven’t taken my palette to Burgundy so am not best placed to comment on the Felton Rd vis Top Burgundies. I do fall into the “France scares me” camp and find it less challenging, and perceive it to be less financially prohibitive, to be able source upper echelon Aus and NZ wines regardless of region and/ or variety.
Hi,
I have been trying to find the Block 5 and no success so far or it is $50 more than what it usually sells for. Is the Cornish pt better?
In OZ, with french drops, the mark up is prohibitive and Burgundy is a particular tricky one to look for bargains i.e. due to the AOC, one can end up with a pitiful drop coming out of a prestigious plot. I only drink referrals from there as I cannot afford to experiment.
Darren- I worked a one-year internship with Felton Road from winter 2010 through the end of the 2011 harvest. I can tell you that Block 5 and Block 3 both have a very specific gout de terroir or identity. In my opinion Block 5 is bit more opulent with thicker tannins. Block 3 has more nerve and edgier tannins. These two blocks (I think) are the two oldest blocks of Pinot at the Elms Vineyard. Every wine gets the same treatment in the vineyard and winery so there is no lower level wine there.. I am partial to Calvert. Its a neat vineyard.