Felton Road New Releases - Interview with Winemaker Blair Walter

As luck will have it, I am likely to interview the two most highly regarded  Pinot Noir winemakers in the Southern Hemisphere on subsequent days.

The discussion with Blair Walter of Felton Road last night was an interesting lesson in the influence of terroir. The three vineyards from which the four single vineyard Pinot Noirs come, are quite close, yet the terroir influences are quite different.

The 'Mother' vineyard, The Elms, is at a higher altitude than the other vineyards and gets shaded over earlier in the afternoon. As a result, the vines ripen later, but with good intensity and structure. Block 3 has deep fine sandy loam. The resulting wine is the most aromatic, very elegant, often with exotic fruit and spice characteristics. Block 5, only 100m further east, has more clay content, and the resulting wine is more concentrated and the darkest of Felton Road's Pinot Noirs.

The Cornish Point vineyard lies adjacent to a lake and is almost totally surrounded by it. The water influence reduces the diurnal range (difference between day and night temperature). As a result, there is more ripening time at Cornish Point. These are the first Pinot Noir grapes picked. Interestingly, Blair Walter spoke of the shape of the wines, as I did in the last post, and says the Cornish Point Pinot Noir has a rounder shape. The soil is sand over loam, and the wine has typically strong fruit characteristics on the palate.

The Calvert Vineyard is close to the Elms, but at lower altitude. It is therefore warmer. Soils are dominated by clay. As a result, the wine is more angular and shares features with Block 5 (my interpretation), although the vines are much younger.

Now on to the tasted wines from the 2013 vintage. It was a relatively warm vintage and regarded as 'easy' in Central Otago. Felton Road picked early to avoid over-ripeness, but risk then is lack of fruit intensity. The 2013 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir is a blend of all vineyards. The wine is quite open on the palate, but I find it a bit broad (90 points). The 2013 Cornish Point is a bit darker and more structured (91 points). The 2013 Calvert tastes of dark cherry, is more angular in its structure and quite closed at present (92 points). The 2013 Block 3 is where the Pinot Noir starts to sing. The aromas are lifted with exotic fruits and good depth and length as well (95 points).

My view is that by Felton Road's lofty standards, this is not the most successful vintage. Cooler conditions create better structures and mouthfeel for these wines. The 2013s are fine and well made, but will suit earlier drinking than many previous vintages.