This is the second review in the series of reviewing the five Felton Road Pinot Noirs. Today it is the Bannockburn Pinot Noir. This is the highest volume wine in the portfolio, and the only non single vineyard wine. In some cases, one would call this the entry wine, but the quality of this wine exceeds many premium wines. Maybe I could call it the base wine, as it is a blend from the three Felton Road vineyards, the Elms, Calvert and Cornish Point.
Again, I am tasting a wine from the 2009 vintage. In comparison with the Calvert I reviewed before, the 2009 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir is more open and approachable. The shape is not as focused and pencil sharp. The mouthfeel is rounder. The fruit flavours are not as intense, but the texture of the wine is excellent, with very fine tannins.
The top fruit from these vineyards goes into the single vineyard wines, therefore you expect this wine to be a bit lower in quality. However, a couple of things have happened in recent years. As the vineyards mature, the quality gap between different fruit parcels seems to reduce. And because of the sourcing from different vineyards and soils, the complexity can be quite high. Therefore, on occasions, this wine has recently been rated higher than the more fancied single block wines. This makes the Bannockburn an excellent buy.
Score: 93/++
Again, I am tasting a wine from the 2009 vintage. In comparison with the Calvert I reviewed before, the 2009 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir is more open and approachable. The shape is not as focused and pencil sharp. The mouthfeel is rounder. The fruit flavours are not as intense, but the texture of the wine is excellent, with very fine tannins.
The top fruit from these vineyards goes into the single vineyard wines, therefore you expect this wine to be a bit lower in quality. However, a couple of things have happened in recent years. As the vineyards mature, the quality gap between different fruit parcels seems to reduce. And because of the sourcing from different vineyards and soils, the complexity can be quite high. Therefore, on occasions, this wine has recently been rated higher than the more fancied single block wines. This makes the Bannockburn an excellent buy.
Score: 93/++
No comments:
Post a Comment