Many years ago a well respected wine critic suggested that the Felton Road Pinot Noirs do not gain much from ageing. So I decided to put their arguably best wine, the Block 5, away for many years. Today is the big reveal.
The first wine I open is the 2007 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir. This was a wine which was good at release. The wine is still fresh and quite fruit forward with plum and black cherry flavours. There is a savoury backbone with mushroom notes and a more umami taste than on release. The tannins have mellowed somewhat, but not a lot.The finish is long and balanced. In conclusion, this wine is not that different from release - pretty amazing after 13 years. But it raises the question of the value of cellaring this wine.
Score: 96/+++
I then taste the 2008 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir. The fruit profile is similar, but the mouthfeel not as big. Savoury components dominate this wine. There is also minerality and a salty taste in the mouth. This wine has probably peaked a couple of years ago, but it is still a balanced and very interesting Pinot Noir.
Score: 94/++
Overall, it is probably true that these wines have not changed that much with ageing. My notes may have pointed to more change than there really was. The obvious question: is this due to screw cap? I am not a big fan of screw caps for red wine. My question always is: if you had to chose between a perfect cork and screw cap, would you use screw cap? And corks are becoming much more reliable.
The other issue I want to investigate more is the issue of acidity. There is no question that there is less acidity in down under Pinot Noirs (or other wines, for that matter) than in Burgundy. What does this do other than obviously creating a different mouthfeel?
The first wine I open is the 2007 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir. This was a wine which was good at release. The wine is still fresh and quite fruit forward with plum and black cherry flavours. There is a savoury backbone with mushroom notes and a more umami taste than on release. The tannins have mellowed somewhat, but not a lot.The finish is long and balanced. In conclusion, this wine is not that different from release - pretty amazing after 13 years. But it raises the question of the value of cellaring this wine.
Score: 96/+++
I then taste the 2008 Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir. The fruit profile is similar, but the mouthfeel not as big. Savoury components dominate this wine. There is also minerality and a salty taste in the mouth. This wine has probably peaked a couple of years ago, but it is still a balanced and very interesting Pinot Noir.
Score: 94/++
Overall, it is probably true that these wines have not changed that much with ageing. My notes may have pointed to more change than there really was. The obvious question: is this due to screw cap? I am not a big fan of screw caps for red wine. My question always is: if you had to chose between a perfect cork and screw cap, would you use screw cap? And corks are becoming much more reliable.
The other issue I want to investigate more is the issue of acidity. There is no question that there is less acidity in down under Pinot Noirs (or other wines, for that matter) than in Burgundy. What does this do other than obviously creating a different mouthfeel?
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