-
97
/ 100
Bob Campbell MW -
94
/ 100
Mike Bennie -
16.5
/ 20
Jancis Robinson MW
Red
Classification
Pinot Noir
Variety
2012
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
New Zealand
Country
Central Otago, Bannockburn
Region
14.0%
Alcohol %
15 Plus Years
Cellaring
Scores
97 / 100"I found this wine hard to read when first poured but it expanded in the glass to reveal a Pinot Noir of great power and purity with a rapier-like focus and an incredibly lengthy finish. Profoundly impressive wine with a fascinating future. Felton Road lease the Calvert vineyard in the Bannockburn district of Central Otago and split the annual grape harvest equally with Craggy Range and Pyramid Valley. The resulting wines provide clear evidence that winemaking influence is profound 17 JUL 2013"
- Bob Campbell MW
94 / 100
"‘Calvert is more restrained, more mineral, more focussed, and I don’t like to say this but a more Burgundian framework to it, as opposed to more fruity aspects of say Cornish Point, a little tighter and more angular, and for some people maybe a bit difficult to understand, but those who like an edginess in their wine will appreciate this wine, I think’, offers winemaker Blair Walter, humbly. The wine goes through natural fermentation in open fermenters then to barrel, 20 to 30% whole bunch in the mix, then to 30% new oak, the rest older, and spends a little longer there than the ‘Bannockburn’ standard pinot noir. The fruit is picked earlier than The Elms but around the same time as Cornish Point. The first harvest for this wine was 2002, after Felton took over in 2001, and the vineyard was planted in 1999. The site was planted by Matt Dicey of Mt Difficulty’s father. Felton Road has purchased half the vineyard, with the balance of the vineyard now to be leased to Cloudy Bay, as they search beyond Marlborough for their pinot noir offerings. Reserved aromas of black cherry, graphite and pepper with a whiff of briary blackcurrant and a hint of florals. Trim and taut to taste, a fine, sleek expression of pinot noir with silky texture but an underlying vitality and power driving the wine long across the palate. Finishes with a lick of lemony acidity, a seamless affair though, and very pure of fruit, in essence. Refreshing in its own way, elegant and the faint chalky pucker of tannins whips the palate clean. Very good."
- Mike Bennie
16.5 / 20
"Heady and opulent on the nose. Very flattering. Sweeter than the other Felton Road 2012s at the start. Then a little spindly on the finish."
- Jancis Robinson MW
Tasting Notes
Felton Road is a premium wine producer stablished in 1991, the estate owns 32 ha of vineyards in the Bannockburn sub-region. They prioritise minimal intervention in both the vineyard and the winery, resulting in wines of unparalleled purity and complexity.
"The 2012 Calvert is darker and denser than typically seen. The dark, brooding and mysterious nose invites deep contemplation, but the wine still leads with elegance. It keeps its signature mineral spine and intense purity of fruit with a palate staining tension. A sturdy framework of tannins focuses the wine,
adding drive, persistence and energy without constraining it. " - Felton Road
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity