Felton Road Calvert Pinot Noir

Product Description

Considerable research by Stewart Elms (hence the Elm tree logo) in 1991 identified the north facing slopes at the end of Felton Road, Bannockburn as being one of the warmest and most ideal sites in Central Otago for the growing and production of premium wine.Considerable research by Stewart Elms (hence the Elm tree logo) in 1991 identified the north facing slopes at the end of Felton Road, Bannockburn as being one of the warmest and most ideal sites in Central Otago for the growing and production of premium wine. The Elms Vineyard at the end of Felton Road lies in a gently sloping, north facing valley cut into the Bannockburn hills at the southern extremity of the Cromwell basin. Immediately above the vineyard lies Stewart Town and a large dam, where water was stored for sluicing the slopes of Bannockburn during the gold-rush which started in the 1860’s. The fact that this valley was untouched by the gold miners is possibly a reflection of the deep benches of heavy soil that form much of its structure: soils unlikely to hold significant amounts of gold. After the gold miners departed, the slopes were left for sheep to graze until Stewart Elms discovered the site’s potential for great Pinot Noir. He started to plant in 1992 and Felton Road began. A good winemaker has a thousand ways to make a wine “better” but, better by whose assessment? It has taken us over a decade to gradually acquire the confidence to understand that the wine should be what the wine should be. Like any good parent, one should encourage but not mould. If one sees a trait that is perhaps not what one would like to see, the solution lies not in how to cure the problem. but in learning to understand where it came from. Each year we have a new family to raise and our increased understanding can pass back to the new generation’s schooling in the vineyard. Since 2002 the vineyards have been managed organically and biodynamically, and in 2010 all three vineyards were awarded full Demeter certification.

The Felton Road Calvert exhibits brooding raspberry and redcurrant fruit, with notes of all-spice on the bouquet confirm themselves in the rich, broad palate. A hint of oak as always in the young wine, which will disappear as the palate grows even more intense with age. Chewy chocolate richness helps build a sustained finish.