Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2021
- Decanter
-
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Distant wood smoke, a flicker of nettle and lovely, tart blackberry fruit make for an aromatic nose. The palate comes in with exquisite freshness and a firm structure. Typically for Cornish Point, aromatic high jinks highlight the lovely juiciness. The finish comes with an echo of smoke and apple pip. Totally mouth-watering. This spent 13 months in 25% new French oak.
-
James Suckling
A very energetic pinot with a fine line of tannins running through with a powdery texture. Medium-bodied and very compacted with beautiful berry, strawberry and extremely long. Subtle complexity with salted caramel undertones. Drink or hold.
Other Vintages
2020-
James
Suckling
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator - Decanter
-
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine &
Spirits
Central Otago is located on the southern end of New Zealand's South Island (latitude 45º south) and shares with Oregon (45º north) similar viticultural challenges: late frosts in Spring, early frost in Autumn, a growing season that may be curtailed overnight. Yet the climates of both are surprisingly similar to Burgundy's Côte d'Or: hot in summer, cold in winter. Central Otago is New Zealand's only wine region with a continental - rather than maritime - climate, which results in greater diurnal and seasonal shifts in temperature.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to the globe’s most southerly vineyards, which are cultivated below the 45th parallel, Central Otago is a true one-of-a-kind wine growing region, but not only because of its extreme location.
Central Otago is more dependent on one single variety than any other region in New Zealand—and it isn’t Sauvignon blanc. They don’t even make Sauvignon blanc there.
Pinot Noir claims nearly 75% of the region’s vineyards with Pinot Gris coming in a far second place and Riesling behind it. This is also New Zealand’s only wine region with a continental climate, giving it more diurnal and seasonal temperature shifts than any other.
The subregion of Bannockburn has enjoyed the most success historically but the area’s exceptional growth has moved to the promising regions of Cromwell/Bendigo and Alexandra districts. Central Otago is known for its fruity and full-bodied Pinot noir. With the freedom to experiment here, growers and winemakers are easily exhibiting the area’s great potential.