2009 Felton Road Pinot Noir Bannockburn

Good full red. Pure but restrained aromas of raspberry, minerals, white pepper, rose petal and herbs; about as Chambolle-like as any New Zealand pinot I've tasted this year. Juicy, tangy and pristine, with lovely sappy lift to the red fruit and spice flavors. Offers a compelling combination of sweet fruit and inner-palate energy. Finishes sappy and impressively long, with spicy, peppery tannins.

Closed at the moment. When the vines were young the wines didn’t seem to go through a sulky period but that's where 2009 is now. There was lots of mildew though Felton Road managed to escape. Harvest was a little too spread. For Nigel Greening this was the most successful vintage so far. First year that the Pinot had an average vine age more than 10 years. Bright cherry red. Back to compost on the nose of this (like 2007). Some purple fruit character too. Solid, straightforward fruit. Very definitely similar in style to other bottlings. Pure and well balanced. I'm just looking for a little ingredient X. Perhaps that's reserved for the Block 3 and 5. Dry finish. (JR)

This was my favourite Pinot of this tasting but I did not pick it out as the New Zealander among the Australians (in fact only 2 out of around 50 tasters did so). Deeply coloured. Slightly savoury and oaky on the nose but with ripe red fruit too. Raspberry-ripple ice cream. Fragrant on the mid palate. Soft, elegant and very pure fruited. Good length. Fine grained and beautifully balanced. (JH)