Wine Advisor
Felton Road, Block 2 Chardonnay 2023
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
The 2023 Block 2 Chardonnay is toasty and tropical, with a skein of fleshy acidity within the folds of the fruit. This is texturally wide, with white pineapple, peach, hay and caper brine, and framed by toasty oak. There is lime zest and toasted nuts. The wine is, at this stage, a wine of parts, and it feels to me as if it will be a more cohesive proposition in a year's time. It's very ripe but leafy too. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Reviewed by: Rebecca Gibb MW
While the opening is rather appealing to the 2023 Chardonnay Block 2 with welcoming puppy fat, this is all about its sense of tension, held tightly together as if it's an Anjou Chenin on schist, giving similar tension and chili spice. Pure, succulent fruit is held within a tight corset. The finish is long and savory, with almond pastry layers lingering long alongside the pear and nectarine notes. (100% Mendoza clone, 17 months in barrel, 4% new oak).
About the Producer
Felton Road is situated on warm, north-facing slopes of glacial loess soils in Bannockburn, in the heart of Central Otago. The modern gravity-fed winery receives 100% estate-grown fruit from its three vineyards that are all farmed biodynamically and are fully certified by Demeter. Minimal intervention in the winemaking with such practices as wild yeast, no fining or filtration, allow the unique vineyard characters to further express their considerable personality. Since the first vintage in 1997, Felton Road has acquired a formidable worldwide reputation.
