Felton Road Chardonnay Bannockburn 2012

<p> “Felton Road could fairly claim to be Central Otago’s answer to Marlborough’s Cloudy Bay. Both wineries achieved overnight fame, and have done everything right since” (Halliday). </p> <p> Felton Road owes its existence to the vision of one-time Dunedin hotelier Stuart Elms, who pored over climate data and soil maps before selecting a site at the end of Felton Road (hence the prosaic name), Bannockburn. In 1992 he begun planting the 14ha estate vineyard on sheltered, north facing slopes, taking the process one step further by dividing it into 13 blocks differentiated by the proportion of stones and clay in the soil of each block. </p> <p> Charismatic owner Nigel Greening is a firm believer in biodynamics applied to all aspects of his estate. Some methods might sound a little Harry Potter-esque, but they certainly pay off, as his wines receive rave reviews and the estate has "rapidly attained cult status" (Bob Campbell MW). </p> <p> For this white, winemaker Blair Walter used grapes from the three Bannockburn vineyards, pressed in whole bunches to retain maximum flavour intensity, then fermented with wild yeasts in part new French oak. The wine was regularly stirred on its lees during the malolactic fermentation, resulting in a complex, mineral style of wine. Bright, pale green, the bouquet has white peach and grapefruit aromas and the palate has a fine-boned structure and wonderful intensity – a telltale of Felton Road Chardonnays’ ability to age. Enjoy with your finest sauced fish or white meat dishes. </p>