Region: Central Otago, New Zealand

Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir

Tasting notes: A perfumed nose of strawberries, sour cherries, raspberries, violets, vanilla and baking spices. It’s medium-to full-bodied with lively acidity and fine tannins. Balanced and compact with a velvety texture and a bright core of fruit on the mid-palate. Long finish. Chewy. Needs a few years to soften, but already impressive.

Producer: Releasing their first commercial vintage in 1997, Felton Road has since developed an impressive reputation both in and outside New Zealand over the last three decades thanks to the singular vision of winemaker Blair Walter.  Not only do they represent one of the top wineries in New Zealand, but they are also widely considered to be one of the best Pinot Noir producers in the world at-large. The winery is committed to sourcing fruit from only their estate vineyards and everything is hand-picked. Since 2002, the vineyards have been managed organically and biodynamically, with their four vineyards receiving full certification in 2010 by Demeter.

Vineyard and Winemaking: Felton Road Wines Ltd, in Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand, has planted some of the world's southernmost vineyards. The expression, "growing on the edge," has real meaning in Central Otago, with the lowest rainfall and lowest temperatures of any agricultural region in New Zealand. 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.