Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2024

Felton Road Cornish Point, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2024

Grape: Single vineyard 100% Pinot Noir. 7.6ha site with sandy loam soil. 24 year old vines. All vineyard work is done by hand. Natural yeast fermentation using 25% whole cluster bunches. Unfined and unfiltered. Aged for 13 months in 20% new French oak barrels from artisan Burgundian coopers. Certified organic and biodynamic.

Winemaker's Tasting Note:

Red cherry, plum and a hint of dried herbs open the nose in a delightfully fragrant manner. The aromatics deftly define the knife edge ripeness that’s critical for great Pinot Noir; dialled in with ease in the exceptional 2024 vintage. Cardamom, mace and cranberry make an appearance, followed by a finely poised mouthfeel. The silky tannins are luscious and sweet, providing backbone and length. A typically expressive Cornish Point.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Fantastic wine, a bouquet of raw energy and purity of fruit. Layers of red berry fruits framed by a savoury dried herb complexity, scents of soil and barrel spice, earth and gentle wood smoke, a sweetness of some new wood and dried potpourri. Taut, tense and youthful on the palate with a core of raspberry and black cherry flesh, some boysenberry then fruit and barrel spices, sand and clay. Lengthy, youthful with plenty of cellar time ahead. Best drinking likely from 2029 through 2040."

96/100 points (Outstanding), Cameron Douglas MS, November 2025

"This is so perfumed, with violet, fresh strawberry and black cherry aromas. It’s medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins and a persistent and caressing finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold."

98/100 points, James Suckling, October 2025

"Intense, fragrant pinot noir with a delicious and distinctive flavour footprint that includes a medley of floral, dark berry and mixed spice characters. The wine evolved as it sat in the glass, becoming mellower and slightly more complex. A pleasure to drink now but there is certainly no rush."

97/100 points, Bob Campbell MW, 2025

This wine is from Cornish Point vineyard where the close proximity to Lake Dunstan (surrounded on three sides) creates a unique mesoclimate. Heavy silt soils overlie alluvial gravels interspersed with calcareous seams. The resulting wines from the Cornish Point vineyard display dense and dark fruit, with warm and inviting textures from usually softer acidities and rounded, well-formed tannins. The bouquet is particularly intense from this vineyard: floral and deep fruit notes predominating. Flavours are always in the dark end of the spectrum, with pronounced secondary notes rather than simple primary fruit.

Food Match: Pair this wonderful Pinot Noir with roasted duck.