The 2006 Chardonnay has an understated nose of apple laced with passion fruit with good definition. The palate is full-bodied and buttery in texture with perhaps just a little too much new oak? Feted as one of New Zealand’s best producers and justifiably so, in my opinion, for time and time again Felton Road’s wines triumph against all-comers. Located in Bannockburn, Central Otago, its vineyards nestle on a gentle north-facing slope between 200m and 335m and overshadowed by 2,000m mountains, their micro-climate benefits from low humidity, wide diurnal temperature variation and high sunshine hours. Although not yet certified, winemaker Blair Walter told me that they apply biodynamics to all the vineyards and benefit from a three-tier, gravity-flow winery and use wild yeasts as standard. I tasted their current portfolio at the winery with many turning up in blind tastings, as well as a comprehensive Block 3 vertical that will appear separately. The Pinots usually include some whole bunches depending upon the vintage, fermented in small open-top vessels and matured in oak of which around 30% is new. They mature for between 12 and 18 months and are bottled without fining or filtering. “Calvert” is a joint-venture with the fruit shared by Pyramid Valley Estate and Craggy RangeImporter: Wilson Daniels Ltd, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661, fax: (707) 963-8566

The toasty, mealy aromas upfront show the effects of barrel fermentation and sur-lie maturation, but those flourishes are backed by oodles of ripe fruit, ranging from pear to melon and on into citrus. Finishes crisp, with lingering notes of lemon and orange.——J.C.(5/1/2008)—— 91