If you live in London and plan to visit a winery then the longest journey possible is to the Bannockburn region in Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. This is the Southern-most vineyard region in the world and the next stop below here is Antartica.
Leave London via the USA or the Far East, travel to Sydney or Auckland and then take a flight on to Queenstown. Hire a car and take route 6 towards Wanaka (past the famous bungee jumping bridge) and you might just do it in about 35 hours, door to door. Alternatively, you can, like me, sit on the tarmac all night in Los Angeles in a broken down Airbus 380 and wonder if it's going to be worth the journey
Stephen Browett hard at work.
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Well, the answer is that it most definitely is. This is a remarkable vineyard region, especially considering that 20 years ago it didn't even exist. My pilgrimage was specifically to Felton Road in order to find out how they manage to make Pinot Noir that tastes as good as top red Burgundy.
Bannockburn's climate is unique. The area is surrounded by snow-capped mountains (even in Summer) with ski resorts a few kilometres to the South and rain-forests to the West. Not far from here is one of the wettest places on planet Earth receiving 365 inches of rain per annum! Yet in Bannockburn they have to irrigate the vines because they only receive 14 inches of rain a year. The area was once famous for gold-mining but after the gold rush came cherries and apricots and now, increasingly, fine wines.
Blair Walter
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Like Burgundy, the climate here is "continental" (this is the only non-maritime vineyard area in New Zealand) with cold winters and hot, dry summers. The Felton Road vineyards are Burgundian-looking and ancient in New Zealand terms - the original blocks are now over 15 years old. They are planted on north-facing slopes (in the Southern hemisphere north is the new south). Humidity is low and sunshine hours are high. They are farmed organically and bio-dynamically. Unlike many producers here, all the fruit is from their own vineyards (no grapes are purchased), they have their own winery and, in Blair Walter, one of the country's leading winemakers. Elevage is in French Oak barrels (about 30% new). Blair's wife Erin just happens to be the NZ importer for many of France's most respected coopers.
It's all very well having the best possible grapes but the huge advantage here is having a man of Blair's experience. He's been producing brilliant wines since the mid 1990's and has also worked at Newton in California and, crucially, at Domaine de l'Arlot in Burgundy under Jean-Pierre de Smet who in turn learned from the great Jacques Seysses at Domaine Dujac.
Jancis, the winery cat.
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Blair sat us down, under the watchful eye of Jancis, the winery cat, to taste his full range of Pinots.
The "regular" Pinot is produced from vines that are, on average, 9 years old. It has lovely red cherry fruit, sweetness balanced by keen acidity. A vibrant wine with great purity that I would happily mistake tomorrow for a good Volnay.
The Calvert vineyard was planted in 1999 and is managed by Felton Road. Half the fruit goes into the single vineyard label and most of the rest is shared with their friends at Craggy Range. This has a complex smoky nose with creamy, smooth fruit.
The Cornish Point vineyard was planted in 2000 and is a wine with good complexity and balance. This used to be blended into the regular wine but is now so good that the best fruit is being produced as a special, small (650 case production) single vineyard cuvée.
Felton Road Vines
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The two "Block wines" need little introduction as they are rightly regarded as the greatest Pinot Noirs of the Southern hemisphere. The 16 year old vines produce wines that taste like many a Grand Cru Burgundy, big, creamy, a touch of oak (but not too much), smoky, smooth, supple and long. Yet these are not blockbusters as they retain great charm, freshness and elegance.
If you can't face the long journey south, the wines of Felton Road are well distributed around the world and prove without doubt that it is possible to produce great Pinot Noir outside the Cote d'Or.
