Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 750ml

“Perfumed Central Otago Pinot Noir with cherry, raspberry, dried rose and fine silky tannins.”

Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is a beautifully composed Central Otago Pinot with the depth you expect from Felton Road, but also plenty of freshness and detail.

Cherry and raspberry lead the way, with dried rose, violet, rosemary and subtle spice adding lift. The palate is medium bodied and finely textured, with juicy red fruit, a savoury herbal edge and fine dusty tannins giving the wine real shape and length.

This is a great bottle if you enjoy Pinot Noir with perfume and finesse rather than simple fruit sweetness. There is plenty of generosity here, but the real appeal is the balance between fruit, herbs, spice and tannin.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Cherry, raspberry, dried rose and violet with rosemary, herbs and gentle spice.

Palate: Medium bodied with juicy red fruit, blood orange, savoury herbs and fine powdery tannins.

Finish: Long and energetic with lingering cherry, spice, petals and a subtle earthy note.

Halliday Wine Companion - 95 Points

A blend across four vineyards: Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms; matured for 13 months in French oak, 24% new. The wine leads with seductive aromas of fresh and dried floral tones along with cherry compote, wild thyme, raspberry, fennel tops, barrel spice and a hint of cured meats and leaf litter. The palate is finely textured, revealing a savoury core of raspberry, red and dark cherry and blood orange, dusted with Medina spice and balanced by fine, silty tannins and a mineral line. It's a wine driven by structural tension rather than fruit sweetness, finishing with a long draw of pure flavour and a complex spice-and-herb array. Dave Brooks

Serving Suggestions

Excellent with roast duck, roast chicken, pork, mushrooms and charcuterie.

It also works beautifully with salmon, lighter beef dishes and soft cheeses, where the freshness and fine tannins keep everything elegant.

About The Winery

Felton Road is based in Bannockburn in Central Otago and has become one of New Zealand’s benchmark producers of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling.

The Bannockburn Pinot Noir brings together fruit from the estate’s Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms vineyards, giving the wine a broad picture of the Felton Road style rather than focusing on a single site. The estate is certified organic and biodynamic, and the wines are known for precision, perfume and a strong sense of place.

This is one of those bottles where the reputation is deserved. Plenty of polish, but still enough character to keep it interesting.

Cellaring Potential

The 2025 is already approachable, but there is no rush.

Gary Walsh gives it a drinking window of 2026 to 2036+, so well stored bottles should develop beautifully over the next decade.

Collector’s Note

The 2025 Bannockburn Pinot Noir received 95 Points from Gary Walsh for The Wine Front and 95 Points from Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion.

That combination of strong reviews, biodynamic farming and Felton Road’s reputation makes this a particularly compelling vintage for Pinot Noir drinkers and collectors alike.

Details

Producer: Felton Road
Vintage: 2025
Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Central Otago
Subregion: Bannockburn
Country: New Zealand
Bottle Size: 750ml
Wine Style: Premium Cool Climate Pinot Noir
Wine Sweetness: Dry
Wine Body: Medium Bodied
ABV: 13.7%
Closure: Screw Cap
Organic: Certified Organic
Biodynamic: Certified Biodynamic
Critic Scores: 95 Points Halliday Wine Companion, 95 Points The Wine Front
Key Flavours: Cherry, Raspberry, Dried Rose, Violet, Herbs, Blood Orange, Spice