Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is a Central Otago Pinot Noir blended from all four of Felton Road's Bannockburn vineyards. Expect dark florals, cherry compote and raspberry, with fine, dusty tannins and a savoury, mineral edge. It suits anyone who wants a serious, age-worthy Pinot Noir without reaching for a single-block price tag.
Most producers in Bannockburn sell you one site. Felton Road's Bannockburn Pinot Noir is the one wine where you get all four of theirs in a single glass: Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms, picked block by block and brought together at harvest. It reads less like one vineyard's opinion of the vintage and more like the whole subregion's.
It's the easiest way into Felton Road's Bannockburn style without stepping up to their single-vineyard bottlings. It's a wine for a proper Sunday roast now, or a bottle to tuck away and open in 5 or 6 years once the tannins have softened further.
What it tastes like
The nose opens with dark florals, rose and a touch of violet, then moves into cherry compote. That's classic Felton Road Bannockburn territory.
The palate arrives textural and rich on the first attack, with a fine line of berry leaves, raspberry and boysenberry. Right through the middle there's a clear sense of tension that keeps it from ever tipping into pure fruit sweetness.
It finishes long, with fine, dusty tannins carrying a line of pure fruit and petals as it fades. Structured rather than plush, and built to keep unfolding over the course of a dinner.
Style at a glance
- Body: Medium
- Sweetness: Dry
- Acidity: Medium-plus, bright
- Tannin: Fine and dusty, moderate grip
- Oak: 13 months in French oak, 24% new — enough to frame the fruit with gentle spice, not enough to cover it
- Keywords: floral, textural, savoury, structured, age-worthy
Food
This is a Pinot Noir built for the table rather than the couch. A few pairings worth trying:
- Roast lamb rump with rosemary and garlic
- Seared duck breast with a cherry or plum reduction
- Venison backstrap with juniper and dark greens
- Wild mushroom risotto
- Grilled salmon with a mushroom or lentil ragout — an unexpected match, but the earthy notes on both sides bring it together
- Duck confit
- A washed-rind or aged Gruyère-style cheese
Who makes it
Felton Road began with site selection and vineyard design in 1991, in the Bannockburn subregion of Central Otago. Blair Walter is the winemaker, Gareth King the viticulturist and Nigel Greening the vigneron.
The estate farms 34 hectares across four Bannockburn vineyards: Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms. Every hectare is certified organic and biodynamic, under BioGro and Demeter. Felton Road is also B Corp certified and a member of the International Wineries for Climate Action group.
The winemaking follows the same hands-off approach across the range: gravity flow through the winery, wild yeast and wild malolactic fermentation, and no fining or filtration. The aim is to get out of the way and let each vineyard speak for itself.
About the vintage
Central Otago's 2025 growing season started with abundant rain through September and October, which topped up soil-water reserves ahead of a later-than-average bud burst. On 3 November a katabatic frost, the most extensive the region had seen in 20 years, struck vineyards across Central Otago. Blair Walter at Felton Road described 2025 as "another very decent vintage," with yields only marginally down on 2024 and 2023 because of that frost. A settled, benign spell during flowering brought a good fruit set that helped offset the damage.
At Felton Road's own vineyards, a protracted dry summer with even temperatures slowed ripening and concentrated flavour. February finished with a warm flourish before the weather cooled distinctly, especially overnight. Harvest began at Cornish Point on 25 March, followed by Calvert and The Elms, with the last Pinot Noir picked at MacMuir on 16 April. That slow, measured finish to ripening is what gives the 2025 its breadth and finesse.
Other Bannockburn producers saw a similar shape to the season. Quartz Reef's Rudi Bauer noted cooler nights and warm days through harvest, which kept acidity high and bodes well for the wines' longevity, while Mora Wines' Sarah Adamson described a dry season with steady, average heat summation from start to finish, allowing an unhurried, moderately paced picking window. It's shaping up as a strong year for Central Otago Pinot Noir generally, marked by freshness and structure rather than raw power.
When to drink it
Most Central Otago Pinot Noir at this level drinks well for 5 to 15 years from vintage. Felton Road hasn't published a specific cellaring window for the 2025, but there's no rush to open it: the tannins are there to soften, and a few years in the cellar will only add to what's already a layered wine. Serve at 14–16°C, a little below room temperature, to keep the fruit and florals in balance with the structure.
Technical details
| Winery |
Felton Road |
| Wine |
Bannockburn Pinot Noir |
| Vintage |
2025 |
| Variety |
100% Pinot Noir |
| Region |
Bannockburn, Central Otago |
| Country |
New Zealand |
| Alcohol |
13.7% |
| Oak |
13 months in French oak, 24% new |
| Fermentation |
Gravity-fed, open-top fermenters, 18% whole clusters, indigenous yeast and malolactic, not fined or filtered |
| Closure |
Screw cap |
| Organic / Biodynamic |
Certified organic (BioGro) and biodynamic (Demeter) |
| Cellaring |
Drinks well now; most Central Otago Pinot Noir at this level rewards 5–15 years in the cellar |
| Serving temperature |
14–16°C |
Where to buy
For international delivery to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, the Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 is available via our winenz.com website. For delivery in New Zealand you can purchase from thewineryonline.co.nz. If you are visiting New Zealand, you can also buy it at our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores.
Questions we are often asked
What does Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 taste like?
Dark florals, cherry compote and raspberry on the nose, with a rich, textural palate and fine, dusty tannins through a long finish.
What food goes with it?
Roast lamb rump, seared duck breast with a cherry reduction, venison, or a wild mushroom risotto all work well. Grilled salmon with a mushroom or lentil ragout is a less obvious match that plays off the wine's earthy side.
Is Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 organic and suitable for vegans?
Felton Road farms this wine under full organic (BioGro) and biodynamic (Demeter) certification. It is not fined or filtered at all, so no animal-derived fining agent is used in making it.
Is this a single-vineyard wine?
No. It's a blend from Felton Road's four Bannockburn vineyards: Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms. Felton Road also bottles several of these as single-vineyard wines in its own right.
How long will it keep?
It ages well. It's approachable now, and the fine, dusty tannins will keep softening over the next few years. It's sealed under screw cap, which is a reliable way to track how a bottle is developing without worrying about cork taint.
Where can I buy Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025?
The Winery ships Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2025 internationally from winenz.com to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, and delivers within New Zealand from thewineryonline.co.nz. It is also available in our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores.
