95 Points Halliday: Savoury Precision from Felton Road’s Four Bannockburn Vineyards

The 2025 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir brings together Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms in a finely textured expression of Central Otago. Awarded 95 points by Dave Brookes, Halliday, this is Pinot Noir built on aromatic detail, silty tannins and structural tension rather than fruit sweetness.

My Wine Man on Felton Road

Felton Road is a reference point for Central Otago Pinot Noir, and Bannockburn offers a compelling introduction to the estate’s style. Rather than isolating a single vineyard, this blend brings four sites into conversation: Cornish Point, Calvert, MacMuir and The Elms. Maturation for 13 months in French oak, 24% new, frames the fruit with barrel spice while keeping the wine’s savoury, mineral character at the centre. For us, the appeal is the balance between expressive perfume and quietly insistent structure.

Tasting Notes

Fresh and dried florals rise above cherry compote, raspberry and wild thyme, with fennel tops, barrel spice, cured meat and leaf-litter complexity. The palate is finely textured and savoury, layering raspberry, red and dark cherry, and blood orange over fine, silty tannins and a mineral line. Spice and herbs linger through a long, detailed finish.

Dave Brookes, Halliday, 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.”

Style & Drinking Window

A medium-bodied, savoury Pinot Noir with fine-grained tannins, fragrant red fruit and a tension-led finish. Our suggested drinking window is 2026–2033, depending on storage and your preference for youthful fruit or more developed savoury notes. Try a gentle 30–60-minute decant when opening young, tasting as it unfolds.

Food Pairing

The fragrant cherry fruit, wild herbs and fine tannins of the 2025 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir make it an elegant match for Waitoa Free Range Chicken Tenderloin from My Meat Man. The wine’s raspberry and cherry flavours complement the chicken’s delicate, lean texture, while its thyme and savoury spice notes echo herb-led seasoning beautifully, whether pan-seared with thyme, grilled over a gentle flame, or oven-roasted with mushrooms.

Why This Is a Smart Buy

At HK$399, this offers a four-vineyard view of Felton Road’s Bannockburn Pinot Noir, supported by Dave Brookes’ 95-point Halliday review. The attraction is not simply the score: it is the combination of floral lift, savoury complexity and fine structure in a bottle that can bring detail to dinner now or reward a little patience in the cellar.

Looking for a Different Style?

2021 Burn Cottage Central Otago Pinot Noir – a biodynamic Central Otago alternative focused on purity.
2024 Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir – bright cherry, savoury earth and refined cool-climate tannins.
2018 Grosset Gaia Clare Valley Cabernet Blend – a more structured Cabernet-led direction, with cassis and cedar.