Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019 - 82

Top 100 Wineries

NE W WO R LD

Tabalí

Felton Road

CHILE | LIMARI VALLEY
Cooled by Pacific breezes, Tabalí's coastal wines stand out for
their elegance and restraint.

NEW ZEALAND | CENTRAL OTAGO
Felton Road produces a range of biodynamically grown pinot
noir that sets the standard in Central Otago.

In 1993, GuIllermo luksIc planted some of the
first vineyards in Limarí, a region about 250
miles north of Santiago. At the time, Chilean
viticulture for wine was largely based in the central valley south of Santiago, and few people
believed that quality wine could be made in this
arid region. But his vines grew close to the sea,
where they were buffered by cold winds and
fog. They produced their first vintage in 2002;
by 2003, the wines were already garnering high
scores in this magazine. The Luksics have since
planted a total of 740 acres-mostly cool-climate
varieties such as sauvignon blanc and pinot
noir-stretching from the coast up into the foothills of the Andes. Guillermo's son, Nicolás, has
since taken the reins from his father, working
with long-time winemaker Felipe Müller and viticulturist Héctor Rojas. Together, they've begun
pushing into other regions of Chile, such as the
Maipo Valley, as well as tackling new projects
like Tatié, a sparkling wine made in collaboration
with Champagne Thiénot. -r.D.T.

FELIPE
MULLER

FOUNDED:

2002

OWNERS:

The Luksic
brothers
WINEMAKER:

Felipe Müller
VITICULTURIST:

Héctor Rojas
ACRES OWNED:

740

ESTATE GROWN:

90%
IMPORTER:

Biagio Cru &
Estate Wines, New
Hyde Park, NY
82

BLAIR
WALTER

2017 Central Otago Calvert Pinot Noir ($62, 94
points) The Felton Road team planted three blocks
at the Calvert Vineyard under a lease in 2001, and
have owned that portion of Calvert since 2013. Those
parcels share low elevations and northern exposures, the sunny slopes helping to promote early and
consistent ripeness. Walter includes one-quarter of
the fruit as whole clusters, fermenting it in open-top
vats, and aging it in French oak barrels, 28 percent of
them new. The 2017 wine feels brisk and pure, with a
briar-berry crunch.

2018 Limarí Valley Talinay Vineyard Sauvignon
Blanc ($22, 95 points) Seven miles from the Pacific
and just north of the Limarí River, the Talinay vineyard was planted in 2006. The vines, growing in fractured, porous limestone soils at this cool, windy site,
produce mineral-driven wines, such as this sauvignon
blanc. Vinified in stainless-steel tanks, it stands out
for the clarity of its oceanic flavors, its salinity buffered by a rich complexity of fruit, from guava to green
apple. Delicious now, it's also structured to age well.
2016 Limarí Valley Vetas Blancas Reserva Especial Espinal Vineyard Syrah ($20, 92 points) This
grows on the bank of the Limarí River, just 15 miles
from the ocean. Aged for a year in French oak barrels,
it's a tense, firm syrah, the green edges of its fruit
dissolving into lush notes of huckleberry and plum
with time in the glass. If you open it now, decant it for
something rich, like duck.

FOUNDED:

1991

OWNER:

Nigel Greening
WINEMAKER:

Blair Walter
VITICULTURIST:

Gareth King
ACRES OWNED:

CASES PRODUCED:

95,000

In The early 1990s, Dr. sTewarT elms searched
for vineyard land in the mountainous southwest
of New Zealand's South Island. He was looking
for a site with loose, fast-draining gravel soils
that had been left undisturbed in the gold rush,
and found a parcel to plant at the end of Felton
Road. Winemaker Blair Walter joined him in
1997, and viticulturist Gareth King in 1999, both
staying on after Elms sold the winery to Nigel
Greening in 2000. Today, King tends 79 acres
of vines, and the estate has been certified biodynamic by Demeter since 2010. Taking a long
view, he farmed crops for compost, mulch and
animal feed for a decade before planting vines
in 2012 at what is now the MacMuir Vineyard.
Growing pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling,
the team's goal is to point up the variations in
the soil, elevation and aspect of each parcel; Walter vinifies exceptional blocks individually, working with ambient yeasts and avoiding filtering or
fining. As the region has grown from 500 acres
of vines in 1997 to 4,705 today, Felton Road has
helped define the fresh, savory style of Central
Otago pinot noir. -c.w.

2015 Maipo Valley DOM Vineyard Talud Cabernet Sauvignon ($25, 91 points) DOM, acquired
in 2013, is one of Tabalí's first vineyards outside of
Limarí. A stony site close to the Maipo river gorge, it
faces south, and that cool exposition comes through
in this wine's fresh, tangy red-currant flavors and mineral edge.

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2020

CASES PRODUCED:

2017 Central Otago Block 5 Pinot Noir ($82, 92
points) The Elms Vineyard surrounds the Felton
Road winery, where the vines grow in loess-covered
alluvial schist gravels, a soil that allows the roots to
easily penetrate deep into the ground. Block 5 sports
an additional band of clay, and Walter finds it grows
pinot noir with finesse and depth. While the wine initially shows the influence of French oak, that mellows
with time in the glass, and scents of raspberry and
rose show throughout.

12,000
ESTATE GROWN:

100%
IMPORTER:

Martin Scott
Wines, NY

2017 Central Otago Block 3 Pinot Noir ($82, 90
points) Block 3 rests on the same north-facing, gentle slope as Block 5, over a patch of deeper soils. The
wine offers a rich oak tones to underscore its powerful and complex cherry notes.

Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019

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