Bonhams Magazine

New Zealand's Pinot Noir wines are acknowledged as perhaps the finest expression of this temperamental grape outside of Burgundy itself. The most acclaimed of these is Felton Road, owned by Englishman Nigel Greening, whose involvement with winemaking only began in 1999. A former events manager, with a passion for Burgundy, he fell in love with the country after visiting a few times and then decided to find the best potential site in Central Otago, a spectacular region of lakes and mountains on the south Island. It began at the age of 50, with the purchase of a 20-acre apricot orchard called Cornish Point but even before his first grapes were ready for harvesting, nearby Felton Road came up for sale.

Nigel sold his house in Britain and sank every penny he had into expanding his holdings to its current size of four different vineyards totalling 75 acres, producing 12,000 cases of wine. “We were soon on the radar, almost embarrassingly early, thanks to excellent reviews by Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson. We export 75 per cent of our wines to more than 40 countries, but the top ones are all on allocation as demand is so high. They are widely, but thinly, distributed, so it is impossible to find even three or four cases of the top wines, which is how I like it because I grow my wines to be drunk, not used as financial bargaining chips.”

Since going completely organic and reaching what he and his wine maker, Blair Walter, considered to be their optimum size back in 2006, they have rigidly stuck to a policy of zero growth in order to focus purely on improving what they already have. “We are at a really comfortable size and can concentrate on lowering yields and improving everything without any distraction about expansion. It changes your perspective, so now our planting policy is based on a 30 year time frame and if we want to plant something new, we have to rip up existing vines, which makes you think a great deal harder.”  They also try to be as self sufficient as possible, actually producing more solar power than they use at the vineyard, which is then sold back to the national grid. Many international companies have tried to purchase Felton Road, but it is categorically not for sale. Even the pricing policy for the past decade has been kept the same with small increases to cover inflation, though the actual market price would be far higher.

Nigel also has far smaller amounts of Riesling and Chardonnay for sale, though his real passion remains Pinot Noir. He likes to strive to produce the equivalent of Grand Cru Burgundy with the same high standards without the exorbitant price that such wines achieve now. Interestingly, his wines are for sale in a wide number of leading Michelin starred restaurants in France as well as smaller hip wine bars in Paris. “We have always had strong recognition from French critics as well as sommeliers who have travelled the world and want to expose their customers to the best outside of France.”

Lots 628 to 662 in our upcoming Fine and Rare Wines auction on 26 November are all Felton Road. 16 different vintages are offered, mostly Pinot Noir from each of the individual vineyards, but Chardonnay and Riesling are also represented.