"Although it lacks the single-vineyard status of Block 3, this wine certainly measures up in quality terms. If anything, the flavours are more intense, although it arguably lacks the complexity of its big brother. Sophisticated pinot that deserves its cult status."  93 pts, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Dec/Jan 2006.

"Attractive full pinot ruby, fractionally the deepest of the three Felton pinots. These Feltons were assessed in a rigorously blind tasting of 21 New Zealand pinots. When the top three wines turn out to be from the same maker, that tells you several things. The straight Felton Pinot might not be quite as complex as the Block 5, due to less oak input, but as a consequence one can see the superb varietal and floral qualities of the fruit even more clearly: violets, boronia, buddleia. Of all New Zealand pinot noir producers, Blair Walter at Felton seems to have most clearly grasped the notion that great pinot is about sweet enticing floral components on bouquet, to be followed up by crisp aromatic and tactile red or preferably black cherry fruit. Oak must play a supporting role to these basics, and not dominate. This wine illustrates those factors to perfection. So buy the basic Felton for its great expression of ripe but not over-ripe pinot noir varietal quality, more vividly expressed than in the more complex Block 5. This wine is fractionally more acid than the two Block wines, which will augment its bouquet development in bottle, but detracts slightly from the palate. Cellar 5 – 10 years. This too should develop like the 1999 straight Felton, and will then compete with many a Cote de Nuits wine." 5 Stars, Geoff Kelly Wine Reviews, Nov. 2005.