Saint & Scholar Pinot Noir
This Pinot Noir flaunts a beautiful ruby red colour when poured into the glass. Aromas of berries, strawberries, cherries and raspberries are offered on the nose. These fragrances make way for a fresh palate that reveals flavours of crunchy blueberries and strawberries. The flavourful palate is followed by a lengthy finish. You may pair this varietal with pasta, roasted chicken or fatty fishes.
Thistledown Suilven Chardonnay
O'Leary Walker Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
The Lane Estate Chardonnay
Longview Macclesfield Chardonnay
Sophisticated and sumptuous, this light straw coloured wine is a Chardonnay connoisseur's dream come true. On the bouquet, it's a pure expression of fruit quality and vineyard, with characteristics of white peach, ripe nectarine and underlying minerality. Wild yeast, barrel fermented vinification offers a rich mouthfeel to this wine's elegant palate, which features ripe stone fruit flavours, citrus notes and a pristine acid line. The finish is crisp, clean and slightly creamy, heightened by perfectly integrated French oak. Enjoy it on its own or with chargrilled lamb cutlets served alongside tomato and oregano salad.
Deviation Road Loftia Vintage Brut
Ageing for a minimum of 24 months on lees adds complexity to the fresh citrus, red apple and spring blossom aromas. The palate is crisp with a lingering, mouth-watering finish. A persistent fine bead and creamy mousse gives extra lift to these delicious aromas and flavours. Winemaking: Different parcels of fruit are all hand-picked and whole bunch pressed separately into tank for settling. Fermentation of these small batches lasts around 12 days and in 2012 only some parcels of wine were putthrough malo-lactic ferment to soften the acidity and add complexity. Others retained the full acidity to add tension and structure in the final blend. Food Match: Shellfish hors d-oeuvres
Heirloom Vineyards Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir
Heirloom’s mission is to preserve and champion South Australia’s unique old vineyards and varieties. Along the way, they’re turning out some simply outstanding wines. Halliday calls this juicy Pinot "classic Adelaide Hills" and gave it a stunning 94 point rating with this to say about it: "Mid-red, good depth; this spicy, red fruit-scented pinot is classic Adelaide Hills, juicy, fine and full of fine-grained tannins, the silky finish and kick of eucalypt typical... 94pts" (Halliday).
Heirloom Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir
Murdoch Hill Chardonnay
Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir
Red cherries and strawberries along with notes of undergrowth and preserved lemon. Bright and juicy red fruit characters with a savoury back half of earth, leather and subtle dried herbs. The palate is of medium weight with graceful, fine tannins that lend it a plush quality throughout. Grapes were handpicked, keeping individual clones separate in small open fermenters. Some whole bunch fruit was added to ferments, enhancing aromatics and structural complexity. Fermentation was initiated by indigenous yeast (wild ferment). Each clonal parcel was basket pressed and filled to seasoned French oak barrels with full solids. All barrels were kept on lees to build palate, body and complexity. They were racked and blended just prior to bottling. Stephen Georges three hectare, dry-grown, Ashton Hills vineyard lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. Planted in 1982, its a quality site that, thanks to the humility and integrity of its gifted farmer, has been the source of some of South Australias most intriguing cool-climate wines, and certainly its most authentic and fascinating Pinot Noir. You dont need to spend much time in the Piccadilly Valley to realise why this area was granted sub-regional statusit is totally different to the rest of the Hills. In short, its much colder and wetter. Georges Estate vineyard lies at 570 metres above sea level and the vines shudder through some of the coolest vintage conditions in the country. Meanwhile, rainfall is a whopping 1200mm a year, well over double that of the Barossa. Whether its the lifted perfumes, elegant structure and Alpine freshness of the Pinot Noirs or the icy purity of the Riesling, Piccadilly Valleys bona-fide cool-climate imprint is never far away. A healthy portion of old-vines and the vineyards south-facing aspect afford George the luxury of late harvesting that plays a significant role in the personality of these wines. Terroir is one thing, how its worked is another, and Stephen George clearly has an intuitive touch and the drive to continually evolve. Most recently this evolution has resulted in George grubbing out all varieties except for Pinot Noir, and a little bit of Riesling, focusing his Pinot Noir on four specific clones selected from a line-up of 25 that he had tested. The Ashton Hills winery is incredibly basic, with an earth floor and next to no equipment whatsoever. The Pinot fruit is destemmed via a small, customised, gentle destemmer that keeps as many whole berries as possible. The fruit is then basket pressed, and the wine is made without any sulphur additions until bottling. Some whole bunches are included, and the percentage varies according to the style of the vintage. The red wines are mostly raised in aged, neutral French hogshead barrels. Having already cemented his living-legend status amongst his peers and compiled a storied CV that includes his role at Wendouree (since the 1980s) and twenty five vintages at the helm of Ashton Hills, you could forgive this reclusive winemaker for taking his foot off the gas. Not a bit of it. Stephen George is in fact making the best wines of his career.