Description
Ashton Hills is a three hectare vineyard that lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. The estate was founded by Stephen George in 1982 and since that time it has built a reputation as one of Australia’s finest proponents of pinot noir and cool climate whites including chardonnay.
For over 30 years Stephen experimented with up to 25 pinot noir clones, ultimately settling on five key clones that now make the acclaimed Reserve and Estate Pinot Noirs from Ashton Hills, plus a range of awarded sparkling wines and chardonnay.
Stephen George wore two winemakers’ hats … one for his Ashton Hills wines, the other for the iconic Wendouree wines in Clare. He refered to his dry grown Piccadilly Valley vineyard as the “Burgundy of the Adelaide Hills” and his “garden”. Stephen is one of Australia’s most highly respected winemaking viticulturalists and a pioneer of Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. The result is sublime pinot noir.. unfortunately in minuscule quantities!
Stephen has now taken a step back into semi-retirement to spend more time travelling to his beloved Burgundy, and has transferred his stake in Ashton Hills to Wirra Wirra Vineyards, with its pedigree in cool climate Adelaide Hills whites and quality McLaren Vale reds. Nonetheless, he continues to reside at his home at the winery and works closely at vintage with the Wirra Wirra winemaking team to continue the tradition of producing benchmark wines from the Ashton Hills site.
“The Ashton Hills winery will always be the heart and soul of the Adelaide Hills wine region. Founder Stephen George set all the benchmarks; his relentless pursuit of myriad grape clones and varieties laid the foundation for the thriving region of today. Ashton Hills has been owned by Wirra Wirra since 2015, though it speaks volumes that Stephen still lives on the property and remains involved in its operation. This has been the most respectful of handovers, best proven by the steady and continued stream of top-tier releases.” Campbell Mattinson for Halliday Wine Companion
About this wine and vintage: This Chardonnay is sourced exclusively from the Piccadilly Valley sub-region of the Adelaide Hills, home of Ashton Hills. The Piccadilly Valley is the coldest and wettest part of the region, ideal growing conditions for Chardonnay. Ferment was sparked by indigenous yeasts and the wine matured in a combination of new and used French oak for nine months.
For the second year in a row the Piccadilly Valley growing season resulted in reduced yields. The long, cool and wet winter pushed into December affecting flowering and a cooler than average start to the year meant the small bunches and berries needed well into March/April to reach maturity.
Aromas of yellow peach, jasmin and white stonefruits. The palate is brimming with green mango, peach and nashi pear with a hint of cashew from the subtle touch of French oak. The wine will drink well upon release and reward careful cellaring for five years or more. 12 % alc.
95 points, Erin Larkin for RobertParker.com “The 2023 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay leads with crushed nuts and yellow peach, brine and crushed shells, white nectarine and green apple. On the palate, the wine is creamy and totally pleasurable to drink: it feels good in the mouth. This flows in rivulets of flavor across the palate, with a skein of tarragon and shaved fennel through the finish. The fruit for this wine was sourced from three vineyards in the Piccadilly Valley: Bowhouse, Woods Hill and Virgara. It was handpicked, whole-bunch pressed to French oak puncheons and barriques and then matured on solids for nine months prior to bottling. This is a charming wine here, highly recommended.”
94 points, JamesSuckling.com “Very minerally and precise, with aromas of melon peel, flint and grapefruit rind. The palate has electric acidity from this cool vintage, with some generouse texture on the mid-palate coming from battonage in barrel. Notes of lime zest, yellow apples and slate with a saline edge. A laser beam that will soften in time.”
93 points, Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion “Crisp and bright, lively and fresh, a lighter iteration of the variety but not without mettle of savouriness, textural nuance and impressive length. Offers up scents of green apple, ginger and arrowroot biscuits, lime, woody spices and faint mushroom notes. The palate lines up similar descriptors and delivers light creaminess with some chalky follow-through and a pleasing pink grapefruit twist through the minerally, briny finish. Classy wine from a tricky year.”
RRP $53 Our Special Price $39.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
