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Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2018

$74.99

HOT SIX PACK BUY. 97 points, Halliday. Flag ship wine from Adelaide Hills Pinot Superstar!

Out of stock

Categories: , , , Product ID: 9895

Description

Ashton Hills has the oldest pinot vineyard in the Adelaide Hills.   Stephen George wears two winemakers’ hats … one for his Ashton Hills wines coming from his estate vineyard high in the Adelaide Hills, the other for the iconic Wendouree wines in Clare.   He refers to his dry grown Piccadilly Valley vineyard planted back in 1982 as the “Burgundy of the Adelaide Hills”. Stephen is one of Australia’s most highly respected winemaking viticulturalists and a pioneer of Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir.  In 1982 he planted his dry-grown 3 hectare vineyard (which he refers to as his garden!) and has experimented much with trellising and planting 21 different pinot clones and settled on  the best performing 5 clones. To give you an idea of the attention to detail of this craftsman, sometimes they go through 4 times hand picking the same row to ensure optimum ripeness!  The result is sublime pinot noir … unfortunately in minuscule quantities!

As James Halliday has noted, [Ashton Hills] is the most distinguished site in South Australia for Pinot Noir; Stephen’s unremitting attention to detail has made Ashton Hills the one Grand Cru of the state.” He’s got a point. What other site in S.A. can point to such a track record of quality with the Pinot Noir grape? And it’s the Reserve that really bangs home this point each year it’s released. The 2018 is the result of a strict selection of Ashton Hills’ oldest vines and its finest clonal material. By its very nature, quantities are very limited. Stephen George’s selection (from all five of his clones) certainly contributes to this wine’s multifaceted depth of flavour, layers, architecture and length. It’s a Pinot that is powerful yet ultimately very seductive with waves of flesh and great finesse. There are similar characteristics to the Estate Pinot but even more fleshy fruit, intensity and persistence, and while it sees a little new François Frères, it’s the deeply coiled, sappy, ripe-plum-and-bay-leaf-noted fruit and lifted perfume that stands out. This is typically the tightest and most restrained of the Ashton Hills Pinots at a young age, yet in 2018, even here, the core of fruit means that this is already approachable.  14.5% alc

97 points, James Halliday, 1/10/2019 “70% 38yo D5V12 and 10% each of 777, Martini and MV6 clones (the clonal make-up varying each year), fermented with 30% whole berries, matured in French oak (50% new, normally 30%) for 10 months. Striking wine. The fruit impact deals with the oak. Extreme length.”

94 points, Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com A deep nose with dark fruit and earth and undergrowth potential here. This is one to lay down. The palate has a long and silky wrap of fine yet dense tannin and a gently suave, smoothly delivered textural ride of sweet ripe cherries, red plums and blueberries. Excellent balance to boot. Drink from 2024.”

95 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review  “Bright, deepish red/purple colour. A more reserved, less fragrant bouquet than the Estate model – dark cherries, whole-bunch effect not apparent. It’s medium to full-bodied, intense and powerful, with a lot of tannin. Dark fruits, very complex and highly appealing flavours, including noticeable oak. Best if cellared a couple of years. (Five clones, D5V12 the most important; 30% whole-berry ferments. 50% new oak.)”

RRP $91  **OUR HOT 6 PACK BUY ..Only $66.99 when you buy 6 of this wine**

Additional information

Producer

Ashton Hills

Variety

Pinot Noir

Region or Country

Adelaide Hills, Australia

Vintage

2018

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