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!
Ashton Hills is home to a meagre 1,200 Riesling vines, covering just 0.34-hectares of soil. At best these vines manage less than two hundred cases of wine per year. Given the small volumes on offer we don’t expect this wine to hang around. James Halliday has written: “…it is no exaggeration to say George knows every vine as if it were planted in his front garden,” so, combined with the quality of the vintage, you’d be right to expect something pretty special from this bottle.
The 2017 growing season in the Adelaide Hills was characterised by a long winter, even by Hills standards, but the temperature eventually thawed and conditions leading up to vintage were perfect for fruit set. For the first time ever the Estate Riesling was picked before pinot noir and low alcohol allowed pure fruit flavours to shine. The result is a classic dry European style with a fresh natural acidity. It has a fine texture, with an intensity of flavour and lingering palate that defies its delicate nature.11% Alc. The wine will drink well upon release and reward careful cellaring for 10+ years. Don’t overchill.
95 points, James Halliday “The floral, apple blossom-filled bouquet signals a cool climate riesling with a near unique combination of pure varietal fruit within a gauze dressing of acidity that creates the textures of the wine. Only 150 dozen made.”
Silver Medal, Adelaide Hills Wine Show 2017
RRP $35 **SPECIAL 6 PACK BUY … Only $29.99 when you buy 6 of this wine**
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