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 has long been regarded as a benchmark for Pinot Noir, yet this legendary Piccadilly Valley vineyard also produces outstanding Riesling to the same level. There is only a meager 1,200 Riesling vines at Ashton Hills, covering just 0.34 hectares of soil, so the production is tiny. These vines were planted in 1982 on their own roots. James Halliday has written: “It’s easy to see why Stephen George was reluctant to remove the tiny patch of Riesling on the estate. This is all about purity and elegance, floral and fine.”
So the story on the 2019 is this: hand-picked fruit from the Ashton Hills vineyard was crushed, destemmed and chilled en route to the press. A gentle press cycle was used with only the free run component being kept for an even more limited release wine. Juice was fermented at cool temperatures and, as has typically been the norm for this wine, a low level of natural, residual sweetness was maintained to complement the flavour, texture and lively profile. From a warmer, dryer vintage (although cooler than 2018), this is an outstanding release. Expect pristine lime pith and sappy fruit and a deliciously racy, delicate yet intense palate and a literally perfect balance on the finish—dry and mouthwatering, yet with just enough juicy sweetness.
96 points, James Halliday “Sourced from eight rows (1200 vines) planted by Stephen George in ’82. As ever, very intense and layered. No tricks to the vinification, making the task of elbowing out great pinot noir all the more impressive. A truly lovely wine – exceptional.”
93 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front ““Ashton Hills Riesling is often overlooked but it shouldn’t be. This 2019 version would swiftly bring you around. Those flowery apple scents. That lime. That lingering flavour. There’s a smidgen of RS here and it works a treat. It’s remains elegant and chalky, and presents as both characterful and clean. It’s a beautiful Riesling.”
RRP $35 **OUR HOT 6 PACK BUY FOR A LIMITED TIME .. $29.99 when you buy 6 of this wine**
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