2019 Ashton Hills Piccadilly Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills

For this wine, Stephen George has long sourced small parcels of Pinot fruit from friends’ vineyards within the tiny Piccadilly Valley area. The 2018 includes some fruit from Ashton Hills blended with parcels from nearby vineyards, principally the Cemetery Block, Whisson Lake and Deanery Vineyard. George believes this is the finest set of source vineyards he’s had the luxury of working with in the Piccadilly.

All of the grapes were hand-picked, keeping individual clones separate in small open fermenters, with some whole-bunch additions for enhanced aromatics and structure. All ferments were with indigenous yeasts. Each clonal parcel was basket-pressed and went to seasoned French oak barrels with full solids. Just prior to bottling, the wine was racked and blended and only a small amount of sulphur was employed. 

The result is a quintessential Piccadilly Pinot with lifted sweet berry, rhubarb and menthol aromatics that unfurl to release some Campari-like tones. On the palate, there's lovely restraint, with medium-bodied fruit throwing all of the same characters found on the nose along with some exotic spice, that bitters note, and a vein of sappy, eucalyptus-like undergrowth complexity that lingers on the finish. There are also plenty of fine, wispy tannins. In general there is a fine tension and freshness here, and more restraint and savoury structure than we've noted in this wine previously. A terrific release from Ashton Hills and again, outstanding value.