Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir 2017

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 wine making viticulturists 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!

A Pinot Noir that's Delightfully Smooth
­The wine is fragrant with red cherry, orange peel, rosemary and five spice. Some savoury character with light gamey notes and a hint of grilled nuts. The palate is bright and lively with cherry and raspberry fruits. ­The succulent medium bodied palate is laced with forest floor, peat and fresh herbs, supported by fine tannins and spice.

Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia

Alcohol: 14%

Vintage: 2017

Volume: 750ml

93 Points: James Halliday
91 Points: Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front