Winery & Vintage Info
Whilst still located within the region of McLaren Vale, its climate is quite different due to its elevation and aspect. The Angove Family’s Angels Rise Vineyard sits high above the small town of Clarendon with an elevation of over 280m above sea level. A cool site boarding the Adelaide Hills is excellent for producing aromatic white varieties. Tyson Stelzer has described wine made from the vineyard as having ‘...a flamboyant personality that prevails despite the seasons, a special signature site unmatched by any other patch of dirt’.
2022 vintage has been heralded by many in Australia as a "unicorn" vintage – often spoken about but rarely, if ever, seen. Perfect growing weather, cool maturation and a steady and trouble free harvest. Yields were back to normal and While summer 2019–20 was the second hottest on record, 2020–21 was the coolest in 10 years under the influence of a La Niña climate pattern. South Australia had its coolest summer in 19 years. Lovely flavourful fruit was delivered to the winery on the morning of 23rd February 2021.
A low yielding crop of Pinot Gris was harvested in the cool hours of a Clarendon morning within its perfect ripening window. It was immediately transported to the winery, de-stemmed and crushed before gentle pressing. Only free run juice was captured for this wine, fermented on solid lees in both 600-litre oak barrels and cool fermentation in stainless steel. Three-month maturation on lees to add complexity and texture.
