Winery & Vintage Info
The 2018 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from neighbouring vineyards and estate parcels. Stephen George has taken great interest in applying his winemaking approach to parcels from elsewhere within the Piccadilly Valley and seeing how the wines compare with those from the Ashton Hills Vineyard. The resulting blend benefits from varied fruit character and vineyard expression, while maintaining the fine tannin structure that is typical of the Ashton Hills style.
The 2018 Adelaide Hills growing season was one of extremes. June was unusually dry, July very wet, bud burst was late and January and February were warmer than average. Despite this, a cool March led to a usual vintage harvest date in the last third of the month. Cool days and nights at this time, plus lower than average yields in the Piccadilly Valley, also helped in the development of good concentration and excellent flavours.
The wine was matured in seasoned French Oak for a period of 10 months prior to bottling.
Grapes were handpicked, keeping individual clones separate in small open fer- menters. Some whole bunch fruit was added to ferments, enhancing aromatics and structural complexity. Fermentation was initiated by indigenous yeast (wild ferment). Each clonal parcel was basket pressed and filled to seasoned French oak barrels with full solids. All barrels were kept on lees to build palate, body and complexity. They were racked and blended just prior to bottling. Winery Notes
