Stephen George’s three hectare, dry-grown, Ashton Hills vineyard lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. Planted in 1982, it’s a quality site that, thanks to the humility and integrity of its gifted farmer, has been the source of some of South Australia’s most intriguing cool-climate wines, and certainly its most authentic and fascinating Pinot Noir.
You don’t need to spend much time in the Piccadilly Valley to realise why this area was granted sub-regional status—it is totally different to the rest...
Stephen George’s three hectare, dry-grown, Ashton Hills vineyard lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. Planted in 1982, it’s a quality site that, thanks to the humility and integrity of its gifted farmer, has been the source of some of South Australia’s most intriguing cool-climate wines, and certainly its most authentic and fascinating Pinot Noir.
You don’t need to spend much time in the Piccadilly Valley to realise why this area was granted sub-regional status—it is totally different to the rest of the Hills. In short, it’s much colder and wetter. George’s Estate vineyard lies at 570 metres above sea level and the vines shudder through some of the coolest vintage conditions in the country. Meanwhile, rainfall is a whopping 1200mm a year, well over double that of the Barossa. Whether it’s the lifted perfumes, elegant structure and Alpine freshness of the Pinot Noirs or the icy purity of the Riesling, Piccadilly Valley’s bona-fide cool-climate imprint is never far away. A healthy portion of old-vines and the vineyard’s south-facing aspect afford George the luxury of late harvesting that plays a significant role in the personality of these wines.
Terroir is one thing, how it’s worked is another, and Stephen George clearly has an intuitive touch and the drive to continually evolve. Most recently this evolution has resulted in George grubbing out all varieties except for Pinot Noir, and a little bit of Riesling, focusing his Pinot Noir on four specific clones selected from a line-up of 25 that he had tested.
The Ashton Hills winery is incredibly basic, with an earth floor and next to no equipment whatsoever. The Pinot fruit is destemmed via a small, customised, gentle destemmer that keeps as many whole berries as possible. The fruit is then basket pressed, and the wine is made without any sulphur additions until bottling. Some whole bunches are included, and the percentage varies according to the style of the vintage. The red wines are mostly raised in aged, neutral French hogshead barrels.
Having already cemented his living-legend status amongst his peers and compiled a storied CV that includes his role at Wendouree (since the 1980s) and twenty five vintages at the helm of Ashton Hills, you could forgive this reclusive winemaker for taking his foot off the gas. Not a bit of it. Stephen George is in fact making the best wines of his career.
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