Winelist No. 58

WINELIST No. 58 Dear WineList Member, Prior to Christmas I reported on the upgrade of the winemaking facilities at Ashton Hills. The improvements included a new concrete slab for grape receival and crushing, drains and a shade sail to keep Stephen comfortable under the summer sun. All rather humble, but practical and necessary. Vintage 2019 was the first chance to asses the new set-up and Stephen gave it the thumbs-up.

As an aside, I’d like to acknowledge the great work of our Maintenance Manager, Shane Venning. Much of the improvement that you see around the winery, from shade sails through to bathroom signage is the result of Shane’s craftwork. He is the epitome of the word ‘handyman’.

While 2019 will be remembered as a warm and dry vintage across South Australia, such is the unique nature of the Ashton Hills vineyard, that what may be considered ‘tough’ vintages regularly produce some of the best wines.

This phenomenon was highlighted in a recent vertical tasting of 10 vintages of the Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot Noir held during the Tasting Australia festival in Adelaide. It was presented by respected wine critic Nick Stock and hosted by Master Sommelier Franck Moreau of the Merivale Group. The audience learned that the 2007 vintage, a warm drought year not dis-similar to 2019, was elegant, aromatic and aging incredibly gracefully for a 12-year-old pinot noir. It bodes well for 2019 which Stephen has described as a ‘very good vintage’ suitable for producing a Reserve.

Overleaf our marketing man, Luke Tyler, provides a personal account of the tasting.

It would not be a WineList without a new vintage to present to you and we are pleased to release both the 2018 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay and 2018 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir. It’s been a long wait for the 2018 Chardonnay as the 2017 vintage sold out faster than expected. We anticipate a similar reaction to the 2018, which is fresh and vibrant with great concentration, so get in early as once again the production is limited. Both wines are sourced from neighbouring vineyards within the Piccadilly Valley sub-region.

The cooler months are a great time to rug up and visit the Adelaide Hills. Jo will have the fire going every Friday through Monday and would love to show you the new releases.

Cheers, Andrew Kay Managing Director

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AshtonHillsVineyard Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashtonhillsvineyard Website: www.ashtonhills.com.au

10 YEARS OF ASHTON HILLS Scale in wine is a difficult thing to convey. It’s easier at Ashton Hills when you can stand on the deck, look over the three hectares of pinot noir (and a few rows of riesling) and proclaim “this is it”.

Each vine that contributes to the Estate Pinot Noir and Reserve Pinot Noir are less than a decent 1-wood from each other. While scarcity is undoubtedly part of the mystique and appeal of fine wine, there’s also a sad reality - once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

There are no great vaults of back vintage Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot Noir or a secret cave reserved for our drinking pleasure, so when Nick Stock approached us about an Ashton Hills vertical at Tasting Australia, we were hesitant. Luckily Stephen was able to dust off a few bottles from each vintage from his personal cellar for the event. Each bottle was handled with kid gloves.

Frenchman and Master Sommelier Franck Moreau hosted the tasting with Stephen. In his relaxed manner, sporting his customary beige double breasted short sleeved shirt, Stephen took us through each wine, from 2006 through to 2016, skipping only the 2011 vintage as no Reserve was produced. The way pinot noir reflects vintage variation and expresses a site so profoundly makes it a fickle, yet fascinating variety.

Stephen’s gone to great lengths to examine different clones of pinot noir and how they perform at Ashton Hills. Since 1982 he’s planted more than 26 different clones, settling on just five.

While Stephen was reluctant to describe what was there to be tasted in the glass, he provided the context for each year with candid commentary on what he liked, what surprised him and what he would do differently if he had his time again. Economic with words, it was a rare insight into Stephen’s history with this special vineyard and his instinctive and fearless approach to winemaking.

A student of Burgundy, Franck is an expert on pinot noir and he talked glowingly about the line-up of wines.

He observed the intensity and concentration of flavour across the line up and remarked on the elegance and purity of the stand out vintages.

As great wine should, it sparked conversation and each person in our group had a different ‘favourite’ wine.

However, there was universal agreement that the wines were aging with grace and poise. It was also observed that the most recent release (2016) clearly showed the evolution of the vineyard and the improvement made

by Stephen’s uncompromising approach to clonal selection.

Contrary to popular belief, a career in wine does not simply involve tasting wine all day, yet occasionally we are blessed to be able to do just that. It was a sincere privilege to be part of a rare tasting of such scarce wines that will never be repeated.

Luke Tyler, 13 April 2019

SPECIAL OFFERS

Winter Dozen

Pinot Mixed Six

Piccadilly Valley Six

4 x 2018 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay (New Release)

3 x 2018 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir (New Release)

3 x 2018 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay (New Release)

3 x 2017 Estate Pinot Noir

3 x 2018 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir (New Release)

WineList Price $230

WineList Price $189

4 x 2018 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir (New Release) 4 x 2017 Estate Pinot Noir

WineList price $432

Regular Price $480 PLUS FREE DELIVERY to anywhere in Australia

Regular Price $255

Order Online

Regular Price $210

www.ashtonhills.com.au; call Cellar Door on (08) 8390 1243; or email us at cellardoor@ashtonhills.com.au

NEW RELEASE TIMETABLE Table Wines 2018 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay – Just Released 2018 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir – Just Released 2019 Estate Riesling – September 2019 2018 Estate Pinot Noir – September 2019 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir – September 2019

Fizz 2013 Clare Valley Sparkling Shiraz – Nov/Dec 2019 Martini Club members please note, you will receive a members-only pre-release of the 2018 Estate Pinot Noir and 2018 Reserve Pinot Noir, prior to cellar door and mailing list release.

Ashton Hills Vineyard

PO Box 145 McLaren Vale SA 5171 08 8390 1243 cellardoor@ashtonhills.com.au

Bottle Price

Dozen Price

Qty

Total $

(Bottles)

10% Off on Dozens

Pinot Noir 2018

Piccadilly Valley

Pinot Noir

$35

$378

$

2017

Estate

Pinot Noir

$50

$540

$

2016

Reserve

Pinot Noir

SOLD OUT

-

$-

2018

Estate

Riesling

SOLD OUT

-

$-

2018

Piccadilly Valley

Chardonnay

$35

$378

SOLD OUT

-

$40

$432

Whites

$

Sparkling 2012

Clare Valley

Sparkling Shiraz

2016

Piccadilly Valley

Sparkling Vintage Rosé

$$

Special Offers Winter Dozen PLUS FREE DELIVERY

$432

$

Pinot Mixed Six pack

$230

$

Piccadilly Valley Six pack

$189

$

Name:

Sub Total

$

Freight

$

TOTAL

$

_________________________________________________ Business Name (For Delivery):_______________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Suburb:

_________________________________________________ State:____________ Postcode:_____________________

Phone #: _________________________________________________ Date of Birth:_____________________________________ Delivery Instructions:___________________________________________________________________________________________ Email:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Payment Method: Card #:

Cheque 

___ ___ ___ ___

Signature:

___ ___ ___ ___

M/C  ___ ___ ___ ___

VISA 

AMEX 

___ ___ ___ ___ Exp: ____ / ____

CVC:_____________