Ashton Hills Piccadilly Pinot Noir 2019

Ashton Hills is a three hectare, dry-grown vineyard that lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub-region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. The estate was founded by Stephen George in 1982.

"The wine is bold and full of flavour, a bigger style of pinot, robust and loaded with flavour as well as ample tannins. This will happily take a bit of age. Very good value."  Huon Hooke

"The 2019 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from a few of the neighbours as well as a contribution from de-classified Ashton Hills Reserve/ 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 characters and vineyard expression, while maintaining the fine tannin structure that is typical of the Ashton Hills style.

Cold conditions at flowering resulted in low grape yields in the Adelaide Hills and throughout South Australia in 2019. However, the high altitude of the Piccadilly Valley ensures late flowering and the spring of 2018 provided a warm window late in the season bringing average yields to the sub-region. Quality was excellent owing to dry conditions which meant there were no disease or pest issues and all batches of pinot noir showed strong colour, concentration and flavour.

Juicy and red fruited, with a lick of spice and fresh herbs from the whole bunch component. The mouth-watering natural acidity and fine tannins complement the plush fruits and result in a textural and long-lasting finish."  Ashton Hills

Expert reviews

"Made with both estate and non-estate fruit though it's all from the (very) local vicinity of Ashton there in the hills near Adelaide. Spicy and alive. I like this quite a lot. It's serious and playful at once. Beet, earth, undergrowth, robust red/black cherry, violets and then savoury/meaty strings aplenty. Tannin, threaded. Lovely to drink. Pure Ashton Hills. Drink: 2021 - 2026+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 92+ points

"Plummy, sappy, ripe-fruit aromas, a bold and less-fragrant bouquet, with spices and preserved dark fruits. The wine is bold and full of flavour, a bigger style of pinot, robust and loaded with flavour as well as ample tannins. This will happily take a bit of age. Very good value. Drink: 2020-2029."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 91 points

About the winery

Ashton Hills is a three hectare, dry-grown vineyard that lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub-region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. The estate was founded by Stephen George in 1982. Along with Brian Croser, Stephen was one of the key players to put Adelaide Hills on the map with his resolve to produce the best pinot noir in the country from his site in the Piccadilly Valley. 

Planting his vineyard at an altitude of 570 metres and with a south-facing aspect that looks towards Mt Lofty, Stephen was drawn to the fact that the site was one of the coolest areas in South Australia. Determined that this was prime real estate for his winemaking vision, Stephen started with cuttings of pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling and soon established himself as a leader in clone development for the emerging region.

For over 30 years Stephen experimented with up to 26 pinot noir clones in the Ashton Hills Vineyard, ultimately settling on five key clones that now make the acclaimed Reserve and Estate Pinot Noirs from Ashton Hills.

In addition to the Ashton Hills vineyard, Stephen has partnered with the late Jim Grigg and his vineyard next to the cemetery near Uraidla in the Piccadilly Valley to make the Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir. As the site is warmer, drier and has deeper soils, the fruit at Cemetery Block is typically picked a couple of weeks earlier and the wine showcases the character of the site with more muscle and ripe fruit flavour than the higher and cooler Estate vineyard. The contrast is distinctive and compelling and makes for a brilliant pinot noir blend.

Over the past 26 years, significant changes have been implemented in the vineyard, with the grafting or removal of nearly all other varieties to complete an estate that is dominated by pinot noir, but with a small parcel – just eight rows – of top notch riesling remaining.