Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir 2023 Magnum 1.5L
The Wine
The 2023 Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir is crafted from fruit sourced from several grower vineyards surrounding the Ashton Hills estate. This blend showcases a variety of fruit characters and vineyard expressions while retaining the fine tannin structure synonymous with the Ashton Hills style.
For the second consecutive year, the Piccadilly Valley growing season brought reduced yields. A long, cool, and wet winter stretched into December, affecting flowering, and the cooler-than-average start to the year meant the small bunches and berries needed until March or April to fully ripen.
It offers fragrant aromas of red cherry, raspberry, and Indian spice. The juicy palate opens with blackberry and strawberry before giving way to a hint of spice and savory undergrowth. Balanced acidity and powdery tannins provide a long, supple finish.
Handpicked grapes were kept in separate small open fermenters by clone and vineyard. Around 10% whole bunch fruit was included to boost aromatics and structural complexity. Fermentation relied on indigenous yeast, and each parcel was basket-pressed directly to seasoned French oak barriques and puncheons with full solids. The wine was aged on lees to build weight, texture, and complexity, then racked and blended just before bottling. Enjoy now or cellar for up to five years for added depth.
94 Pts Mike Bennie, The Wine Front 'There’s an inherent vibrancy and energy to this wine, with bright fruit, lithe spice elememnts, toasty notes gently sewn through and a core of crushed rock minerality that weaves evenly and with interest through it all. Succulent texture, a gentle nature despite the vitality, transperency and purity as bylines. Delicious drinking ensues, and for those seeking understated and elegant rendering of the variety, look no further. Should mature gracefully in the medium term too.'
93 Pts Erin Larkin for Robert Parker 'In the glass, the wine is a pale ruby and, aromatically, leads with strawberry, red apple, clove and potpourri. On the palate, the wine is tight and a little tart, with chinotto and blood orange, cherry and star anise. The 10% whole bunches emphasize the spiciness of the wine. It gets better as you drink more of it—an admirable quality in any wine—and the red fruit really starts to settle into the structure. I’d suggest getting this in a big glass and letting some air into it—it helps.'
93 Pts, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front 'Fluid movement. This is so spicy it’s almost peppery, though it also leans on the sappy side of that equation. But it’s the juicy, energetic flow of the fruit that really draws you in. Cherry-cranberry strawberry characters wash attractively throughout, ushering those abundant spice notes. Tannin clumps slightly perhaps though it’s quickly moved along by the juiciness of the fruit. This is a lovely drink.'
The Details
Variety - Pinot Noir
Country - Australia
Region - South Australia
Sub Region - Adelaide Hills
Extra - Screwcap
Year - 2023
Volume - 1500ml
About the Wine Maker 
Ashton Hills is a three-hectare 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, and since that time it has built a reputation as one of Australia’s finest proponents of Pinot Noir and cool climate whites.
