Ashton Hills

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 and since that time it has built a reputation as one of Australia’s finest proponents of pinot noir and cool climate whites.

Stephen’s pioneering work at Ashton Hills was one of the catalysts for the development of the Adelaide Hills as a wine region. In the early 1980s, the Adelaide Hills wine scene was very much in its infancy, with Brian Croser leading the charge but very little other vineyard development underway. Along with 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. Buying the land from a market gardener, Stephen recognised its immense potential, often telling friends that “where apples and cherries grow, it’s a good pointer for producing classic European style wines”.

And so the journey began. 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 25 pinot noir clones, ultimately settling on five key clones that now make the acclaimed Reserve and Estate Pinot Noirs from Ashton Hills, plus a range of awarded sparkling wines. Eight carefully cultivated rows of riesling also remain in the Ashton Hills vineyard, producing a highly exclusive and limited Ashton Hills riesling each year.

Stephen has now taken a step back into semi-retirement to spend more time travelling to his beloved Burgundy, and has transferred his stake in Ashton Hills to Wirra Wirra Vineyards, with its pedigree in cool climate Adelaide Hills whites and quality McLaren Vale reds. Nonetheless, he continues to reside at his home at the winery and works closely at vintage with the Wirra Wirra winemaking team to continue the tradition of producing benchmark wines from the Ashton Hills site.
 

“[Ashton Hills] is the most distinguished site in South Australia for Pinot Noir; Stephen’s unremitting attention to detail has made Ashton Hills the one Grand Cru of the state.” – James Halliday

“Great news that Wirra Wirra has bought Ashton Hills. It’s like hearing that two of your best friends are hitching up: they could only have beautiful kids, no?” – Huon Hooke

The Ashton Hills Vineyard provides the fruit for the majority of Ashton Hills wines including single vineyard wines in the Reserve Pinot Noir, Estate Pinot Noir and Riesling. As custodian of the vineyard for over 30 years, Stephen has harnessed the three key climate variables (humidity, temperature and rainfall) he believes are critical to the Ashton Hills site and developed a reputation for producing some of the finest wines from the Adelaide Hills.

Nestled in the Piccadilly Valley, the Ashton Hills vineyard is climatically different to the rest of the Hills, being significantly colder and wetter. At one of the highest altitudes in the Adelaide Hills the vines shudder through some of the coolest growing conditions in the country, with rainfall a whopping 1200mm a year, well over double that of the Barossa Valley. So whether it’s the lifted perfumes and elegant structure of the pinot noir or the crisp purity of the riesling, Piccadilly Valley’s bona-fide cool-climate imprint is a feature of the wines.

The vineyard has evolved substantially since it was planted in 1982, a time when modern viticulture in the Adelaide Hills was just starting to be embraced. The clonal development of the vineyard has been a critical element in the final blend of each wine, taking advantage of the individual character of each clone in a given vintage. 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.

It’s not by chance that Ashton Hills is regarded as one of the finest producers of pinot noir in the country. Nor a surprise that James Halliday calls it the “most distinguished site in South Australia for pinot noir”.  The former brussels sprout garden that Stephen George converted to vine back in 1982 has been a labour of love and a testament to one man’s obsession with a single grape variety.

Over the years, Stephen has planted and experimented with 25 different clones of pinot noir!

While the usual suspects – such as 777 –  prospered in the dry grown site, there was one particular clone from the path less travelled that survived and thrived.

The Martini clone is lesser known in Australia, its origins being the USA rather than France, home of the more popular burgundian clones. But for Stephen it became something of a signature and a critical component of the Estate and Reserve Pinot Noir, consistently “making the grade” in terms of classification and contributing to their staying power, a quality that is the hallmark of Ashton Hills.

“The world of Australian pinot noir has been turned on its head over the past decade or so, in terms of who are the sought-after producers. Certainly there is more competition than ever and quality is generally through the roof. Ashton Hills was outstanding way back in the 1990s (and) has never had a lull.” – Campbell Mattinson

“Ashton Hills is a source of high-quality and genuinely complex, enchanting Pinot Noir.” – Nick Stock

Cemetery Block – Adelaide Hills

In addition to the Ashton Hills estate, 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.

Wendouree Vineyards – Clare Valley

To round off the range with something a little different, Stephen has consistently sourced fruit from Wendouree’s acclaimed vineyards in the Clare Valley to make a spectacular Sparkling Shiraz. Wendouree is one of the most famous red wineries in Australia and a place that Stephen knows well, given he has been making the wine there for over 40 years. With the pedigree of Wendouree and Stephen’s winemaking finesse it’s no wonder that the Ashton Hills Sparkling Shiraz has been endorsed as one of the country’s sparkling reds, receiving the kind of accolades usually reserved for the most preeminent table wines. It captures a depth and intensity of fruit with an amplitude unmatched by most of its competitors.

Adelaide Hills

The Adelaide Hills is Australia’s most vibrant cool climate wine region and it is acknowledged internationally for its distinctive premium wines, viticulture and stunning scenery.

The region is located in the Mount Lofty Ranges east of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Stretching in a narrow band approximately 70km long, the highest vineyards are sited between 600-650 metres altitude around the sub region of Piccadilly which Ashton Hills calls home. The Adelaide Hills are universally acknowledged for their distinctive cool climate wines, viticulture and scenery.

“South Australia’s Adelaide Hills is another potentially fine Pinot-producing area, led by the complexity and structured freshness of Stephen George’s work at Ashton Hills … A recent trip round the Adelaide Hills, for example, introduced me to excellent wines from Stephen George at Ashton Hills (Riesling with unusual vinosity and structure […] and Pinot Noir with perfume, poise and architecture).” – Andrew Jefford

PINOT NOIR

Ashton Hills produces three pinot noirs in a style that reflects the region’s strong similarity to Burgundy. Production levels have stayed true to the boutique nature of the winery’s beginnings.

“Ashton Hills is the most distinguished site in South Australia for Pinot Noir; Stephen George’s unremitting attention to detail has made Ashton Hills the one Grand Cru of the state.” – James Halliday

Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot Noir

Following the maturation period, a few barrels are carefully selected as being the “best of the best”, displaying the finest expression of pinot noir from the estate and with the potential for significant ageing. The Reserve is the pinnacle of the range showing lifted perfume notes, and a depth of flavour, character and length that should live beyond 10 years in the bottle. While displaying many of the traits associated with the Estate Pinot Noir, the Reserve sees more new oak and tends to carry greater weight and structure, providing the “bones” for extended cellaring. By its nature, quantities are very limited from each vintage.

Ashton Hills Estate Pinot Noir

The Estate Pinot Noir is sourced purely from our five preferred clones. 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 pinot is then matured in one and two year old barriques prior to bottling. It is designed to be enjoyed upon release, however careful cellaring will see the wine evolve handsomely for at least another five years.

Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir

The Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir is a blend of fruit from premium Piccadilly Valley vineyards, topped up with a parcel of Ashton Hills reserve/estate fruit. The result is typically a medium bodied palate with the influence of Piccadilly Valley providing juicy fruit from the warmer clime, along with fine structured tannins that are typical of the Ashton Hills Vineyard.

RIESLING

Ashton Hills Riesling

Ashton Hills crafts a limited amount of riesling in a signature European style with lightness of body and delicate intensity. Winner of the Best Riesling at the Adelaide Hills Wine show in 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2009, the Ashton Hills Riesling offers a tactful alternative to the stronger acidity of the Clare and Eden Valley rieslings. In a region whose reputation for world class riesling continues to blossom, it is a wine made in a style that is quite unique to Ashton Hills.

CHARDONNAY

Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay

In 2017, we released the Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay as a limited release chardonnay from fruit chosen off the Chapel Valley block adjacent the old cemetery in Piccadilly Valley. The long-demolished chapel is remembered onsite by a miniature replica and now, this single vineyard chardonnay which is built with texture and character, which was always a trait of the original AHV Chardonnay.

SPARKLING

Sparkling Shiraz

Stephen George’s take on this cult style is, without question, one of the titans of the genre. Given that its fruit is drawn from one of Australia’s most revered vineyards in Wendouree, including a healthy portion from vines planted in 1919, perhaps this will come as no surprise. Highly awarded – the 2010 was runner up for Sparkling Red of the Year in Tyson Stelzer’s 2018 Australian Sparkling Report, and crafted from only the best vintages, there’s no denying this special wine’s breathtaking complexity, texture and balance.

Sparkling Pinot Noir

Ashton Hills is justly respected for the class of its sparkling white wines, which are only produced when the vintage conditions allow. Produced in limited quantities, each of the Ashton Hills Sparkling Pinot Noirs cater for different palates with varying levels of dryness, but they are united in one respect – all have a purity of taste, finesse and a clean finish that are typical of the style and the region from which they come.

About Stanley Bridge Tavern

The Stanley Bridge Tavern in Verdun, Adelaide Hills, is only 25 minutes from the Adelaide CBD but feels a world away. This 1851 pub is one of South Australia’s favourite watering holes and Hill’s restaurant; with features including the exposed ceiling of stringy bark shingles that date back to the 19th Century when Verdun was known as Grunthal. Did we mention the wine list has an exceptional Adelaide Hills range including a formidable Pinot Noir selection?