The Auswine Forum

Morning everyone,

What are your favourite Pinots from the Adelaide Hills? There's been some good press coming out of the area over the last few years, but I'm interested in opinions from forumites who have drunk their way through the beautiful hills and valleys. Or maybe had just the one cracker!

Cheers, Travis.

Lucy margaux single vineyard for me by a country mile
Ashton reserve is too extracted for me

I'd love to try more of Anton's wines at Lucy Margaux considering I went to high school with him!

I've only tried a couple of his Domaine Lucci wines and not bought the pinots as yet

The Riposte wines (Sabre in particular) have been well received.

Diddy wrote:The Riposte wines (Sabre in particular) have been well received.

Have you tried them?
Not my style bit simple

2012 Domaine lucci noir de florette
2010 Grosset Pinot Noir
2012 Grosset Pinot Noir

For you Travis....there will always be the Mike Press Pinot I'll make sure that I put an unopened bottle in front of your seat at our next dinner....

Actually the Pinot is VFM quaffing material - Simple? Undoubtedly. Well made? Not bad given the quantity made and the pricepoint. But it doesn't/hasn't aged with grace for me - Long ago I used to keep a 6 pack in the cupboard for when non-wine drinkers visited...

I tried an Ochota Barrells Pinot not that long ago. Pretty sure it was from the Adelaide Hills. It was consumed alongside a Yarra Pinot of some sort - one of the Coldstream jobbies (V. nice BTW). Looked v. different in profile . Cherry red fruits, some herbal action - nice, some complexity. Would I back up the truck for it? Depends on the price point.

Cheers
Matt

In the past, I have enjoyed the Ashton Hills Piccadilly. Never tried their other stuff.

Geoff Hardys K1 Pinot is awesome too!

alexc92 wrote:Geoff Hardys K1 Pinot is awesome too!

totally forgot about this. +1

A couple of years ago I had a couple of the Whisson Lake pinot's from the Piccadilly Valley, which were very good in a Burgundian style. I haven't tried any since but I note they have been well reviewed over the last three vintages (including 2011 which was rubbish for most).

Ashton Hills. Ngeringa. Best pinots from the Adelaide Hills, for me.

pstarr wrote:Ashton Hills. Ngeringa. Best pinots from the Adelaide Hills, for me.

+ 1

Have had too few, but another vote for Ngeringa.

Greetings from Europe / fts70

Honey Moon Vineyards
http://www.honeymoonvineyard.com.au/
very favorable press with Winewise.
(Their Shiraz is pretty good as well)

cheers
Phill
(disclaimer - friends of mine)

This is a tough call simply because it seems, to me at least, that peoples perception of what makes a good Pinot vary more divergently than most varieties. Some of my most memorable drinking experiences have been with Pinot (Central Otago) but I have also had a few of those "reviewer x gave this 95 points, but to me it tastes like the horse got too close to the vat" moments with Pinot.

So depending on your preference you might like:
- 2012 Ashton Hills Reserve: falls into the "this could easily be a cabernet" style of Pinot. Certainly the way I prefer my Pinots as the liberal use of oak keeps the earthiness/gaminess in check.
- 2012 Shaw and Smith Pinot: falls into the exquisite, finessed style of Pinot. I really quite enjoyed this wine but suspect that the style can lead to a 'paint by numbers' wine as others have noted that they found it a bit dull.
- 2009 Griffin Pinot. Had this recently at a Mount Lofty House degustation and thought it was the wine of the night (but that isn't saying much.) Anyway, I thought it was a cut above average.
- Geoff Hardy K1 Pinot. My default go-to wine when the desire for Pinot overcomes my common sense (see above note about oak and earthiness). But have also written elsewhere on this forum how I think the current vintage (2012) doesn't live up to reputation.

Thanks for all of your recommendations guys.

Time to get a few in.

Cheers, Travis.

Ashton Hills
Romney Park
Honeymoon Vineyards