I had the pleasure of judging at the Adelaide Hills Wine Show recently, a regional exhibition of around 500 local wines, including wines from many of the best and most interesting makers in the region. It’s a very diverse region with a complex climate underpinned by detailed topography and soil types which all combine to make for extremely interesting wine.
Although some of the more southeasterly parts of the region tend to be warmer and dryer, it is by and large considered a cool-climate location. The wines have energy, vitality and what I call levity, or an uplifting quality of lightness.
Chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier sourced from the coolest and most elevated sites come together in vibrant sparkling wines, whilst other sites produce some of the most intense and focused still chardonnay wines. Pinot noir has long been considered an Achilles heel of sorts, but the average quality is now steadily improving. See below also for one amazing red wine from pinot meunier.
Shiraz (syrah) has been the recent superstar of the region, attracting the highest of high-profile awards that again recognize the ability of this place to produce intense, focused and fragrant red wine in a mid-weight style. It’s a case of both sourcing grapes from the right place and an acceptance that, in the midst of South Australia’s warmer climate regions that have made a name for full-bodied, ripe and bold expressions of shiraz, the Adelaide Hills needs a different approach.
Cabernet and merlot both work well, as does riesling in both dry and sweet styles, and there are a number of lesser-known varieties that are demonstrating early success on the back of the region’s innate strengths as a great place to grow grapes. The Adelaide Hills is, without doubt, one of the most exciting sources of high-quality cool-climate wine in Australia; see below for my notes on all the top trophy-winning wines.
2013 Deviation Road Adelaide Hills Loftia Vintage Brut
2015 Howard Vineyard Riesling Adelaide Hills Clover
2015 La Prova Pinot Grigio Adelaide Hills 12.7%
2015 Wirra Wirra Sauvignon Blanc Hiding Champion
2015 S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills Aromatico
2014 Penfolds Chardonnay Adelaide Hills Reserve Bin A
2015 K1 by Geoff Hardy Riesling Adelaide Hills Autumn Harvest
2015 Hahndorf Hill Adelaide Hills Rosé
2015 Murdoch Hill Pinot Meunier Adelaide Hills The Surrey
2014 Henschke Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills Giles
2014 Shaw & Smith Shiraz Adelaide Hills
2013 Nova Vita Cabernet Sauvignon Adelaide Hills Reserve
Contributing Editor Nick Stock is a renowned Australian wine writer, author, presenter and filmmaker who reports on his worldwide wine tasting experiences for JamesSuckling.com.
