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Lethbridge Single Vineyard Release

Just Arrived: Stunning Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from One of Australia's Most Admired Producers
Lethbridge Single Vineyard Release

With Lethbridge Wines, the ‘ever-inquisitive’ Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis have built a truly special portfolio that spans regions, varieties and techniques. Each wine is an exercise in focus, capturing vineyard character with minimal intervention to reveal texture and place rather than simply fruit. It’s a philosophy that allows such diversity to feel coherent, even inevitable.

 

The newly-released 2023 single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs sit at the most articulate end of that spectrum. A cool, low-yielding season with extended ripening has delivered clarity, tension and finely etched acidity across the board, allowing each site to speak with remarkable precision.

 

These wines have just arrived, and with limited quantities available, this is a release worth moving quickly on!

The Wines

Lethbridge Bartl Chardonnay 2023

Lethbridge Bartl Chardonnay 2023

The Bartl Chardonnay comes from an old, very low-yielding block in the Moorabool Valley, producing fruit of notable concentration and intensity. Hand-harvested grapes are whole-bunch pressed and wild-fermented in 100% new French oak, followed by full malolactic fermentation and maturation in a mix of new and seasoned French oak. The cool 2023 season delivered a long ripening period, resulting in bright acidity and a finely balanced, elegant structure. As noted by the winemakers, “The wine displays ripe nectarines and complex spicy notes. It will also age superbly, if you have the patience.” Only 824 bottles produced.

Lethbridge Bartl Chardonnay 2023
Lethbridge JD Drumborg Chardonnay 2023

Lethbridge JD Drumborg Chardonnay 2023

This is a finely structured, cool-climate Chardonnay sourced from the very low-yielding, schist soils of Drumborg in Henty. Hand-harvested fruit is whole-pressed and wild-fermented in French oak (with 100% new oak fermentation and 50% new oak maturation), followed by full malolactic fermentation for added depth and texture. The fruit for Lethbridge's Pinot Gris and Riesling has, for many years, been sourced from this region, which has more recently produced delicious Pinot Noir as well. It has also long been a great source of fruit for sparkling wines, the style for which the region was originally planted. As noted by the winemakers, "In recent years, as the climate continues to warm, we have seen some great character in the Chardonnay fruit from Jack and Lois Doeven's vineyard, and rather than pick it all early for sparkling wine, we have decided to go all out and make a 'nothing spared' Chardonnay. This wine is flinty, minerally and has beautiful acidity reminiscent of somewhere in the old world that we are not allowed to mention, so taste for yourself and see."

Lethbridge JD Drumborg Chardonnay 2023
Lethbridge Hat Rock Pinot Noir 2023

Lethbridge Hat Rock Pinot Noir 2023

The Hat Rock Pinot Noir is sourced from a bay-side site near Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula, where self-mulching black clay over limestone supports MV6, 114, and 115 vines planted in 2000. The wine is hand-picked and wild-fermented with around 50% whole bunches, then matured in 50% new French oak and bottled un-fined and unfiltered. The Bellarine Peninsula is noted for producing depth and flavour, and the 2023 vintage was cool and low-yielding, with a long, carefully managed growing season that ultimately delivered bright, finely balanced wines with high natural acidity.

"Pretty, refined and pure, with aromas of black cherries, spices, citrus peel, lead pencils,and fresh herbs. The palate is textural and refined, with firmly framed and finely tuned tannins. A lovely balance of fruit purity and freshness, with a plush mouthfeel and a mineral and floral edge. Well balanced. Drink or hold."
95 points, JamesSuckling.com
Lethbridge Hat Rock Pinot Noir 2023
Lethbridge Hillside Haven Pinot Noir 2023

Lethbridge Hillside Haven Pinot Noir 2023

The Hillside Haven Pinot Noir 2023 is sourced from a high-elevation site near Anakie (254m above sea level), where quaternary basalt over granite soils support D2V5 vines planted in 1998. The wine is hand-picked and wild-fermented with around 50% whole bunches, then matured in 50% new French oak and bottled un-fined and unfiltered. The 2023 vintage was cool, wet, and low-yielding with a long growing season that delivered finely balanced wines with bright acidity and elegance after a warm late-summer finish.

"Savory-edged and mineral, with a hint of reduction. Red-fruited aromas are layered with notes of cured meats, dried herbs and crushed stones. The palate is mid-weighted, firmly framed yet silken, with a plush, rounded mouthfeel. An excellent single-vineyard bottling, with well-integrated structure and a mineral core. Drink or hold."
95 points, JamesSuckling.com
Lethbridge Hillside Haven Pinot Noir 2023
Lethbridge Suma Para Pinot Noir 2023

Lethbridge Suma Para Pinot Noir 2023

Lethbridge Suma Park Pinot Noir is sourced from a limestone escarpment site at Marcus Hill on the Bellarine Peninsula, where thin red clay loam and buckshot over limestone support MV6 vines planted in 1999. The wine is hand-picked and wild-fermented with around 50% whole bunches, then matured in 50% new French oak and bottled un-fined and unfiltered. The 2023 vintage was cool, wet, and low-yielding with a long ripening season, producing bright, elegant wines with fine balance and high natural acidity, with the Bellarine Peninsula noted for delivering depth and flavour. The result is a Pinot Noir of lifted red fruit, savoury complexity, and a finely structured, mineral-tinged palate.




"From a vineyard on the Bellarine facing the ocean as opposed to the bay. A bright ruby red. A pure-fruited and perfumed bouquet of red fruits, lavender and allspice. Very bright and youthful on the medium-bodied, gently structured palate. An elegant and persistent wine to drink now and over the next 10 years."
96+ points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"Floral, pretty and delicate, with aromas of bright red fruits, rose petals, blood oranges, violets and a touch of earth and spice. The palate is refined and pure, with crunchy tannins, bright acidity and a mineral undertone. Really expressive and charming, with plenty of pinot nuances. 50% whole-cluster fermentation."
96 points, JamesSuckling.com
Lethbridge Suma Para Pinot Noir 2023
Lethbridge Springbank Pinot Noir 2023

Lethbridge Springbank Pinot Noir 2023

The Springbank Pinot Noir comes from a Bannockburn vineyard with red clay over limestone and ironstone buckshot, planted to MV6, 114, and 115 clones in 2001. Hand-picked and wild-fermented with around 50% whole bunches, it is matured in 50% new French oak and bottled un-fined and unfiltered, reflecting a precise, minimal-intervention approach. The 2023 vintage was cool and low-yielding with a long ripening season, notably a standout year for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with Moorabool Valley vineyards in particular producing particularly elegant wines. 

Lethbridge Springbank Pinot Noir 2023
Lethbridge Block 4 Pinot Noir 2023

Lethbridge Block 4 Pinot Noir 2023

The Lethbridge Block 4 Pinot Noir is grown on a patch of vines on the black clay, basalt and limestone soils in the northwest corner of the lofty, cool Lethbridge vineyard in the Moorabool Valley. The block was planted in 1998 predominantly to MV6, with a smattering of 115 in the mix. 

The fruit is hand-picked, fermented spontaneously in open-top vessels, and matured in barrels (50% new). Perhaps due to his scientific background, Nadeson, whose wines never taste oaky, is something of a specialist when it comes to the use of oak. He works closely with a single French cooper, and all Lethbridge barrels are custom-built to his specifications: light toast and a tight grain to facilitate micro-oxygenation and help polymerise the tannins. This is super classy, bottle-aged Pinot: It’s bold and richly textured, laden with deep red fruits, exotic spice and well-integrated savoury notes.

"Vibrant red fruits with finesse, depth and purity. The palate is mid-weighted, with crunchy tannins and bright acidity, leading into an almost saline, umami undertone with layers of fruit and earth. Lovely and unique among the Lethbridge bottlings, coming from young vines."
94 points, James Suckling
Lethbridge Block 4 Pinot Noir 2023

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