This year’s Estate Chardonnay is sourced from four vineyards in Geelong. Notably, it's the first year the Estate has harvested a full crop from the cool Hat Rock vineyard, located on the Bellarine Peninsula between Drysdale and Portarlington. This vineyard sits bayside on dark clay and loam with limestone. The Moorabool Home Block, situated at an altitude of 205 metres, features basalt-derived clay over basalt. Additionally, a small portion of grapes comes from Sua Park, a Bellarine site with thin red clay. Finally, Hillside Haven is located on the western slope of Mount Anakie at 254 metres, where rich black clay and granite sit atop a quaternary basalt bedrock.

The grapes were hand-harvested in separate parcels, whole-bunch pressed, and wild fermented in the Estate's lightly toasted, custom-made French oak barrels. The wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation and is aged in approximately 40% new oak. Compared to 2023, this vintage shows more power, showcasing Lethbridge’s signature profile of beautiful stone fruit layered with citrus, wet stones, and oak spice. It has plenty of cool-climate vibrancy and energy, with a lingering, mouth-watering finish.

Ray Nadeson sourced the fruit for his 2024 Riesling entirely from Barrie Provan’s Barwite vineyard in King Valley. Ray and Barrie have been friends for years―Lethbridge leases and manages Barrie’s Suma Park vineyard in Marcus Hill on the Bellarine Peninsula. The Barwite site was established in 1998, about 15 minutes from Mansfield in Victoria’s high country, on undulating slopes that face predominantly northeast. The fruit fermented in small batches in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and large oak barrels. Maturation on light lees took place over eight months. A small portion went through malolactic conversion, and the wine was bottled with 10 g/L residual sugar to balance the naturally high acidity.

Residual sugar in Riesling can be a difficult thing to get right. Ray Nadeson’s an avid proponent, leaving a lick of sugar in all his Rieslings; “It’s essential for the texture of the wine.” He’s a dab hand at it too.

Fruit for the 2025 Lethbridge Pinot Gris was sourced from vineyards in Henty and Geelong. Henty is one of the coolest GIs in Victoria and consistently produces low yields of high-quality fruit. The Geelong sites which sit on shist, clay and limestone producer larger yields of highly aromatic fruit so comprise a larger portion of the blend this year. The wine was vinified in small batches, with some pressed off skins immediately and others given up to two days of skin contact. Fermented with indigenous yeasts before maturation in foudre and large-format oak, it’s an intensely aromatic Gris of tension, texture and fantastic length.

Lethbridge has been working with fruit from the Malakoff Vineyard in the Pyrenees near Landsborough for more than 10 years. This celebrated site—owned and operated by Cameron and Robert John—has long been the source of top-quality Shiraz from some of Victoria’s most celebrated producers. The moderately sloped site was first planted in 1997 and lies at 300 metres with a well-sheltered northeast aspect. The soils are rich in red ferrous clay with large amounts of ironstone and quartz littered throughout.

The lion's share of the 23-hectare site is planted to three Shiraz clones (PT23, BVRC30 and Best’s Old Block), with the balance comprising Nebbiolo and a small portion of Viognier. Ray tells us that the site’s unique marker is a common inky/spicy note detected throughout. In 2023, you can add juicy berries and a lick of iodine to the mix. Wild fermented and raised in large cuve, it a lithe cool-climate Syrah radiating a drink-me-now balance between fruit, structure and freshness.

Ray Nadeson describes Ménage à Noir Pinot Noir as “Lethbridge-lite”; we prefer to think of it as the opening act to this producer’s impressive suite of Pinot Noirs. It’s a blend of sites, but the lion’s share comes from Jack and Lois Doeven’s cool site in Drumborg (Henty). This low-yielding vineyard with well-established vines was planted in schist soils in the 1980s. The balance of the fruit comes from Geelong. 

Fermented with 30% whole bunches in a 3,000-litre wooden fermenter with regular pumpovers, the wine was aged in a mixture of old and new (approximately 10%) French oak of various sizes (225, 300 and 2,500 litres). Here’s a lovely example of this label, a spicy and fleshy Pinot with crunchy Satsuma plum and forest floor flavours and the kind of hearty core that is so typical of the Lethbridge style. 

Lethbridge’s Estate Pinot Noir brings together fruit from three Geelong vineyards, nicely balancing inland depth with coastal elegance. The Moorabool Home Block gives it structure and core fruit, Springbank adds a bit of grip, and Hat Rock lifts things with freshness and finesse.

Everything is hand-picked and fermented in small batches with wild yeast, using about 50% whole bunches for a bit of spice and texture. It’s then aged for 11 months in mostly older oak, so the fruit stays front and centre. “We really pulled back on the new oak, which works beautifully for the year,” Indra Nadeson remarked. “It needed a gentler touch.”

In the glass, it’s classic cool-climate Pinot: bright cherry and cranberry, a little herbal spice, and a fresh, sappy edge. There’s lively acidity, fine tannins, and a long, smooth finish that keeps you coming back for another sip.