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You can hang your hat on the quality of Lethbridge’s Estate Pinot. The grapes for this wine come from three vineyards in Geelong. The core vineyard is Lethbridge’s Moorabool Home Block, located at an altitude of 205 metres, where MV6 clone vines are planted in basalt clay and bedrock. These vines were planted in the 1990s. Springbank, also in the Moorabool Valley close to Bannockburn Vineyards, sits on red clay with limestone rocks over a limestone base, with vines planted in 2001. The final vineyard, Hat Rock, is a vibrant bayside site featuring clay and loam over limestone, with MV6, 115, and 114 clones planted in 2000. “It provides a bit more power and strength,” explains Indra Nadeson. “The Bellarine sites bring more elegance, so the balance this year is really nice.”
Each parcel of grapes was hand-harvested and fermented separately in open-top vessels with wild yeast and plenty of whole bunches. The fermentation was long and cool, with gentle cap management, involving daily pigeage followed by cap wetting. The wine was aged in 20% new oak for 11 months. “We really pulled back on the new oak, which works beautifully for the year,” Indra remarked. “It needed a gentler touch.” This classic Lethbridge Pinot displays succulent cherry and cranberry flavors, enhanced by a refreshing sappiness and a hint of whole-bunch spice. It is a beautifully vibrant Geelong Pinot with impressive length, bright mineral notes, and engaging complexity for such a young wine. The cool climate acidity and a whisper of fine tannin contribute to the wine's impressive length.