Producer
Lethbridge Wines is a boutique producer specializing in highly terroir- driven wines from some of the best vineyards in Geelong, chosen after an exhaustive search in the mid-1990s. With total quantity capped at 5,000 cases, the focus is on quality and individuality, and environmental sustainability is also key: Lethbridge’s own vineyard is farmed biodynamically, and the winery design is minimal-impact, requiring no heating or cooling. Lethbridge is garnering critical acclaim and a cult following in Australia, and Berkmann is honoured to be their first importer worldwide.
Vineyard
Fruit for this wine was hand-picked from particularly low-yielding vines in the biodynamically-farmed estate vineyard (cropped at approximately nine hectolitres per hectare).
Winery
The wine was made with 100 percent whole bunches and a pre- fermentation maceration of 7-10 days. It then fermented in small open vats with wild yeast and daily plunging. It was pressed straight to new French oak barrels for malolactic and maturation.
Taste
Complex aromas of dark fruits such as cherries, plums as well as violets and cedar, then a concentrated palate with cherries, spices, strawberries, a touch of cedar wood and gamey aspects. Very fine-grained tannins and a long, complex finish.
Press
“Full colour; a pinot that proclaims its class from the first whiff of cherry blossom morphing smoothly into dark cherry and plum fruit on the long, perfectly balanced palate; you can sense the spicy complexity that will come with further bottle age. One out of the box.” – 96 points, James Halliday, July 2015