2018 Ngeringa Pinot Noir "Summit Vineyard", Adelaide Hills, Australia

ABOUT THIS WINE

At an altitude of 360m, this vineyard on the cooler easterly facing slopes in Mount Barker commands a view of Lake Alexandrina and the mouth of the mighty Murray River in the distance. The vines reliably receive cool air each evening and the soil is a light sandy loam over clay with areas of red ironstone. Select clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted here, along with a few clones of Syrah and Viognier. 

The Pinot Noir is hand-harvested into small 15kg crates and mostly destemmed into small batch fermenter, with 10% whole bunches placed in the bottom of each fermenter. The grapes are gently plunged by hand or feet around two times per day for a long extraction that last for two to three weeks. The pinot is pressed into new (30%) French oak barriques and left in barrel to mature for 11 months. A small dose of sulfur is added at blending, just prior to bottling. No enzymes, no fining, no filtration.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

From the winery: "Winemaker, Erinn Klein and co-founder, Janet Klein create Ngeringa wines, oil and vegetables on their farm which they have nurtured with great care. Originally part of the world-renowned Jurlique herb farm, their land has been certified biodynamic for more than 20 years. Ngeringa is one of Australia’s original biodynamic winegrowing pioneers.

You can feel and see it when you arrive. A vitality… a sense of nourishment and harmony, that lingers and inspires. This is a place where nature’s elements are allowed to work together to create wines that are impressionable and delightful – wines made with biodynamic farming and intuitive wine making.

It’s what lies within that makes this vineyard different. Ngeringa is passionate about ecological, biodynamic wine growing and everything they do and have created revolves around this belief…  small, closely planted vines, a simple, straw bale winery, a farm – entwined with the vineyard – of Scottish Highland cows, sheep and chickens, an abundant paddock of veggies and extensive revegetation plantings.

And working with the cycles and rhythms of nature, allows the soil, the site and the season to be expressed in each wine.

The result is wine that is bursting with vitality, depth of flavour and delicacy, a wine that expresses the care with which it was made. Each wine reflects its place of origin from Ngeringa with authenticity and integrity. These are wines to be enjoyed and savoured – leaving you feeling that all is right with your world."