Description

What happens when you are establishing a career in the field of science? You fall in love with wine and create a boutique winery of course. Lethbridge started in the mid 90s and for Ray and Maree the pull was so strong that they made it their sole focus in 2003. The sites are carefully selected, the grapes are picked healthy and ripe and allowed to do their own thing so long as they behave. The wines at a glance look understated and simple. But with time and food they grow and evolve. Very lovely drinking to be had here.

Suma Park Vineyard grapes were picked and given some love like only Pinot Noir gets. Whole bunches, soaking on skins pre and post fermentation and time on lees in barrel. All of these help to build layers into a wine. What does it all mean? Put your nose into the glasses and smell the beautifully ripe red and dark cherries, the pepper, cloves and damp earth. Feel the velvety wine hug your tongue and then the fine tannins caress the inside of your cheeks. That is a mighty fine Pinot you are drinking. It might require some spatchcock or the lovely quail at Scopri. When to drink this wine? Now and lots of it. If you forget a few bottles it’ll only get better though…

Geelong – Within the GI of Geelong there is some distinctly different climates, diverse soil profiles and strong personalities. And it helps that there are quite a few producers making interesting and exciting wines here. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz all excel but in the right site there are plenty of other varieties that can do well.

Pinot Noir – This is the most elusive grape. It is relatively early ripening and extremely sensitive to terroir. Its perfect place on earth is the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. So haunting are great red Burgundy’s charms that growers everywhere try to emulate them. Pinot Noir is not just a one trick pony, it can make great reds, rosé, sparkling and even sweet wines, whites on occasion and I’ve tasted a decent fortified Pinot Noir too.