About The Pack
This is a little taste of some of the crazy, inventive and delicious wines being made in the Adelaide Hills at the moment.
It's a region that has evolved a lot over the years, from excellent classically-made cool-climate wines to some the best natural wine in the country, the Hills are alive with a swarth of great producers.
Here is a great cross section of a range of styles from some of the modern stars the Hills at a great price.
2020 Worlds Apart Hope Forest Sauvignon Blanc
"A true elevation of the variety."
Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
Louis Schofield's Sauvignon Blanc comes from the biodynamically-farmed Brackenwood vineyard in the Adelaide Hills.
It's not your average affair from this region, a lick of skin contact and some time in seasoned oak elevating this wine to a place of texture and serious complexity.
If you're looking for classic Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc, maybe keep looking but if you're after vivacious, lightly grippy Sauvignon with a wild streak - this will be right in your wheel house.
Read more about 2020 Worlds Apart Hope Forest Sauvignon Blanc2019 BK Wines One Ball Chardonnay
This is very much a 'modern' Australian Chardonnay - with the typical Aussie fruit flavours and subtle creamy French oak balanced by minerality, smoke and acidity.
BK has a way with Chardonnay. He loves to pick early looking for tension and crisp acidity as he backbone around which he can drape texture in the form of oak/lees etc.
It's a delicious glass of Chardonnay from a killer, hands-off producer in the Hills.
What's not to love?
Read more about 2019 BK Wines One Ball Chardonnay2020 Poppelvej Aeventyr Gewurztraminer
The Poppelvej Aeventyr is a bang-on example of Gewurztraminer in skinsy mode.
The fruit hails from the K1 vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. Winemaker Uffe let the wild ferment kick for three weeks on skins before pressing. You can see plenty of examples of orange Gewurztraminer that go a little over the top, with the aromatics becoming overly floral and exotic, this somehow maintains its freshness and brightness without becoming a caricature.
This is spicy, dry and refreshing. Such a fun-loving example of the orange wine style, perfect for those new to skin-contact wines.
Read more about 2020 Poppelvej Aeventyr Gewurztraminer2019 Adelina Dolcetto Barbera Rosato
Col and Jen at Adelina make a very good fist at an Italianate expression of Rosé/Rosato.
They have had great success with Nebbiolo made in this style in the past - here they take on two other Italian varieties: Dolcetto and Barbera.
It's crisp and nervy with citrus and fresh red fruits. Some wild flowers and plenty of fresh spices fill the air.
If you want dry, savoury Rosé with a bit of grunt, this is a great place to look.
Read more about 2019 Adelina Dolcetto Barbera Rosato2017 Murdoch Hill Phaeton Pinot Noir
This is the top Pinot Noir in the Murdoch Hill range.
A single vineyard offering from Uraidla in SA, this was fermented as 50% whole bunches - young gun winemaker Michael Downer drawing more smoky/spicy complexity from the fruit with the higher whole-bunch inclusion on this wine.
With 94 points from James Halliday, this is a wonderfully youthful example of the very high quality coming out of the Murdoch Hill cellar at the moment.
Read more about 2017 Murdoch Hill Phaeton Pinot Noir2019 Basket Range Wine Cabernet Sauvignon
Sholto Broderick's Cabernet wines are some of his best.
In this slightly warmer part of the Adelaide Hills, the conditions conspire perfectly for Cabernet. Considered growing and a gentle hands-off approach in the cellar gets the very best out of the Broderick vineyard fruit.
This is a supple, mid-weight Cabernet that show wonderful fragrance and delicacy. It's a gorgeous, unique expression of the variety from a young producer truly coming into his own as a winemaker.
Read more about 2019 Basket Range Wine Cabernet Sauvignon