Region
Adelaide Hills is a wine growing area in the Mount Lofty Ranges region of South Australia. It is one of the largest wine regions in the state, reaching the Flurried Peninsula and McAllen Vale in the south, and the Bares and Eden Valleys in the north. Key to the region’s grape growing is the altitude of its vineyards, which range from 400 to 650 masl. This gives the region, in an Australian context, a cool climate. Throughout the Adelaide Hills, the ripening season has historically been dry. This, along with cooler temperatures, allows the grapes to mature at a slow pace, resulting in concentrated wines.
Vineyard
Longview is located on the South Eastern Ridge of the Mount Lofty Ranges; to the south lies the southern ocean, to the east Lake Alexandrian. This accounts for a slightly higher average temperature than the rest of the Adelaide Hills while still remaining a cool-climate site. Most rainfall occurs in winter; throughout summer, warm days are followed by cool winds shifting from the southern waters of Lake Alexandrian and the coast. These conditions result in a very high diurnal range which is quite site-specific, ensuring a breadth of flavours and aromatics in the grape berry. Longview fruit is all sourced from the single estate and therefore much of the work to provide depth and character is completed in the vineyard. Each block is serviced differently in order to build complex flavour profiles; these are then fermented separately and blended to make the wine of any one vintage. Longview’s Grüner plantings—some of the oldest in Australia—are on the south facing slope, which sees a more gentle climate,helping to retain this white variety’s natural acidity. The KOHL is sourced from a single plot of 3 Austrian clones planted entirely on their own roots.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested, crushed, destemmed and chilled to 3°C. Free run juice only, extended lees contact, fermented bone dry.
Varieties
Grüner Veltliner is the signature grape of Austria and by far the nation’s most widely planted wine grape. Classic Grüner Veltliner wines show citrus aromas (lemon peel and grapefruit) complemented by stone fruit and fresh vegetal notes and the variety’s trademark hint of white pepper. One of the earliest Grüner Veltliner plantings in Australia was in the Adelaide Hills wine region in the state of South Australia in 2008. The grape planting is part of an extensive effort of Adelaide Hills growers to make Grüner Veltliner a signature variety for the region. Here, the region’s large diurnal temperature variation allow the grape to build sugar levels during the warm days but maintain a balance of acidity during the cool nights.
Tasting Notes
Pale straw colour with green hues in the glass. Initial aromas of grapefruit and celery progress to a palate of spicy radish and golden delicious apple, with crunchy acidity and white pepper overtones.