MEDIA RELEASE: OCTOBER 2002
Aldgate Ridge: Clones, terroir and technique
add up to great pinot noir from Adelaide Hills
When Jill and Chris Whisson decided to establish a vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, they knew that site selection would be a much more important part of the process than is usual in Australia.
"When you're dealing with areas such as Coonawarra or the Barossa or even Margaret River, the tracts of land with quite uniform climate, soil and aspect are relatively large," said Jill Whisson.
"But when you move to areas such as the Adelaide Hills, it's quite different. Growing conditions can change many times in just a few kilometres; one side of the hill really can be quite different to the other; and you know that the decision you make will be have a profound influence on the quality of wine you're making in five or 10 or 50 years."
In 1988 the quest led the Whissons to the village of Aldgate, about 20 kilometres south-east of Adelaide, and a 6.5-hectare property consisting mainly of south-eastern-facing slopes overlooking the Onkaparinga Valley.
"Like much of the area around Adelaide, the climate is basically Mediterranean in type, with good winter rains and relatively dry summers," said Jill.
"Our altitude - about 440 metres - means we get a bit more rain than the surrounding plains, and, more importantly, provides us with a much milder climate.
"While Adelaide, the Barossa and McLaren Vale have hot climates in viticultural terms, the Adelaide Hills district definitely falls into the cool-to-warm division.
"Stirling, just a few kilometres north of our Aldgate Ridge vineyard, has a mean January temperature of 19.1ºC. That's comparable with Margaret River, Mount Barker, Coonawarra or Mornington, and, seasonally adjusted, with Bordeaux, Burgundy and Alsace. The story is much the same when you look at heat degree days.
"The dominant south-easterly aspect of our vineyard further reduces temperatures, especially in the critical period during late summer and early autumn, providing ideal conditions for the long, slow ripening of premium grapes."
The soils - mainly well drained sandy clay loams with variable-sized stony fragments - are also ideal for establishing and maintaining healthy, low-yielding vines capable of producing first-class fruit and ultimately a first-class wine.
For the Whissons, the initial choice of variety was fairly simple.
"We wanted to make great red wine and we were confident that pinot noir would not only grow very well here but would also provide us with a major point of difference to most of Australia and certainly to the rest of South Australia," said Jill.
"We knew that pinot was more susceptible to clonal differences than most grape varieties and we were fortunate to be among the first in Australia to get access to a couple of Burgundian clones."
Aldgate Ridge also pays considerable care to vine management, and this part of the operation is overseen by Chris Whisson's brother, Mark, who also has his own Adelaide Hills vineyard, Whisson Lake.
The vines are planted in rows running north-west to south-east, on high trellises that expose the canopy and enhance ripening. Hand-pruning and minimal irrigation ensure the low yields that are necessary for premium fruit.
"I'm sure it's the combination of superior clones, mature vines, terroir and vineyard practice that have given our pinots an extra dimension of colour, flavour and structure," said Chris Whisson.
"Winemaking helps, too, of course, and we're obviously pleased to have retained the services of someone as distinguished and skilful as David Powell, of Torbreck in the Barossa Valley.
"We were lucky, really. We got onto him before achieved icon status in the US and he's continued to make our pinot because he sees a lot of potential in our fruit and because he likes the challenge of making a wine that's so completely different to what he's producing in the Barossa.
"What we really like about the Aldgate Ridge 1999 Pinot Noir is how it combines a fragrant, quite varietal black-cherry bouquet with a much denser, though still quite velvety, palate than is normally achieved with the variety in Australia.
"It's drinking really well already, but we're confident it will cellar well for some time yet.
"It's a great food wine as well. We tend to enjoy a glass on its own to fully savour the flavours, then accompany the rest of the bottle with some quite diverse dishes chicken, lamb, lightly spiced Asian dishes. We ginger particularly enhancing to its flavours. It's great with duck, of course, but we don't get around to that very often."
