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The
wines of Jasper
Hill, Heathcote, Victoria, Australia Drummonds Lane, Heathcote, Victoria 3523, Australia Ron and Elva Laughton’s Jasper Hill makes some of
Australia’s most individual and compelling Shiraz wines. Beginning
in 1975, they were pioneers in Victoria’s Heathcote region. They
have three vineyards. The first, Emily’s Paddock, is 3 hectares and
is mostly Shiraz with 5% Cabernet Franc. The second, Georgia’s
Paddock, is larger, and has 12 ha of Shiraz, 3 ha of Riesling and a
hectare each of Semillon and Nebbiolo which are now just coming on
line. The third vineyard is some 20 km distant at Cornella, still
within the Heathcote region, which has 4 ha of Grenache. The geology here is important. The vineyards are planted on a
strip of Cambrian soil that is found between two faults. The
predominant soil type is a deep red/brown gravelly loam that allows
low vigour vine growth without irrigation. Because the vineyards are
at an altitude of some 300 m, this is a relatively cool climate area
for Australia, and harvest is usually in April. They’ve been organic and unirrigated since their inception,
but since 1998 Ron has also been employing biodynamics, although he
won’t put this on the label because he doesn’t want to use it as a
marketing gimmick. No synthetic chemicals or fertilizers have ever
been applied to the vines. In the winery they take a minimal intervention approach. No
acidification is necessary: this is rare in Australia. The goal is to
produce wines that reflect their terroirs. I'm impressed. Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz 2002 Jasper Hill Emily’s Paddock Shiraz/Cabernet Franc 2002 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Riesling 2003 see also: Index of producer profiles; tasting notes of Australian wines |