The Hills Are Alive: Adelaide Hills Expo

...Vibrant, lively, lemon and ginger with green apple characters. Has this slightly wild sourness in the mix, lots of sea spray and salty minerality, a very refreshing zesty expression with a compelling edginess that sits outside traditional sparkling wine styles. I really like this. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front

Méthode traditionnelle, 72/28% pinot noir/chardonnay. Fourth release, with a low dosage (7g/L), disgorged in June, 2021. Complex floral and citrus aromas introduce this charmer with pastry and yeasty notes in support. With input from reserve wines – 2017 and ' 18 reserve chardonnay and pinot noir, aged in old barrels – the palate delves into mandarin, cumquat, nougat and toast, in harmony with a surge in tangy acidity. Great balance and length on display. JENI PORT, James Halliday

A fine, flinty, tense and taut chardonnay set to a leaner expression. Still, it dials in enough peachy fruit, tart citrus freshness and lithe nougat notes, with touches of green herb and cinnamon spice in tow. That reads like a good and long list, and it is. The wine offers drinkers a more refreshing, fine expression, with minerality as a byword. Very polished, too. Neat. (94) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

I’ve really come to like Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, which is not to say that I didn’t like it in the past, more a growing appreciation of the synergy of region and grape variety.

This is a fine-boned kind of restrained style, though it’s not without flavour. I like the flinty texture, subtle application of spicy oak, and overall balance it has. There’s some peach and lemon verbena, grapefruit, lime rind, green olive maybe and cashew nuts, with a bright and crunchy finish of good length. Nice wine, though you have to like them on the leaner water-coloured side of the Chardonnay spectrum. Ideally needs a little more time in bottle. (93+)CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

Very light yellow in the glass and brilliantly clear, with aromas of broken chalk, lemon, malt and creamy lees, a hint of nougat too but it's still very young and a little reserved. A refined chardonnay with lots of living to do. HUON HOOKE, The Real Review

Sumptuous wine with cut and thrust, plenty of flavour, cooling saline minerality, light toasty spice, salted cashew, preserved lime, juicy red apple, some just-ripe stone fruits; very precise in its way but has a nice slapped bass line of funky stuff too. Packs in lots of character and then has a high refreshment factor, is the gist. Complexity written into the thread of the tasting/conversation/drinking. So darn gulpable too. Wicked drink. Great chardonnay. MIKE BENNIE, thewinefront.com.au

A succulent yet dark fruited pinot noir. Black cherry, tart plum, charry cinnamon, cola notes, alpine herbs, Worcestershire sauce and charcoal scraped on slate kind of minerality. Evocative stuff. Medium weight-ish, chewy in texture, juicy at its core. Sweet fruit poking through savouriness in a pleasing mesh of both. Quite the experience, an almost syrah-like feel to the wine. Lovely drinking. MIKE BENNIE, thewinefront.com.au

A dark cherry red in the glass. Lifted aromas of sap, spice, blue fruits, earth and cola. Fleshy, blueberry, brambly and firm, with decent length and shape. Has some poise and presence. AARON BRASHER, The Real Review

EKIN Wine Co is a relatively new Adelaide Hills–based producer founded around 2021 by viticulturists Mark Vella and Brad Case, both long-time growers across South Australia. Rather than being a traditional estate winery, EKIN is very much a “grower-led” project—built on deep vineyard experience and long-standing relationships across sites in the Adelaide Hills, with additional fruit drawn from other South Australian regions. The philosophy is deliberately practical and fruit-focused: good vineyard work first, minimal intervention in the winery, and a focus on expressing site and season rather than winemaking imprint.

The EKIN Pinot Noir (Adelaide Hills) sits squarely within this approach. Sourced primarily from cool-climate Adelaide Hills vineyards, it reflects the region’s hallmark style: high natural acidity, lifted red fruit, and a savoury, herbal edge. The winemaking is relatively restrained with wild ferment influence, some whole-bunch inclusion, and ageing in older French oak aimed at preserving brightness and structure rather than building weight or richness. The result tends to be a Pinot defined by red cherry and berry fruit, spice, and fine tannins, with a slightly edgy, savoury finish that reflects the variability of multi-site Hills sourcing.

We have had this little guy floor-stacked up the front for a while now and it has been incredibly popular. No wonder too as it delivers plenty of immediate pleasure and just enough complexity and interest to keep you coming back for more. They nailed it!

Quite the potency to this chardonnay, so too a distinct saline minerality. Scents and flavours of toffee apple, lemongrass, preserved lemon and green apple juice with dashes of sugared almond and flinty, stony notes. Lots going on here and, while concentrated and somewhat power-packed, this has a levity and finesse that helps the wine glide along confidently. Serious white wine territory. (95) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

I’m reviewing this a little later in the day, so there will be Tiers before bedtime. I’ll fetch my coat.

Nectarine, grapefruit, nougat, a little spice and cedar. It’s lively, a grapefruit tang to acidity and flavour, there’s something of an umami character here too – like wakame – a grainy grip to texture with nutty finish of fine length. It’s a bright and zippy expression of this wine. Less gloss and glide than is usual, acidity courses through it, but it’s good all the same. (94) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

Quite the potency to this chardonnay, so too a distinct saline minerality. Scents and flavours of toffee apple, lemongrass, preserved lemon and green apple juice with dashes of sugared almond and flinty, stony notes. Lots going on here and, while concentrated and somewhat power-packed, this has a levity and finesse that helps the wine glide along confidently. Serious white wine territory. (95) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

The earliest vintage ever, harvested on the 6th of March, three to four weeks ahead of the average.

White peach, pear, grapefruit, cedar and spice, aniseed, a little salted pastry dough too. It’s bright and juicy, a grapefruit and lime zest affair with some white fruit in the mix, a little nougat richness, firm acidity and chalky grip sures it up, and the finish offers zip and limey length. There’s a slight rawness to this wine at present, though I reckon it will resolve nicely with a few years in bottle. Very good. (94) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

It’s a very good wine. Deeply savoury and ‘bunchy’ but flooded with sweet fruit as well. A trio of peppers: bell pepper, peppercorn and black pepper flavours run through black cherry, plum, smoked meat and undergrowth. There’s a touch of gum leaf as well, but minor. If you like a cooler, more herbal expression of shiraz you will love this. (94) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

 

A soft, juicy red that leans into its varietal-character-101 elements of tart cherry, wild raspberry, amaro-like botanicals and a blood orange tang to acidity. Right on! It's a bit warmer and loose-knit than expected, but for those seeking some oomph and get-up-and-go, this wine fits the bill for energy and depth. Go forth. MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

75/25% sangiovese/cabernet sauvignon. This is a robust and completely convincing release. It's tannic and stern in part, but it's also awash with dark berried, leathery, herb-splashed flavour. The grip of this. The layers of flavour. It's Italy meets Adelaide, a melting pot of ideas and grapes. The end result is a wine of rugged beauty. (95) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, Halliday Wine Companion

A striking release for its depth, finesse, savoury elements, spice and woody, autumnal characters. All bundled up so well, too. Dark cherry, dried leaves, bay leaf, game meat, pepper and clove, aniseed and fennel. Yes thanks. It sits at medium to fuller weight on the palate but delivers massively satisfying freshness after the generous slosh of the wine. So, too, a web of silty tannins makes for shape and length. Seriously good. (95) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

This does more than scratch the itch. But for all of its structure and balance – and undergrowth-driven complexity – this really does have Drink Me written all over it. It’s cherried and earthen, spicy and sweet-sour, with both sinewy tannin and a well-judged plushness to its texture. Toasty oak comes through as whispers at most, and everything just feels in excellent good order. It’s well sustained too. Yes please. This is very good. (93+) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

Bright and fresh, clean and lively. A pure-feeling chardonnay with gentle influence of nougat and cinnamon oak characters amongst red apple, green mango, lemon curd and nashi pear fruit characters. Right on. Shy of medium weight, a little crispness and yet pleasing haziness to texture, the finish a twist of pink grapefruit freshness. Great drink. (93) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

It does both speeds of lightweight and serious with fine tannin profile. Lots of perfume, too, and a dark cherry, brambly herbal focus for descriptors. In all that, it nails the brief of proper nebbiolo, with succulence to texture, great volume of perfume, restraint in fruit character and yet finesse. Elegance personified. And beautiful drinking. MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

We were touring the vineyard when Michael Downer was told this wine won Best Sauvignon Blanc of Show at the Adelaide Hills Wine Show. Naturally, we headed to the Exeter Hotel for a glass afterwards. The accolade, justified. A benchmark expression, the sweet green notes reined in, not so much tucked away as they are integrated. The vintage's intensity is on full show; it's got a vital core of fruit in palate-staining lemon and grapefruit, and crystalline aromas of spice and candied ginger, apple and pineberry. A portion of the wine was barrel fermented, another left on skins, and the resulting texture drives the acids and fruits into stratospheric heights. A marvel from 20 years of hard work in the vineyard. (95) KATRINA BUTLER, Halliday Wine Companion

This is squeaky clean, juicy throughout, and full of running. It’s also noticeably dry, if that’s possible. It tastes of cut grass and tropical fruit, metal and hay, with a garden herb or tonic water element in there too. It’s good. It’s refined. It’s slender in a good way. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

There's an energy here, a forewarning, perhaps, that one glass won't do. White nectarine, lime zest, cracked wheat, Granny Smith apple and orchard florals. Some grapefruit pithiness, too. The acidity, racy, a live wire woven through the fruit, but there's ease to be had and a glass to refill. KATRINA BUTLER, Halliday Wine Companion

Chardonnay does well in the hands of Michael Downer and team at MH.

Light-golden colour, nice looks. Honeydew melon, a touch of almond, green mango, quince and preserved lemon with a tickle of saline minerality through the finish. A wine that pushes its complexity credentials under the radar, but it’s there and a good authority. This delivers on its promise well. A pleasing, easy drinking and delicious chardy. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front

A floral and focused gewurztraminer showing aromas of lemon oil, yellow apples and rose petals with a mineral drive. The palate is medium-bodied with a textural mouthfeel and fine acidity. Full malolactic due to the hot vintage adds lovely density. Drink now. Screw cap. (94) RYAN MONTGOMERY, JamesSuckling.com

As bright as Dorothy's red slippers. Glorious! Cranberry, fresh strawberry, just-ripe red plum, red cherry and the intensity of freeze-dried fruit powders. Its lighter frame makes it easy to slip back, and gently chalky tannins make the return to sip somewhat habitual, a muscle reflex. Yes, chill it if you wish. (93) KATRINA BUTLER, Halliday Wine Companion

Hand picked fruit from 2 vineyards. 25% whole bunches, 75% destemmed only (whole berries). Spontaneous (wild) fermentation in small open fermenters. Hand plunged & pumped over to wet cap, pressed to French oak post fermentation (1,3 & 4 year old oak), mlf in barrel. Racked and bottled after 10 months in oak.

Lifted floral, raspberry & blueberry fruit. Vibrant, crunchy fruit flavours in a fleshy, textured palate with a crisp, refreshing finish

This screams sangiovese, from its red-berried and woody spice perfume through to its sizzle of blood orange, medium-weight, and cherry, cola, cranberry and rosehip tea flavours. A good sense of cinnamon, clove spice and white pepper, too. A touch of dried Italian herbs. Tannins are quality, the wine compact and chewy in the best sense, and it finishes exceptionally long with sweet fruit and more spice. A touch of minerality and black tea in the mix, too. Jeez, this is good. (95) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

This is a terrific nebbiolo. Dribbles with game meat, charry spices, dried and fresh cherry, cranberry, rosewater and paprika spice. It's compact and firm in tannin profile but holds within a beautiful bouncy juiciness of fruit. A kind of refreshing, palate-cleansing feel. Energetic, too. A vibrant, beautiful drink, in a simple but significant mode of the variety. (94) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion