Lethbridge Vaughan Pinot Gris 2023

Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis have been sourcing fruit from Angela and Larry Vaughan’s old vineyard in Drumborg, Henty, for the best part of two decades. The sheer quality delivered in the cool, long 2023 growing season proved the catalyst for the first single-site bottling from this cool vineyard. It’s a very low-yielding site—a prerequisite for Lethbridge―with vines that took root in the 1980s in soils rich in limestone and clay.

As is his way with Gris, Ray picks late to maximise flavour and texture. In a marginal climate like Drumborg, this usually means holding your nerve well into April! This long hang time means Ray gets full ripeness and layers of complex flavours while maintaining bracing natural acidity. The fruit is picked over several passes and ferments in small batches in tank and new wood. Some portions see up to 24 hours of skin contact, and others get the carbonic treatment in amphora. The wine then matures in foudre on fine lees for a few months before bottling.

It's a wonderful first release, littered with orange citrus, high-toned floral notes, ginger and baking spice and rich, white orchard fruit notes. There’s a lovely saline edge from the limestone soils, and the weighty texture is countered deftly by the fresh, cool spine of acidity. This is proper Gris.