This year’s Estate Chardonnay is sourced from four vineyards in Geelong. Notably, it's the first year the Estate has harvested a full crop from the cool Hat Rock vineyard, located on the Bellarine Peninsula between Drysdale and Portarlington. This vineyard sits bayside on dark clay and loam with limestone. The Moorabool Home Block, situated at an altitude of 205 metres, features basalt-derived clay over basalt. Additionally, a small portion of grapes comes from Sua Park, a Bellarine site with thin red clay. Finally, Hillside Haven is located on the western slope of Mount Anakie at 254 metres, where rich black clay and granite sit atop a quaternary basalt bedrock.

The grapes were hand-harvested in separate parcels, whole-bunch pressed, and wild fermented in the Estate's lightly toasted, custom-made French oak barrels. The wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation and is aged in approximately 40% new oak. Compared to 2023, this vintage shows more power, showcasing Lethbridge’s signature profile of beautiful stone fruit layered with citrus, wet stones, and oak spice. It has plenty of cool-climate vibrancy and energy, with a lingering, mouth-watering finish.

Named after daughter Allegra, this is Maree Collis and Ray Nadeson’s flagship Chardonnay. They source the fruit for the Allegra Chardonnay from the historic Rebenberg vineyard in Mount Duneed. Located 10 kilometres southwest of Geelong, the vineyard was initially planted in 1858 and replanted in 1968 by Ken and Joy Campbell. The Chardonnay vines are now almost 50 years old (planted in 1981, making them some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Geelong). They are rooted in gravel and quartz soil and give extremely low yields of less than 12 hl/ha. These low yields and old vines go some way to explain how the Rebenberg vineyard always delivers “fruit of incredible density and acid”, according to Ray.

Fruit for the 2019 Allegra was hand-picked and pressed as whole bunches before barrel fermentation with wild yeasts. The wine underwent full malolactic conversion and matured for 11 months in new oak, which Ray says allows “the oak tannins to frame the wine”. The wine then aged in bottle for a further five years before release. Lethbridge and Chardonnay are a match made in heaven, and here we have exhibit A.

A perfectly cellared museum release Allegra from Lethbridge. Named after daughter Allegra, this is Maree Collis and Ray Nadeson’s flagship Chardonnay. They source the fruit for the Allegra Chardonnay from the historic Rebenberg vineyard in Mount Duneed. Located 10 kilometres southwest of Geelong, the vineyard was initially planted in 1858 and replanted in 1968 by Ken and Joy Campbell. The Chardonnay vines are now almost 50 years old (planted in 1981, making them some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Geelong).

The vines are rooted in gravel and quartz soil and give extremely low yields of less than 12 hl/ha. These low yields and old vines go some way to explain how the Rebenberg vineyard always delivers “fruit of incredible density and acid”, according to Ray. Following ten years in the cellar, it’s a cracking, drink-now Vic Chardonnay delivering great flavours and perfume of ripe lemon and ginger-infused clotted cream flecked by delicious umami-savoury notes.

You can hang your hat on the quality of Lethbridge’s Estate Pinot. The grapes for this wine come from three vineyards in Geelong. The core vineyard is Lethbridge’s Moorabool Home Block, located at an altitude of 205 metres, where MV6 clone vines are planted in basalt clay and bedrock. These vines were planted in the 1990s. Springbank, also in the Moorabool Valley close to Bannockburn Vineyards, sits on red clay with limestone rocks over a limestone base, with vines planted in 2001. The final vineyard, Hat Rock, is a vibrant bayside site featuring clay and loam over limestone, with MV6, 115, and 114 clones planted in 2000. “It provides a bit more power and strength,” explains Indra Nadeson. “The Bellarine sites bring more elegance, so the balance this year is really nice.”

Each parcel of grapes was hand-harvested and fermented separately in open-top vessels with wild yeast and plenty of whole bunches. The fermentation was long and cool, with gentle cap management, involving daily pigeage followed by cap wetting. The wine was aged in 20% new oak for 11 months. “We really pulled back on the new oak, which works beautifully for the year,” Indra remarked. “It needed a gentler touch.” This classic Lethbridge Pinot displays succulent cherry and cranberry flavors, enhanced by a refreshing sappiness and a hint of whole-bunch spice. It is a beautifully vibrant Geelong Pinot with impressive length, bright mineral notes, and engaging complexity for such a young wine. The cool climate acidity and a whisper of fine tannin contribute to the wine's impressive length.

Mietta Pinot Noir, named after one of Maree Collis and Ray Nadeson’s daughters, is Lethbridge’s flagship Pinot Noir, sourced entirely from the property’s original Pinot Noir block. Otherwise known as the ‘Top Block’ and located on the eastern part of the property, these were the first vines to go into the ground when the replanting began in the mid-‘90s. “It’s a block planted by PhDs”, quips Ray, referencing the assistance from friends and colleagues when they were starting out. The low-yielding block is planted entirely to the MV6 clone on black clay, basalt and limestone soils.

The Mietta site is one of the region’s coolest, so these bunches were given extra time on the vine. This brings the intensity of flavour and structure: then, Ray likes to see good lignification of the peduncle before harvesting, as the fruit mostly ferments as whole bunches. The fruit was picked by hand and fermented spontaneously in open-top vessels with 80% bunches. The wine matured for 11 months in new wood and three years in bottle before release.