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THE Adelaide Hills is fast becoming the go-to wine region for super-premium quality wine grapes, something long-time Hills winemaker Nepenthe is capitalising on with the launch of its new Apex range. But what grape varieties made the cut? The Hills has three potential candidates.
“I was always sure in my head that chardonnay would be the white wine release,” said Nepenthe Wines chief winemaker James Evers at the Apex launch in Sydney. The wine chosen was the 2016 chardonnay off the Rathmine Vineyard. “It’s also the wine I drink the most of.” However, there was debate about whether to choose regional front runner pinot noir, or emerging dark horse shiraz for the red release. In the end, the wine decided the question. “We have been playing around with sites and at the end of the day this wine came out, and it was, ‘wow!’ This wine just really popped out.” The wine was 2016 shiraz from the company’s Charleston Vineyard.
“It was time to take a punt and it worked,” added Evers. “The wine has power but it always maintains elegance at the same time.” Both Apex wines retail for $80.