There are few tales as impressive as that of Lethbridge Wines. Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis were both successful medical researchers before succumbing to their desire to create a vineyard and winery in Geelong. They planted vines on their own rootstocks, built a straw-bale winery and house, and farmed the land according to biodynamic beliefs. Their wines are powerful, structured, pure and long-lived.
Lethbridge Suma Park Pinot Noir is sourced from a limestone escarpment site at Marcus Hill on the Bellarine Peninsula, where thin red clay loam and buckshot over limestone support MV6 vines planted in 1999. The wine is hand-picked and wild-fermented with around 50% whole bunches, then matured in 50% new French oak and bottled un-fined and unfiltered. The 2023 vintage was cool, wet, and low-yielding with a long ripening season, producing bright, elegant wines with fine balance and high natural acidity, with the Bellarine Peninsula noted for delivering depth and flavour. The result is a Pinot Noir of lifted red fruit, savoury complexity, and a finely structured, mineral-tinged palate.