A P&V exclusive? By one of our (and your) most adored winemakers? Why yes, it’s true! It’s real! It’s proof that miracles do happen! It’s a duo of wines under the newly minted ‘Chateau Sholto’ label, by none other than Sholto Broderick of Basket Range Wines in the Adelaide Hills.
Sholto’s parents, Mary and Phil, are often regarded as the spark plugs for the Basket Range parish, having first planted a handful of Bordeaux varieties on their property back in 1980. In 2016, Sholto and his older brother Louis began slowly taking the reins and shifting things in new directions, shaped largely by the goings-on at neighbouring growers and makers, such as Jasper Button (Commune of Buttons), Gareth Belton (Gentle Folk) and Taras Ochota (Ochota Barrels), among others.
If you’ve followed the trajectory of these wines as intently as we have over the last several years, you already know what a dab hand Sholto has with chardonnay and pinot noir, so it’s a real treat to have him bottling some barrels of each especially for us. His 2023 Chateau Sholto Chardonnay shows lemony brightness on opening and rocks the fleshy feel of ripe stone fruit, with a tidy acid line. The weeknight white of your dreams, in other words, and only 12.6% ABV to boot. Noice.
As for the 2023 Chateau Sholto Pinot Noir, you know what to expect here – a frisky, rustic exemplar of the Adelaide Hills style. That’s to say light-footed, silky and slurpy, with cherry characters set against a backdrop of bramble and spice. You could even chill it if you’d like, while you drink the chardonnay. Just saying...