Protero Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo 2022
£23.95
The wine
Highly perfumed and brooding on the nose, with deep dark cherry, sweet red berries, fresh leather and faint citrus peel. The palate is vibrant and lively, with fresh raspberry and plum flowing into surprising umami notes and finishing on light citrus and florals. Fine, firm tannins elongate the mid-palate and lead to a long, elegant finish.
Stephen Pannell has worked the Protero vineyard in Kenton Valley since 2005, the year he returned from a vintage with Aldo Vajra in Barolo. Two hectares of Nebbiolo sit on a west-facing slope at 439 metres, grey loam over red clay on granitic bedrock, trellised unusually tall to build the canopy the variety needs. Forty-eight hours of cold soak, twenty-seven days on skins, then old French oak only. There are few places outside Piemonte where Nebbiolo has translocated well, and this is one of them.
The producer
Protero
View all Protero winesProtero is an Adelaide Hills estate with a passion for Italian varieties, best known for pioneering serious Nebbiolo in the cool hills above Adelaide. It is part of a new wave proving Australia can craft convincing alternatives to the classics.
The elevated Adelaide Hills vineyards enjoy cool nights and a long growing season, ideal for retaining the freshness, perfume and structure that Nebbiolo and aromatic whites demand. Careful farming and thoughtful winemaking let the fruit lead.
The range centres on the flagship CAPO Nebbiolo, fragrant and finely structured, alongside a lifted, aromatic Adelaide Hills white blend built around Gewurztraminer and Riesling.
Distinctive, fresh and quietly ambitious, Protero offers a compelling Australian take on the great grapes of northern Italy.
