Ashton Hills is a three-hectare, dry-grown vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley sub-region of the Adelaide Hills, set on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. Founded by Stephen George in 1982, it became one of Australia's most respected specialists in cool-climate Pinot Noir and whites, and has been owned by Wirra Wirra since 2015. The high, cool site is planted to several Pinot clones George selected across decades of trial. The 2023 season brought a long, cool, wet winter that ran into December and disrupted flowering, then a cool run that left small bunches and berries needing well into March and April to ripen, giving low yields but concentrated, perfumed fruit. With no Reserve made in 2023, that fruit went into this estate wine.

Hand-picked estate fruit was fermented with around 14% whole bunches to build aromatics and structural complexity, the rest destemmed. After fermentation the wine was matured in French oak barriques, principally one and two years old with roughly 17% new oak, and kept on its lees to add palate weight, body and texture. The measured whole-bunch component and restrained new-oak handling reflect the Ashton Hills house style, framing bright red and blue fruit, cherry, spice and floral notes with the fine, persistent tannin structure for which the vineyard is known. It will reward around five years' cellaring.