Wines & Winemaking
Our award winning wines are hand-crafted by our winemakers, Nicole Esdaile and Franco D'Anna, at the Hoddles Creek Estate winery.
As the vineyard is planted entirely to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both early-ripening varieties that tend to do so at a similar time, harvest at Lillydale Estate is usually complete over approximately ten days in early March.
Fruit is harvested in the morning, by hand and in small batches, to ensure optimal ripeness across the vineyard. It is transported a short drive to the winery, where it is chilled overnight for handling the following day, to preserve pristine fruit characters.
Every batch is handled separately until just prior to bottling, when final blends are assembled.
All batches are matured in the finest French oak barriques (225 litres) and/or puncheons (500 litres).
As our wines are made entirely from grapes grown on the Estate, each vintage wine is an accurate reflection of season and our unique environment (terroir).
Our Reserve and single block wines are produced from our oldest vines and selected barrels, with the balance blended into our Estate wines, predominantly for the export market.
