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P R O T E R O
GUMERACHA ADELAIDE HILLS
P R O T E R O vineyard lies on a stony ridge to the east of the road between the historic towns of Gumeracha and Lobethal in the Adelaide Hills.
We say historic with some wry irony: while the Silesian refugees settled these towns some time ago, they were a mere one or two billion years after the
PROTEROZOIC geological epoch, during which the oldest basement stones of our ridge were formed. From the greatly-weathered remnants of these stones, comes some of our soil.
PROTEROZOIC literally means “former life” or “the life which came first”, referring to the fact that during this tumultuous age, which stretched from 570 million years back to 2.6 billion years, the first types of multi-cellular life began to form. In contrast, the famous Kimmeridgean chalks below, say, Chablis, are 60 million years old.
The vineyard is the property of Frank Baldasso, the founder of Four Seasons Fresh Produce, the highly respected supplier of the most wholesome and fresh fruit and vegetables to hundreds of Adelaide restaurants. His viticulturist is Dennis Vice, educator and consultant of hundreds of vine doctors in and around Australia, and proprietor of the revered Highbank, Coonawarra’s only organic vineyard. The ever-reliable Shane Hanna is the vineyard manager. With the gifted skills of two of Australia’s truely exceptional winemakers Paul Drogemuller and Steven Pannell the quality shows through.
P R O T E R O has taken a great deal of time in planning and meticulous preparation. Make no bones about it, this is not a hobby vineyard. Every tiny aspect of the vineyard philosophy and design has been thoroughly, deliberately researched, planned and designed. The professional collaboration between all parties makes this a standout operation. The vineyard is in the process of organic certification.
P R O T E R O launches with two whites, a pristine chardonnay and a fairly hearty viognier and three beautiful reds including a 100% Merlot a very well balanced Merlot - Cabernet Blend and the King of Italian varieties Nebbiolo.
These wines are already being exported to Asia, Europe and North America so fear not; it certainly won’t take another billion years to make their mark on this old wine world of ours.
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