Langton’s Selections Lethbridge Mietta Pinot Noir, Lethbridge Indra Shiraz, Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay For the scientist, the mathematician, the painter or the writer, “beauty is the first test”. Algorithms, equations, compositions and stories are all in some way governed by natural laws and patterns. Original ways of thinking can reveal hidden patterns; the most beautiful seemingly balanced and lyrical. In wine the road to beauty can be hazardous. Indeed the journey can be an unfulfilled fantasy. Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis of Lethbridge Wines have transcended their ambitions through trial and error and open-mindedness. With vines planted only 12 years ago, Lethbridge Wines is the Australian fine wine dream built with imagination, fearless determination, perspiration, integrity and confidence. The gentle sloping Lethbridge Estate Vineyard, comprising both black mulching clays over basalt and sandy clay loams and ironstone, was planted in 1996. It is a jigsaw puzzle of grape varieties including chardonnay, pinot noir, Shiraz, Sangiovese, Merlot and Zinfandel. Interestingly it was previously planted in 1874 by Swiss immigrants. Nadeson also leases Ken Campbell’s Rebenberg Vineyard – which began Geelong’s renaissance as one of Victoria’s premier wine districts. Biodynamic principles are followed; a philosophy that increasingly conjoins Australia’s most thoughtful wine producers. It is curious that so many contemporary scientist winemakers have embraced Rudolf Steiner’s ideas. It illustrates that inexplicable science can be accommodated if the results optimise the fruit. There is a clarity, vibrancy and minerality that pervades through all of Lethbridge wines. While it was the beautifully pitched Allegra Chardonnay that filled the trophy cabinet this year, it is the Mietta Pinot Noir that is the most interesting and confounding. Its sublunary beauty evokes the physicality of vineyard site and underscores the Nadesons’ individuality and promise. The pattern of style differs because of its earthy complexity, muscular texture, paradox of “prettiness” and potential for longevity. Andrew Caillard MW, Langton's