About
"LEKO Wine is our Adelaide Hills sister brand and represents ‘Lenswood Koerner’.
In 2017 Damon and his wife Maddy bought a property in Lenswood, which is now home to our winery. Our family has also had a long history living and owning vineyards in the Northern hills area. Damon developed a passion for the Adelaide Hills through his 10 years as a viticulturist in the region.
The focus of LEKO is working with select vineyards primarily in Piccadilly, Balhannah and Lenswood. We work with varieties suited to the cooler climate including Chardonnay, Savagnin, Gamay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.
We are very excited that 2022 will be the first year we produce a home block Chardonnay from our Lenswood vineyard." - Damon and Jono Koerner
2022 Chardonnay
Classic Hills Chardy – Stone fruits, purity and length
Vineyard: Willsmore Vineyard, Piccadilly and Koerner Vineyard, Lenswood
Farming: Organic
Planted: 2004 & 2019
Soil type: Sandy loam on sandstone & ironstone
Picking date: March 17, 18 & 19 2022
Picking method: Hand harvested and sorted in vineyard
Skin contact: No
Processing: Crush and destemmed
Pressing: Only take free run juice
Cooling / settling: Settled off dirt and heavy solids for 24 hours
Ferment & Aging vessel: French oak Barrique for 12 months, 50% new
Filtration: No
Fining: No
Alc: 12.9%
pH: 3.26
TA: 6.3
SO2: 30F, 60T
Production: 300 dozen
2022 Blanc
Skin Contact Hills Blend – Exotic, spicey & crisp
Vineyard: Deanery Vineyard, Balhannah
Varietal: 42% Savagnin, 39% Pinot Gris & 19% Sauvignon Blanc
Planted: 2004
Soil type: Sandy loam on sandstone & ironstone
Picking date: March 13, 16 & 19 2022
Picking method: Hand harvested and sorted in vineyard
Processing: Destem retaining ~ 50% whole berries. No whole bunch
Fermentation: Natural ferment in open top steel fermenters, hand plunged twice daily
Time on skins: 7 days
Pressing: Free run and pressings combined
Settling: Settled off gross lees for 7 days
Aging vessel: Steel for 11 months
Filtration: No
Fining: No
Bottling: Mid Feb 2023
Alc: 12.9%
pH: 3.25
TA: 6.9
SO2: 30F, 60T
Production: 275 dozen
2022 Rouge
Easy drinking red – medium bodied, red fruits and spice
Vineyard: Deanery & Gower Vineyards
Varietal: 35% Sangiovese, 29% Merlot, 20% Mencia & 16% Gamay
Planted: 2000, 1996 & 1998
Soil type: Clay loam on shale soft rock and sandy loam on deep clay
Picking date: March 25 March & 2 April 2022
Picking method: Hand harvested and sorted in vineyard
Processing: Destemmed retaining 50% whole berries with no whole bunch
Fermentation: Natural ferment in open top steel fermenters, hand plunged twice daily
Time on skins: 2 weeks
Pressing: Free run and pressings combined
Settling: Settled off gross lees for 7 days
Aging vessel: 2000L Slavonian oak Foudre for 10 months, then stainless steel for 1 months on fine lees
Filtration: No
Fining: No
Bottled: Mid Feb 2023
Alc: 12.4
pH: 3.36
TA: 6.4
SO2: 26 F / 48 T
Production: 775 dozen
2022 Gamay
Refined Gamay – light & bright
Vineyard: Deanery Vineyard, Balhannah
Planted: 2004
Soil type: Sandy loam on sandstone & ironstone
Picking date: March 17, 2022
Picking method: Hand harvested and sorted in vineyard
Processing: Destemmed retaining 50% whole berries with no whole bunch
Fermentation: Natural ferment in open top steel fermenters, hand plunged twice daily
Time on skins: 10 days
Pressing: Free run and pressings combined
Settling: Settled off gross lees for 7 days
Aging vessel: Slovonian oak Demi Muid for 10 months, then stainless steel for 6 months
Filtration: Crossflow
Fining: No
Alc: 12.5%
pH: 3.12
TA: 8.7
SO2: 30F, 60T
Production: 85 dozen
2021 Leko Pinot Noir
Pinot… but not overdone – delicate fruit, earthy and soft tannins
Vineyard: Willsmore Vineyard, Piccadilly
Farming: Organic
Planted: 1998 (MV6) and 2001 (114)
Soil type: Sandy loam on Sandstone and soft red rock
Picking date: March 8 & 16, 2021
Picking method: Hand harvested and sorted in vineyard
Processing: Destemmed retaining 50% whole berries with no whole bunch
Fermentation: Natural ferment in open top steel fermenters, hand plunged twice daily
Time on skins: 2 weeks
Pressing: Free run and pressings combined
Settling: Settled off gross lees for 7 days
Aging vessel: 2000L Slavonian oak Foudre for 10 months, then stainless steel for 6 months
Filtration: No
Fining: No
Alc: 13.0%
pH: 3.64
TA: 5.4
SO2: 24F, 60T
Production: 415 dozen
(Image: Damon and Jono Koerner - LEKO Wines / www.koernerwine.com.au)