As anniversaries go, 50 years is often represented by gold. This was the colour chosen to grace the label of Leconfield Coonawarra’s Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, released to celebrate five decades of history.
The Blanc de Blancs was made from estate grown Chardonnay and is the winery’s first Estate labelled sparkling. Leconfield Noble Riesling (from one of the late founder Sydney Hamilton’s first Leconfield vineyards planted in 1975) was used as the dosage and supporting the Chardonnay’s cool-climate, crisp, structural finesse.
The sparkling wine will flow at a public event held at the Coonawarra cellar door on Saturday 7 December 2024. There’s plenty of history to toast during the milestone celebration. Particularly Sydney Hamilton’s vision. When the noted oenologist approached the golden years of retirement during the 1970s, he turned his back on relaxation, deciding instead to dig a cellar, plant vines and ultimately fulfill a life’s ambition to grow and produce a classic Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.
Sydney was 76 when he selected 30 hectares of fine ‘Terra Rossa’ country in the southern half of the Coonawarra strip and named the estate “Leconfield” after his English ancestor Lord Leconfield. The wine world took note.
“I watched him [Sydney] for some time; a nuggety, stooped old man with a shovel in his hands, hardly puffing…He reluctantly dropped the shovel. “So you are interested in wine, but are you interested in the soil?” I said I could take it or leave it, and he nodded sadly. “That’s the trouble with you young people, you don’t understand the importance of the soil. I’d expect better from a bloke with your colour hair, it is almost as good as this soil.” – Mark Shield, Melbourne Age (Jan 1992)
“He [Sydney] was a man of energy as well as vision and could be seen ploughing his own rows even at an age when many chaps would be watching the cricket in their slippers.” Legendary Leconfield – Huon Hooke, The Real Review (Jan 2017)
Leconfield Proprietors – Dr Richard Hamilton and Jette Hamiton raise a glass to 50 year in Leconfield Coonawarra
In 1981, with 65 vintages under his belt, Sydney finally decided to retire and Leconfield was acquired by his nephew Dr Richard Hamilton, the great-great-grandson of his namesake ‘Richard Hamilton’ who in 1837, at the age of 45, emigrated from the UK and pioneered the South Australia wine industry.
Join the Hamilton family on Saturday December 7 (noon-5pm) when they celebrate Leconfield Coonawarra’s 50-year anniversary with a family-friendly public event at the Coonawarra cellar door. The event will feature live music by band Limestone Americana, food by Lumberjack’s BBQ, Leconfield wines, coffee, and lawn games. Entry is free.
