Les Fruits

Regional South Australia

Tim Stock is a man who wears many hats: part Sydney based wine importer, part lo-fi winemaker based in the Adelaide Hills.

20 years experience dealing with iconic producers domestically as well as in Georgia and France has given him plenty of opportunity to hone a style and harvest information. His focus is on sourcing old vine fruit from around South Australia and letting said fruit and source come through in the bottle.

Fruit comes from conscientious growers in key regions around South Australia. All vineyards are either organic or biodynamic and winemaking is strictly minimal intervention. More no-fi than lo-fi. No fining, no filtration, and only homeopathic doses of sulphur before bottling.

The Les Fruits wines are very much Australian, with an obvious nod to the old world. The wines are vibrant and expressive, allied to a savoury edge that shows itself as pithy grip in the whites, and subtly drying tannin in the reds. They’re wines perfectly suited to both park and dinner table.

Les Fruits ‘Chevy’ 2021

Region Adelaide Hils, South Australia
Soil
Grape 60% Chardonnay, 40% Sauvignon Blanc
Farming Organic
ABV 12.7%
Hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard. Softly textured from its long tank aging on fine lees, a little savoury reduction replaces the Loire’s minerality.

Unashamedly inspired by the blended white appellation of Cheverny in Touraine, Loire Valley. Of course, nothing like the real thing but a consistent idea thread. Importantly the expressions of the two varieties are seamlessly blended. Tim Stock, Winemaker.

Les Fruits Chardonnay ‘La Butte’ 2022

Region Adelaide Hils, South Australia
Grape Chardonnay
Farming Organic
ABV 13%
Naturally farmed, unfined and unfiltered. Hand harvested and direct pressed on site. The juice is settled for a day or so then run to old hogsheads for natural barrel fermentation and aging on lees until racking in January, 10 months later.

From Murdoch Hill in Oakbank. This is a really attractive Chardonnay, with ample richness and purity. It shows bronzed stone fruit plus a bit of nut, with the added fruit weight and nutty complexity partially coming from partial oxidative handling in the winemaking process and during elevage. – Ches Cook, LC Selections.

Les Fruits Sauvignon Blanc ‘Lolo’ 2023

Region Adelaide Hils, South Australia
Grape Sauvignon Blanc
Farming Organic
ABV 12.5%
Hand harvested and direct pressed on site. The juice is settled for a day or so then run to old hogsheads for natural barrel fermentation and aging on lees until racking in January, 10 months later.

no note available.

Les Fruits ‘Peu de Peau’ 2023

Region Adelaide Hils, South Australia
Grape Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
Farming Organic
ABV 11.5%
Hand harvested and direct pressed on site. The juice is settled for a day or so then run to old hogsheads for natural barrel fermentation and aging on lees until racking in January, 10 months later. Naturally farmed, unfined and unfiltered.

Fresh green grass, lemon rind, a cut of citric acid, gooseberry on the nose before a somewhat savoury finish. Everything in nice balance here. – Ches Cook, LC Selections.

Les Fruits ‘Voix des Raisins’ 2022

Region: McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, South Australia
Grape: Shiraz, Cinsault
Farming: Organic
ABV: 12.8%
Perfectly ripe Shiraz was hand harvested then foot crushed on the back of the tractor to start the maceration clock running immediately after harvest. The whole bunch soaking continued in the shade of the vineyard trees and on the truck so that it arrived ready to press directly the winery. A light settle and racked to old hogshead for ferment and 8 months elevage on lees before it was racked and blended with a barrel of lightly marinated Cinsault.

A beauty. Technically a Rosé, but drinks like so much more. A wine of depth and texture as well as refreshment factor. All raspberry, pomegranate and rosehip tea. Have chilled, but not too chilled. Dan - LC Selections.

A blend of McLaren Vale Shiraz with Barossa Valley Cinsault. Bone dry but far removed from the classic roses of Provence. Here there is a touch more colour, but more matte than bright. It’s a textural and, dare I say, complex rose showing rose petal, dehydrated raspberry, hints of spice and a savoury, garigue-like edge which I particularly like. There’s a slight textural element here, too, again setting the wine nicely apart from its French counterparts. - Chesterton Cook, LC Selections.

Les Fruits Pinot Noir ‘Collines’ 2023

Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Grape: Pinot Noir
Farming: Organic
ABV: 12.8%
Fermented mainly with the classic Burgundy layers – roughly 1/3rd on the bottom foot crushed, 1/3rd whole bunches then 1/3rd destemmed to seal it all in and let it go. Foulé-ing only, no pumping feet only. Pressed to old old French oak. Bottled untouched except for a little sulphur.

A young vineyard site that Tim is putting plenty of work into bringing up to speed. In 2023 he has produced a light and crunchy Pinot, with a nice spine of acid and flavours of pomegranate, red berry and amaro. There is a faint grippiness to the tannin which pleasantly balances the initial burst of primary fruit. A simple summer red with plenty of enjoyment to offer. – Ches Cook, LC Selections.

Les Fruits Syrah ‘Collines’ 2021

Region: Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, South Australia
Grape: Shiraz
Farming: Organic
ABV: 12.1%
Two parcels – A savoury dark fruited Adelaide Hills parcel with 50% whole bunches and a 100% whole bunch carbonic parcel from Top Range in the McLaren Vale ranges.

no note available.

Les Fruits ‘Gonzo’ 2022

Region: Barossa, South Australia
Grape: Grenache, Cinsault
Farming: Organic
ABV 13.4%
50:50 split between the two lovers. 2/3rds intertwined in Carbonic matrimony plus a third ferment of whole berry for a little more oomph. All pressed about halfway to dryness and finished as a blend in tank before heading to large old barrels. Ferment usually takes around 6 weeks but the results are worth it.

Vibrant colour with clean and lifted aromatics. Lavender, dried garden herb, botanicals, red fruit and a nice fresh crunch of acidity. It finishes with cola and spice and its low alcohol makes it particularly easy drinking. - Chesterton Cook, LC Selections.

Les Fruits Grenache ‘Tullah’ 2022

Region Blewitt Springs, South Australia
Soil Sand
Grape Grenache
Farming Organic
ABV 13.5%
Fermented gently with a good proportion of whole bunches. Pressed to old oak to rest on fine lees unsulphured for 11 months.

A wine that has been worked very gently and as a result, presents as a very pretty, floral, and delicate style of Grenache. Red petals on the nose before a playful, youthful palate of red berry fruit with a pleasantly silty texture. Then some back-half tannin kicks in and adds some structure to the wine. One of many great Grenache in our portfolio. – Ches Cook, LC Selections.