Description
Peter Schell and his French born wife Magali Gely started Spinifex back in 2001 – in a short time they have made a name for themselves as producers of fine elegant and sophisticated Barossa red blends. Peter hails from NZ originally but he and Magali are firm Barossaphiles with a great love of the ancient Barossa soils (100 million years old whereas in Bordeaux the soils date back to the last iceage 40,000-100,000 years) and the old vines. Inspired by time spent working many vintages in the south of France their love is the local varieties there – Mataro, Grenache, Shiraz and Cinsault. What sets them apart is their attention to detail and total hands on winemaking.
They are not interested in making blockbuster wines – they seek finesse and complexity (aromatics, line and length) in their wines…Sourcing small parcels of fruit from small family growers and their use of multiple small fermentation tanks allows them to ferment small parcels separately rather than pooling them – a very French technique – which means more ingredients to play with and absolute precision for blending.
‘Pete and his partner Magali Gely operate what I think is the best new-wave of small-scale Barossa wine companies to emerge at the beginning of the 21st century… These weren’t big, blockbuster, showy wines designed to impress. They were wines that managed to take the best of the Barossa’s sometimes forgotten varietal traditions and fuse them onto a very European flavour sensibility.‘ Max Allen, The future makers.
‘It seems that Spinifex wines can do no wrong.’ Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
When Pete Schell heard rumblings of a small old Grenache block being put up for sale for being “too old and too low yielding”, naturally his ears pricked up. A call was promptly placed to the owner, a brief negotiation followed and Pete has now been farm-sharing the block for three years. Pete describes it as a “lovely old block” with an average vine age of 60 years old. These gnarled old vines are dry grown, spur pruned bush vines and yields are, across the board, ‘miserable’. But, the resulting wines are strong, characterful and jam packed with flavour and energy. The fruit was hand harvested and wild fermented in stainless steel. 40% was whole bunch and the remaining 60% was uncrushed, destemmed berries. Pump-overs occurred every second day and the wine was matured on light lees in seasoned thick-staved 500L French oak puncheons.
The aromas are dense with ripe fruits, dark spices, earthy undertones and some purple floral lift. The palate has silky fruits, vibrant acidity and lovely light, tight-grained tannins with a savoury and anise-tinged finish.
94 points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion “An impressive single-vineyard grenache from Pete Schell at Spinifex Wines. Brilliant crimson in the glass with flashes of purple and notes of juicy plum, raspberry, red cherry and blueberry with hints of fine spice, gingerbread, purple florals, red licorice, earth, cola and lighter tobacco tones. Plenty of space and detail with fine, compact gypsum-like tannins and a brisk acid cadence, finishing savoury, balanced and spice-laden.”
RRP $43 Our Special Price $35.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine
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