Spinifex Bete Noir 2008 has many people intrigued by the name – James Halliday is not exception. He was sure on one thing though, the quality. He wrote this in his 2011 Australian Wine Companion: “Bright purple-crimson; a particularly expressive and fragrant bouquet with spicy black fruits, the medium- to full-bodied palate with licorice and more warm spice notes; we are not told why shiraz should be Pete Schell’s enemy. 94 Points.” Pete Schell told us here at The Vine Press people in the wine industry had been pushing him to produce a single varietal shiraz for Spinifex which he was resisting. Finally he sucumbed to pressure, thus his Bete Noir!
