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From $42.00 /Per Bottle
The Aphelion Confluence 2023 Grenache is a key flagstone wine for us.
It's been with us from the very beginning.
We are Grenache specialists and our Confluence is a perfect example of complex, delicious wine that works as beautifully with food as it does being savoured on its' own.
Meet the Confluence
Variety: Grenache from Blewitt Springs sub region of McLaren Vale.
Summary: This complex, aromatic, food friendly, but fantastically drinkable wine evolves in your glass. Good structure and length. Carries our signature savoury finish.
Tasting Note: Vibrant red with purple hues in the glass. Raspberry, cinnamon spice, and red liquorice aromatics jump from the glass and an herbal edge gives great interest. On the palate Satsuma plum, wild strawberry and fine sandalwood dominate with fine tannins giving the wine exemplary length. The palate shows great intensity and concentration without being heavy or cloying. A wine that shows great poise and balance.
Goes With Food: Pan seared duck matches the spice and body of the wine well.
Goes With Cheese: The mushroom characters of a quality Camembert or washed rind cheese will complement the wine’s flavours and won’t dominate its delicate structure.
Goes With Music: Nick Cave – Jubilee Street
Goes With Life: Out for a fancy dinner or aperitivo on the back deck.
Serve At: 18 degrees Celsius.
When to Drink: Ready to drink now, but will continue evolving through to 2035.
Unfiltered
Unfined
Vegan
<100ppm Sulphur
ABV%: 14.2%
Select between a 6 bottle pack or 12 bottle case to Buy the Aphelion Confluence 2023 Grenache.
From $42.00 /Per Bottle
Rare in Australia, bold and aromatic, Sagrantino stole our hearts when we discovered it in Umbria, the green heart of Italy.
Variety: Sagrantino from two sub-regions in McLaren Vale – White’s Valley in the south and Seaview in the north.
Summary: This wine displays a wonderful balance of intense purple and blue fruit, ripe tannin, juicy natural acidity and delivers great length on the palate.
Tasting Note: Strong herbal and mescal notes match with red fruits and roasted meats. This is a light to medium bodied wine with a slightly firmer tannin structure than its siblings. The palate is dense with flavour impact yet light on its feet and finishes well balanced. Smoky charcuterie and earth herbs mingle on the finish. Outrageously spice driven with clove, cinnamon and five spice all coming to the fore on the nose. A savoury Italianiate palate supports a tight structure and a dry palate to provide a very food friendly wine. Tannins are prominent but in balance.
Goes With Food: A rich mushroom ragout with buttered pasta would balance the assertive tannins of this wine.
Goes With Cheese: An aged clothbound English Cheddar would complement the intensity and complexity of this wine.
Goes With Music: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Almost Cut My Hair.
Goes With Life: Matches equally well as a fine dining partner or whilst watching a Bledisloe Test.
Serve At: 18 degrees Celsius. In its youth we recommend decanting to allow the wine to breathe and its subtleties to shine.
When to Drink: Ready to drink now, but will continue evolving through to 2030.
Vineyard: One tonne of fruit was picked from the White’s Valley vineyard (this vineyard is low yielding, and only has three rows of Sagrantino planted to it). An additional tonne of fruit was picked from a Seaview vineyard with red iron rich rocky soil. The vines on both vineyards are approaching 20 years of age.
Winemaking: The fruit from each vineyard was destemmed and kept as whole berries before being fermented. Free run and light pressings were kept separate and then aged for 20 months in neutral and third-use French oak to round out the wine and soften the tannins. Blended and bottled in December 2018.
Unfiltered
Unfined
Vegan
<100ppm Sulphur
Production: 110 dozen produced under screwcap.
Accolades:
• 94 points Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
• 92 Points Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com
Select between a 6 bottle pack or 12 bottle case to Buy Ardent Sagrantino 2018.
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From $42.00 /Per Bottle
Tendance Shiraz 2019 is our Aphelion take on the workhorse of McLaren Vale - Shiraz.
Tending more Rhone in style, Rob seeks out elegance, aromatics, spice and savouriness.
Variety:
Shiraz from two bordering vineyards on McMurtrie Road in the heart of McLaren Vale.
Summary:
A fruit forward wine with good structure and balance showing a finesse that McLaren Vale Shiraz rarely displays.
Tasting Note:
Inky purple with a deep core, violets, brambles and mulberries combine with wood spice on the nose and palate. Savoury notes of olive, cracked coffee, cedar and green herbs add complexity. The wine displays good length on the palate and a supple texture in its medium to full bodied frame.
Goes With Food:
The structure of the wine will work well with red meat dishes – venison and roasted vegetables would be a particularly good match.
Goes With Cheese:
An aged gouda (especially a lightly smoked version) will complement both the fruity and savoury aspects of this Shiraz.
Goes With Music:
Radiohead – Pyramid Song.
Goes With Life:
Bring this one out when main course is served – it won’t shy away from medium to full bodied dishes.
Serve At:
18 degrees Celsius.
When to Drink:
Ready to drink now, but will continue evolving through to 2035.
Vineyard:
Single cordon trellising and careful hand pruning resulted in low yields and intense flavour in the fruit.
Winemaking:
The two vineyards were picked a week apart in mid-March. The first vineyard’s fruit was destemmed and fermented to dryness before being gently pressed and sent to neutral French oak to mature. The second vineyard was fermented in two batches; one was pressed to a brand-new Dominique Laurent French oak 600L puncheon, the second was kept on skins for four months to impart savoury complexity before pressing to large format (600L) French oak. The parcels were blended prior to bottling in November 2019.
Unfiltered
Unfined
Vegan
<100ppm Sulphur
Production:
300 dozen produced under screwcap.
Accolades:
92 points Nick Stock JamesSuckling.com
Select between a 6 bottle pack or 12 bottle case to Buy Tendance Shiraz 2019. Psst...Like the sound of our Members pricing ($37.80) plus perks like free shipping? Step right this way..
From $42.00 /Per Bottle
This wine displays a wonderful balance of fresh acidity and textural interest from fermentation in both oak and tank. Ripe stone fruit characters flow seamlessly across the palate.
Meet the Pir
Variety: Chenin Blanc from the Blewitt Springs district of McLaren Vale.
Summary: This wine displays a wonderful balance of fresh acidity and textural interest from fermentation in both oak and tank. Ripe stone fruit characters flow seamlessly across the palate.
Tasting Note: White peach, red apple and flint show on the aroma with cinnamon adding complexity. The palate is a textural delight with a great depth of flavour – time on ferment lees has provided an attractive creamy character to the wine. Use of French oak provides a touch of astringency on the finish. A rounded and complete wine, crisp acidity cleans the finish and provides great length.
Goes With Food: A rich baked salmon dish with green herb sauce would complement the palate roundness of this wine.
Goes With Cheese: A triple cream Camembert will match the body of this wine and complement its flinty aspects.
Goes With Music: Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting On You)
Goes With Life: A great way to finish off a flight of white wines before moving on to the reds, but the body of this wine gives it tremendous versatility.
Vegan
Serve At: 10-12 degrees Celsius.
When to Drink: Ready to drink now but will continue evolving through to 2030.
ABV%: 13.2%
Select between a 6 bottle pack or 12 bottle case to Buy Pir Chenin Blanc 2024.
From $42.00 /Per Bottle
Emergent Mataro 2019 has a special place in Rob’s heart.
Savoury herbs, dark fruit, aromatic and easy to sip and savour by itself while being bold enough to enhance your meal.
Variety:
Mataro from three vineyards running the length of McLaren Vale.
Summary:
A beautiful mix of savoury characters and bright red fruits. Complexity builds in the glass.
Tasting Note:
The aromatics of this wine jump out the glass with sage, cherry spice and fresh almonds. Powdery tannins provide a canvas for the flavours that wash across the medium bodied palate, and bright acidity keeps the wine fresh and vibrant. Our 2019 Mataro has a very long finish and persistent drive with an elegant fruit profile.
Goes With Food:
Very food friendly due to its savoury characters – try with duck rillettes and fresh crusty bread. (We love Little Acre Foods Duck Rillettes!)
Goes With Cheese:
An aged Pecorino would match the body of the wine and complement it’s acidity and spiciness.
Goes With Music:
Vance Joy – Lay It On Me
Goes With Life:
When the inspiration strikes to try something a little left of centre.
Serve At:
16-18 degrees Celsius.
When to Drink:
Ready to drink now, but will continue evolving through to 2030.
Vineyard:
Sourced from three vineyards. The first is in Blewitt Springs, the climatically coolest part of the Vale. The second vineyard is a couple of kilometres south of Willunga town. The third vineyard is in the Sellicks foothills further South.
Winemaking:
All three Mataro batches received different treatment in the winery. The Blewitt Springs Mataro was destemmed and then cold soaked for 2 days pre-ferment to extract vibrant colour. The Willunga ferment was fermented with 50% as whole bunches of grapes. The Sellicks portion was destemmed and fermented as whole berries. All batches were matured in neutral French oak before blending and bottling in December 2020.
Unfiltered
Unfined
Vegan
<100ppm Sulphur
Production: 85 dozen produced under screwcap.
Accolades:
94 points Ned Goodwin – 2022 Halliday Wine Companion
Select between a 6 bottle pack or 12 bottle case to Buy Emergent Mataro 2019.
Psst...Like the sound of our Members pricing ($37.80) plus perks like free shipping? Step right this way...
