2022 Tasting Notes
12.5% abv
The 2022 Spinifex Rose is our 20th rose vintage made in the classic provençal style, made with classic varieties hand picked from old Barossa vineyards. From the first year – fermented in a single barrel up-ended on its head – to the ’22 its been a love affair.
Delicate salmon hued. Refined aromatic fruit nose of pink grapefruit, just ripe nectarine, tart strawberry, yellow rose petals and dried provincal herbs. Fresh and delicate on the palate with pure but discrete flavors of freshly cut strawberry whites, tart red currant, wet river stone and fresh chervil. Fine chalky acids, delicate citrus pith feel and an echo of mineral – salinity on the finish.
Made from old Barossa Valley Grenache (52%) Mataro (30%) Shiraz (16%), and Cinsault (2%) . The range of source vineyards is broad, varying in age from 20 to 90 years of age, (averaging 50 years) grown mainly in sand and loamy sand soils, with lesser proportions from loam over clay and deep red clays. Mainly bush vines, hand-picked, dry grown or grown with minimal irrigation – low input, old school viticulture – respectful of the vine and soil.
Chilled over-night, bunches are crushed with mininmal maceration prior to pressing and the lightly clarified juice fermented with both indigenous and cultured yeasts – almost exclusively in stainless steel – 5 % was fermented in old French oak demi muids. All parcels were matured on lees for 6 months prior to blending. The ’22 growing season was mild and extended with and delivered White, Rosé and lighter bodied Red wines of delicacy and great freshness – qualities deserving of and best captured by an early bottling.
2021 Tasting Notes
13.0 % abv
Made from old Barossa Valley Grenache (52%) Mataro (30%) Shiraz (16%), and Cinsault (2%) . The range of source vineyards is broad, varying in age from 20 to 90 years of age, (averaging 50 years) grown mainly in sand and loamy sand soils, with lesser proportions from loam over clay and deep red clays. Mainly bush vines, hand-picked, dry grown or grown with minimal irrigation – low input, old school viticulture – respectful of the vine and soil.
Chilled over-night, bunches are crushed and macerated prior to pressing and the lightly clarified juice fermented with both indigenous and cultured yeasts – almost exclusively in stainless steel – 5 % was fermented in old French oak demi muids. All parcels were matured on lees for 2 months prior to blending. 2021 Rose – bottled in late May, is one of our earliest Rose bottlings – the mild and extended growing season delivered rose wines of delicacy and great freshness – qualities deserving of and best captured by an early bottling.
2019 Tasting Notes
Then 2019 Spinifex Rosé was blended from 11 Barossa Valley vineyards, the youngest 20 years of age, the eldest well over 100.
All were hand harvested and the whole bunches cooled over-night prior to crushing.
Maceration times were shorter than typical given the very low yields and small berries over the vintage. – Around 12-20 hours.
The musts were allowed to settle prior to racking to their fermentation vessels, mainly stainless steel, with a small proportion going to very old French oak puncheons (500L) and demi-muids (600). Fermentations were carried out by indigenous yeasts and the young wines allowed to rest on yeast lees prior to racking and blending some 6 months after the harvest.
A small portion underwent mall-lactic fermentation.
The varietal composition of the 2019 is a little different to our previous bottling (most notably with Mataro being dominant – by a whisker – and Carignan being included) and was a response to the extraordinary conditions of 2019.
Winter and spring rains were well below average and rainfall during the growing season non-existent, and the season delivered us very reduced yields of small berried, concentrated fruit that matured quickly through the warm, sunny season.
We are very pleased with the result. Much more in the vein of Bandol than Cotes de Provence or Coteaux Varois.
2018 Tasting Notes
2018 – The Season
Below average winter rains, followed by well timed but sparse spring and early summer falls and mild temperatures set up the Barossa for an early, quantitatively modest harvest of clean and fresh fruit. Bright, fleshy fruit, good natural freshness and weigh are the hallmarks of the 2018 whites and roses.2018
Spinifex Rosé 13.0% abv
Sourced from old Barossa Valley Grenache (65%), Mataro (25%) and Cinsault (10%). The range of vineyards is broad, ranging in age from 15 to 120 years old, (averaging 65 years if you had to find a fair number) grown in sands, loam over clays, deep red clays and classic terra rossa (red clay over limestone) soils. Mainly bush vines, all hand-picked, dry grown – old school. Chilled over-night, bunches are crushed and macerated prior to pressing and the lightly clarified juice fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel. Only 5% was fermented in old French oak demi-muids due to the fruit weigh evident in the young wines.All parcels were matured on lees for 4 months prior to blending and bottling.
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