(2025) From the partnership between English entrepreneur Rufus Clevely and Australian Rogers Hill-Smith, this 11.5% alcohol wine is made from unirrigated bush-vine Grenache in the Barossa Valley. It's a pale and particularly aromatic example, a little passion fruit and elderflower giving it lift and zing over strawberry bob-bon fruit. The palate has loads of juicy peach and nectarine, a nicely tart note that hints of bitterness like Seville orange peel, and good balance into the finish. A hint of spice is a welcome bonus note. Dry and appetising, but fruity too.
(2021) Named because half of the vineyard was destroyed by a fallen power line igniting a fire, but this sourced from the old vines that survived. 50% whole bunches, foot pressed, and fermented and aged in 300-litre French oak barrels. A beautifully perfumed wine this, there's a spicy and herbaceous lift, that touch of hessian in the background from the stems, but lovely fruit and lift. The palate is smooth and ripe, a creamier mouthfeel than the Bondar, but similarly bright red fruit. Tannins very fine, cherry-ripe acidity lovely.
