Spinifex
La Maline Shiraz 2018
Barossa Valley, South Australia

$70.00

Fruit

Earth

Body

Tannin

Acid

Alcohol

Style: Red: Rich, intense and complex

Producer: Spinifex

Region: Eden & Barossa Valley

Grape: Shiraz

Vintage: 2018

Soil: Mixed

Farming: Sustainable

Oak: French oak barriques and demi-muids

Alcohol: 14%

Glassware: Syrah Stem

Decant: Not required

Serving Temperature: 16 – 18°C

The Wine: La Maline has always been Spinifex’s purest and most finely structured expression of Barossa Shiraz. Vine age, altitude, and poor, sandy soils inform both the quality and the style. The 2018 wine is cropped from meticulously tended, 25- to 120-year-old, dry-grown vines on high-altitude sites (320 to 495 metres), spread across the Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and the Barossa Ranges. Vinification is kept pretty simple: all fruit is hand-harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts in open oak and steel fermenters for between 12 and 21 days before pressing. The 2018 saw between 30-45% whole bunches in the ferments and around 2% pressed Viognier marc was included in the must. Maturation took place in French oak barriques and demi-muids (approximately 40% new) on light lees for 20 months prior to assemblage and bottling.

It is dense and richly fruited. Quite impressive in its concentration. Dark berries, blackcurrant, cooked plum and black cherry. There is a nice hint of brown sugar, dark chocolate and clove. The palate has volume from front to back. Great complexity and concentration. This is a wonderful example of one of Australia’s best Shiraz regions.

Sebastian Crowther MS

2 in stock

Producer Profile

Spinifex

The Barossa Valley – a region that needs very little introduction. This has been one of the power house wine growing regions of Australia and helped put it on the world stage. Located 60 kilometres northeast of Adelaide. This is a warm region that produces wines with a full flavour.

Spinifex was started by Magali Gely and Peter Schell in 2001. Magali and Peter’s background is the key to understanding the styles of wine they produce. Magali comes from a family that has been growing wine near Montpellier for over ten generations, whilst Peter is a trained oenologist and has made wine in Burgundy, Switzerland, Provence, the Minervois, the Languedoc, Bordeaux and New Zealand. Peter and Magali’s combined backgrounds have led to the belief that the vineyard is paramount in the production of unique, ultra-premium wines. The wines they produce should not only reflect their sites; showing richness and intensity; but also be well balanced and a pleasure to drink. Spinifex wines are typically produced from very old, 50 to 120 year old, low yielding vineyards in the Barossa and Eden Valleys.