Spinifex Chenin Blanc 2024 (3 Bottles), Barossa Valley

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This may be the first release of Spinifex’s Chenin Blanc, but these vines have been around for almost a century. Pete and Magali have been working with the old bush-vine Grenache and Shiraz from this ancient site in the Angaston foothills for well over 10 years, all the while eyeing an opportunity with the small Chenin block on the property. In 2022, they harvested their first crop, which they used in their Lola blend. This year, the crop from this one-acre block of dry-grown, gnarly old vines warranted its own bottling.

The Chenin fruit from this old site holds natural breadth and intensity of flavour, so Pete picks early to capture natural freshness and preserve balance. The fruit is crushed without destemming and pressed to French oak for fermentation, followed by partial malolactic conversion and maturation in demi-muids.

Old vine magic here! It’s superbly intense on the nose, radiating fresh stone fruit, sunny warmth, grilled nuts and creamy lees. The texture is soft and giving, with pin-point acidity and more of those lovely Chenin fruit tones. Long and mouthwatering on the finish, this is a belter of a first release—and a sign of great things to come.