We had a very dry spring leading up to vintage 2016 and it was windy, too. We expect windy conditions in Willunga, but this was pretty intense. October and December were both pretty warm, whereas November was mild. Very healthy crops were recorded across all varieties in McLaren Vale. We had a huge downpour at the end of January a few days before the whites were due to be picked; this kind of weather event tends to give Joch a sense of tightening around the left chest area, neck and sometimes down the arm. However, this 50mm downpour succeeded in refreshing the vines, giving us a few more days before picking and bringing the lawns back from the brink. February was mild with cool nights and March provided pretty good picking conditions, give or take a few warm days.

"Scarce Earth is a McLaren Vale initiative exploring and celebrating the geological climatic and soil diversity of the region. All wines come from a single block, a small plot of land with a unique flavour profile and personality."

This 2016  Shiraz is made using grapes from our Ding’s Vineyard. It has been hand-made, hand bottled and is unfiltered. The wine was open fermented then matured without any time in oak barrels at all, to allow the expression of the vineyard in its purest form. (Ding's Block is named after Joch's first dog who is buried under panel 1 in row 1. I'm not being morbid, it's just a fact.)

Soil Type:          Urrbrae stony loam

Geology:           Christies Beach formation, Quaternary period

Elevation:          130 metres

Vine Age:          14 years

Volume:              33 dozen

• Halliday Wine Companion 2019

  Another single vineyard offering from these organic folks and this is surely the more vibrant in keeping, perhaps, with juvenile vines: winningly aromatic across violet pastille scents; the freshest and the bounciest, pulpy and impeccably extracted in lieu of the material at hand, with the blend of clove, cardamom, a melody of Indian spice, tapenade and ample pepper to Marrakech souk along the back end. Downright gluggable!

  95 Points

  Ned Goodwin MW

  Published 01 August 2019

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