Spinifex Ros 2018 Magnum

Is this Australia’s finest Ros? In spite of the relentless proliferation of Ros on the market, Peter Schell’s wine–now into its second decade of production–keeps coming up, well, roses. It’s simply a wonderful example that stacks up brilliantly against the best French examples. The complexity and interest here derives in part from the varieties used: 31% Mataro, 29% Grenache, 16% Carignan, 14% Cinsault and 10% Ugni Blanc. These vines are all dry-grown Barossa vineyards, “mainly bush vines, all hand-picked–old school,” chuckles Pete. In short, sites selected for their ability to produce outstanding quality ros material (the average age of vines is 65 years old although the oldest parcels range up to 120 years of age). Grapes are handpicked and crushed bunches were macerated for between 6-24 hours prior to pressing before the wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured on lees prior to bottling. Approximately 5% was fermented and matured in old French oak demi-muids, the rest in tank. Bottled without filtration, the resulting wine offers the kind of vibrant perfume (of red fruit, nectarine and white flower), texture and crunchy line that were once the exclusive domaine of Provenal Ros.