SPINIFEX / CIGALE

If Spinifex is not one of the most exciting Australian producers to have cropped up in the last decade then we don’t know much about wine. It is testament to how much we respect the wines of Peter and Magali that we had been badgering them to let us handle their wines for almost as long as Spinifex has existed. In short, we rate them in the top few Australian producers and we’re obviously not the only ones. We also think that they are a historically significant producer as they are one of the few producing artisanal quantities of full bodied red wines that manage to retain genuine complexity, savouriness and sense of place. Sounds simple, and yet in an ocean of sweet, oaky South Australian reds, Spinifex have long been a beacon of hope.

The remarkable 2009 vintage was a watershed year in the short history of Spinifex. This fantastic vintage was probably the first tuly great Barossa vintage (2010 is the second) andtook things up a notch by giving Schell wonderfully balanced, wholesome fruit to work with from his tapestry of small plots throughout the Barossa and Eden Valleys. With the 09 vintage garnering excellent feedback, we move in leaps and bounds to ’10 and ’11, where you can expect the same. Without any hyperbole, these releases will only further enhance Spinifex’s growing reputation as one of Australia’s finest small producers.  Get your hands on what you can.