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Bondar

“Ethereal quality” from a Young McLaren Vale Star

Exciting times are these for Australian wine. Times when quality small producers are popping up everywhere across the viticultural landscape. Times when many of these producers are striving to make delicious, lighter-bodied, fresher, purer, more digestible wines that have a strong sense of place. And now, most significantly, it is a time when some of these producers are realising that it is in the vineyard activity—more specifically the way their vineyards are planted and the way they are managed—that will ultimately determine the quality and uniqueness of the wines they are able to produce. Bondar is certainly at the heart of this zeitgeist.

Established in 2012, Bondar is the vision of husband-and-wife team Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly.  Andre, with a history as a winemaker in the Adelaide Hills and Selina with a background in marketing and law, have planted roots (literally) in the north of McLaren Vale, Their new home is the Rayner Vineyard on Chalk Hill Road, where plantings of old bush vine Grenache and Shiraz vines up to 65-years-old are already in play, while newer, closer planted Counoise (one of the 13 Châteauneuf varieties) has been recently planted, and Mataro, Carignan and Cinsault are on the horizon. 

“There must be a bit of magic behind Bondar. All of the wines have an ethereal quality” Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion

Straddling the Blewitt Springs and Seaview subregions, the Rayner Vineyard was planted in the 1950s. Today, under the meticulous management of Andre Bondar and Ben Lacey, the Rayner site is only now beginning to reveal its true potential. As the investment in the vineyard continues apace—with a focus on building soil health and microbial diversity—Bondar notes that this terroir and its old vines have begun to disclose a unique and consistent brand of freshness and elegance that screams of this deep sandy site. In tandem with the ascent of its vineyard, Bondar’s star continues its rise. 

Andre sees his role in translating the Rayner site into the wines as minimalist, and he picks earlier than many to catch the fresh fruit flavours intrinsic to Bondar’s graphic and fresh calling card. Native yeasts and gentle, extended extractions are par for the course, as is the use of mainly older hogsheads, puncheons and now demi-muids. Whole bunches are used extensively to introduce some more savoury characters to complement the purity of fruit that Rayner delivers. Regardless of the source of fruit, Andre and Selina want to make, in their own words, ‘… wines that are bright, structured, mid-weight, yet concentrated in flavour, and with a savoury element’. And of course, they want to make the finest quality possible. Terrific quality and remarkable pricing make for a heady mix and have gained Bondar the strong following they thoroughly deserve.

Currently Available

Bondar Rosé 2023

Bondar Rosé 2023

This year’s blend is a similar composition to the 2022: Grenache (84%), Cinsault (13%) and Counoise (3%). The lion’s share of the Grenache was grown on the sandy soils of the Rayner home vineyard with the balance coming from two growers, both with sites in Blewitt Springs on deep sandy soils, planted in 1975 and the mid-1990s respectively. The Cinsault and Counoise are grown on the Rayner vineyard. In the cellar, Andre uses a variety of techniques to build complexity and texture. The Grenache from the growers, along with the Cinsault, Counoise and young-vine Grenache from the Rayner vineyard, fermented at cool temperatures to preserve bright, primary characters. Then, for weight and savoury character, the older-vine Grenache from the Rayner vineyard fermented at warm temperatures in old oak. The result is a fresh and pure rosé, with layers of flavour, lovely grip and a super clean, refreshing finish.

Bondar Rosé 2023
Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2022

Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2022

Named after the evocative sky beneath which Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly picked the last Shiraz bunches for their first-ever release of this wine, Violet Hour is a blend of fruit from 10 blocks in Bondar’s Rayner vineyard. Each block has a different aspect and soils range from deep sand with ironstone rocks to clay over limestone. The Shiraz vines are some of the oldest on the property, reaching 70 years in some blocks—a key to understanding the depth and detail this wine can express. Violet Hour encapsulates the Bondar style—fragrance, juicy fruit and lightness of touch. The winemaking is adapted to the season; both whole-bunch and destemmed fruit are used and the juice spends varying times on skins, depending on the block. The wine sees seasoned oak only, usually for 10 months. The result is a seemingly effortless, transparent and deeply expressive wine that perfectly captures site, season and the Bondar style.Similar to 2021, vintage 2022 was a relatively cool season in McLaren Vale and facilitated a long, even and stress-free ripening period.  The result is a joyously fragrant and spice-driven Shiraz with svelte structure, bright acidity and length for days.

“Deep purple from core to rim. Blueberry, chocolate and cola aromas. Dark fruits, crushed violets and subtle pepper spice notes meld seamlessly with fine acid and dusty tannins to carry it long and lingering. A more modern style of McLaren Vale shiraz that offers a lighter touch, but still has that Vale sense of generosity. Great value here.”
92 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
“Fragrant and vivid, this comes off Rayner vineyard blocks planted mainly to deep, sandy soils. Batches are fermented with varying levels of bunches, berries and time on skins; 10 months in seasoned oak. The aim is to express the perfume that sandy soil can yield in the fruit, framed but unobstructed by elaboration to bottle. And what a success it is. Blackberry, blueberry, cherry and damson plum scented with purple florals, anise and clove, a ferrous mineral note tempering. Mid-weight, supple of texture but shored up with a fine, detailed net of tannin – and that mineral tension – this is harmonious and poised, everything serenely balanced, unstretched. To echo an earlier review, this is a tremendous bargain.”
95 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2022
Bondar Fiano 2023

Bondar Fiano 2023

For the third consecutive year, cool conditions prevailed in McLaren Vale. This had a number of implications for the Bondars, not least because—as with most growers in the region—yields were significantly down. To offset the shortfall, Andre and Selina cast their Fiano net a little wider than the usual Lacey Vineyard this year, sourcing fruit from two additional sites in the Whites Valley in southern McLaren Vale. The area has rocky clay soils and enjoys a moderating marine influence. Fiano grown here is prized for its thick skins and high natural acidity. All three parcels were picked in the second week of March, two weeks later than the norm. After a short spell on skins, the fruit was pressed gently into old oak and stainless steel. The wine remained on light lees until June before blending and bottling. The cool conditions and long hang time have led to a bright, fresh and deliciously textured white in 2023. It’s another livewire, made to accompany warm nights and smoky barbequed fish.

“A vintage of reduced yields saw two vineyards added to the Lacey Road source. A gentle, slow press with more extraction from the skins adds extra flavour and a gently pleasing grape-skin dryness. There’s ample flavour at low ripeness, with apple – golden and red – Corella pear, sage, green almond kernel. The grapey grip marries with a definitive line of driving acidity, enveloped in fruitful viscosity, yielding tension and texture in neatly even measure.”
93 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
“Light straw yellow colour. Nectarine, soft green herbs and honeysuckle aromas. Medium bodied with a stone-fruit fleshiness in the middle that draws you in. Hints of bitter almond add savoury notes and a touch of green herbs lifts it. Acid offers drive and ensures the long finish is super clean and dry.”
92 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
Bondar Fiano 2023
Bondar Midnight Hour Shiraz 2022

Bondar Midnight Hour Shiraz 2022

The Shiraz grapes for Midnight Hour are sourced from two blocks in Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly's own Rayner Vineyard. Planted in 1960 and 1990 on the Seaview side of the vineyard on red/brown clay over limestone, these vines are farmed using organic principles and without irrigation where possible. The soil and age of the vines result in smaller, more open canopies that allow for lots of sunlight to reach the developing bunches. This ensures that stems used in the fermentation are lignified, increasing the complexity of the finished wine. The 2022 vintage was similar to 2021. with La Niña driving a cooler-than-usual summer and autumn. Thankfully the wet conditions that can also be a feature of this weather pattern missed Bondar's McLaren Vale home. The cooler conditions delayed the start of vintage by two weeks, so the team was harvesting into the shorter days and longer nights of autumn. Given the stable ripening, Shiraz had more time on the vine, with no rush to pick. The resulting profile brings together red and black fruits with a lot of aromatic lift and a slightly lighter mouthfeel from the cool year. The bunches for Midnight Hour were harvested by hand and fermented with 100% of their stems. Andre and Selina learned the technique during their time working harvest in the northern Rhône. The wine from each batch aged in used French oak for 15 months. The result is a Shiraz with layers of complex flavour, yet an intriguing, textural, black fruit-laden palate.

“Deep, rich ruby red hue. Blueberry, dried morcilla, clove and beef bone aromas. Deep and weighty on the palate, all about savoury complexity over dark fruits. Drying beef, slate, iodine and roasting mushrooms all sit through the length of the palate, with a tight net of ripe tannins dialling up the pressure and drive. It stays with you for a long time, with a late lift of ripe blueberries cleaning the finish well. Serve it with beef rib roast and all will be good in your world.”
96 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
“Lots of smoky paprika spice here, blackberry pastille, dark cherry chocolate, some violet and mint, charred meat too. It’s fleshy and meaty, with distinct spice, medium to full-bodied, sage sausage flavour comes to mind, plenty of dry and grainy tannin grip, and it’s really quite different in character to your usual McLaren Vale Shiraz. The finish is a little bit salty, but has length and spicy tannin grip. There’s maybe a little too much whole bunch here, lending to dryness and coconut husk grip, though that’s an aside. The wine is good.”
93 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
Bondar Midnight Hour Shiraz 2022
Bondar Monastrell 2022

Bondar Monastrell 2022

Bondar’s Monastrell is a limited release (only 100 dozen are made). It comes from fruit off the Lacey vineyard in Willunga, where rocky clay loam soils lie over the revered Kurrajong geology formation. The 15-year-old vines here are farmed with minimal inputs, and the winemaking follows a similar path, with hand-picking, no additions, and bottling unfined and unfiltered. A portion of the fruit was fermented as whole bunches, and maturation was for 13 months in seasoned French hogsheads. Andre Bondar has chosen the moniker Monastrell rather than the more popular Mataro or Mourvèdre, as he aims for a more savoury, medium-bodied wine than the tannic beasts the region is known for.It is brightly perfumed with berry fruits, exotic spices and enticing whole-bunch notes. The palate brings a more savoury and mineral layer to the warmly spiced fruit, fresh structure and vivid flavour. It leaves a lasting and forceful impression, so it’s easy to understand why this wine has garnered a cult-like following.

It is brightly perfumed with berry fruits, exotic spices and enticing whole-bunch notes. The palate brings a more savoury and mineral layer to the warmly spiced fruit, fresh structure and vivid flavour. It leaves a lasting and forceful impression, so it’s easy to understand why this wine has garnered a cult-like following.

"Deep purple-red colour; a straightforward but pleasant cherry-plum bouquet, a touch of pepper-spice, the palate sinewy and underlined by a thread of tannin bitterness, which helps cleanse the finish. This could well build more character with a bit of bottle-time."
89 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“This is the parcel used in the Junto blend, but it was always a favourite component, thus warranting its own bottling. Some whole bunches and 13 months in older French. Monastrell (aka mataro and mourvèdre) can be gruff, dark-fruited, ruggedly herbal, tannic and a little wild. That makes for a great blending parcel, but while this carries echoes of those varietal attributes, it fits the Bondar frame of approachability coupled with subtly wrought complexity. Macerated dark cherries, blood plum, violet, iodine and a little dusty dark spice in the star anise, brown cardamom vein. Pulpy and fleshy, the balance is brokered by ferrous tannins and guiding acidity.”
93 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Monastrell 2022
Bondar Higher Springs Grenache 2021

Bondar Higher Springs Grenache 2021

Sue Trott’s Wilpena vineyard lies in the heart of Blewitt Springs. The vines were planted in 1952 and are dry-grown on deep sand. It faces quite steeply east—an uncommon aspect in McLaren Vale—and so misses out on a lot of the warm late afternoon sun. Of this site, Andre Bondar gushes “Sometimes when you walk into a vineyard that is this beautiful, you can’t help but think that it must make amazing wine.”  In 2021, the absence of heat waves, the sunny warm days and the elongated ripening period led to what could be "one of the greater vintages of the last decade". Picked for crunch and vibrancy, the fruit was wild fermented with 30% whole bunches—to aid in building fine structure and bring out the best of the site's darker-fruited profile. The wine went to old French oak puncheons for around 10 months and was bottled by hand without fining or filtration. This bolts from the gate, laden with red fruits, spice, steely minerality and anise. It’s impressively structured, with a compelling tannin profile framing plush fruits, savoury fringes and perfectly pitched acidity. Deliciously impressive, with driving length and plenty of years to go.

This bolts from the gate, laden with red fruits, spice, steely minerality and anise. It’s impressively structured, with a compelling tannin profile framing plush fruits, savoury fringes and perfectly pitched acidity. Deliciously impressive, with driving length and plenty of years to go.

“A bright, clear colour. Offers a tantalising bouquet, at once floral with red cherry blossom and earthy/savoury nuances. The palate is supple and very, very long, the finish is fresh and mouth-watering.”
96 points, James Halliday, winecompanion.com.au
“Mint, menthol, ripe raspberry, aniseed and new leather. Medium-bodied, savoury sage-laced new leather flavour, lots of sandy grip to tannin, a cool feel, thyme and dried herbs, assertive dry tannin on a sticky dried herb finish of excellent length. Pretty firm and coiled up, with a chicory and black tea taste to close. Very good. Albeit kind of tense”
91 points, 94+ points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
"Ripe and juicy with a lovely touch of sappy freshness, this is a delightful grenache with effusive hibiscus and star anise aromas Nice blood orange and pink grapefruit freshness at the finish. Very limited production. From a vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vales planted in 1952. Drink or hold."
91 points, jamessuckling.com
Bondar Higher Springs Grenache 2021
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“There must be a bit of magic behind Bondar. All of the wines have an ethereal quality” Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion



“Marquee McLaren Vale vineyard now in the hands of some really good people, really good winemakers. It’s a very exciting proposition. The resulting wines, so far, short as the tenure has been, have been great.” Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

“Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly began a deliberately unhurried journey in '09, which culminated in the purchase of the celebrated Rayner Vineyard post-vintage ’13. Andre had been a winemaker at Nepenthe wines for 7 years, and Selina had recently completed a law degree. They changed focus and began to look for a vineyard capable of producing great red wines. Rayner had all the answers: a ridge bisecting the land, Blewitt Springs sand on the eastern side; and heavier clay loam soils over limestone on the western side. The vineyard has been substantially reworked and includes 10ha of shiraz, with smaller amounts of grenache, mataro, touriga, carignan, cinsaut and counoise, all of which are tended to with modern winemaking.”

★★★★★ Halliday Wine Companion

Country

Australia

Primary Region

McLaren Vale, South Australia

People

Winemaker: Andre Bondar

Availability

VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, WA

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