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Andre Bondar can’t hide his excitement that he is now working with Shiraz from the famed Hickinbotham Vineyard in Clarendon. This high, dry-grown, biodynamically farmed site was first planted in 1971 in these rocky, ironstone-rich red soils. It’s a revered site in SA circles, supplying Grange, Eileen Hardy and Clarendon Hills, among others, over the years. Clarendon sits considerably further inland than Bondar’s Rayner Vineyard and, at 250m altitude, produces a very different expression of Shiraz. “It’s finer, with ferrous quality and red fruits; there is a tightness and coiled power,” explains Andre.
In a very Bondar way, the winemaking does not detract from the purity of the site. Around 65% bunches were used in the ferment, and the wine matured in seasoned French hogsheads for 14 months. This is the second release of this wine (previously called Clarendon Shiraz). Andre played the first release with a straight bat: minimal bunches and a lick of new oak. Now he’s seen what the fruit can do, he’s incorporated some Bondar flair: the bunches bring an abundance of savoury spice to the intoxicating, potent power of the Hickinbotham fruit. It’s a hell of a wine.