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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 Violet Hour Shiraz 2024

Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2024

The Violet Hour was the first wine the Bondar family made, and it still holds a special place in their collection. The name comes from a harvest sunset at Rayner Vineyard and proved appropriate for the wine: “It evokes purple velvet and flowers and softness,” Selina says.This year, that floral note is layered with lush spice from an Eden Valley clone that Andre sought out for its Rhône-like aromatics. All fruit comes from the Rayner vineyard, where vines up to 75 years old sit on deep sandy soils with ironstone over limestone. Multiple blocks with varying aspects get bespoke treatment before blending. Some see whole-berry ferment, others longer time on skins, depending on what suits the grapes best.The wine spent 10 months in mature oak and was blended in January after harvest. In the Bondars’ words: “we want our Violet Hour to be as transparent as possible, to express our unique and beautiful site.” Red fruit, char spice, and elusive elegance deliver just that.

“Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly approach McLaren Vale shiraz like young renovators who’ve just inherited an old mansion from an eccentric old aunt. What was once dark has had the light let in, abundant artifacts and ornate over-stuffing replaced with cleaner lines and more open space. It’s still the beautiful place it always was, but is now more appealing to a contemporary market. If you’ve always loved McLaren Vale shiraz, you’ll still be happy here, and if you didn’t think it was for you, you’ll be surprised by how quickly you feel at home.”
96 points, Nick Ryan, The Australian, Top 100 Wines of 2025
Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2024
Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2025

Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2025

Junto is Spanish for ‘together’, and in this case means a union of old friends: Grenache (72%), Mataro (13%) and Shiraz (8%) and Counoise (7%). The Grenache is sourced from two sites. The majority comes from Bondar’s Rayner Vineyard, with supplementary fruit from a deep, sandy site in Blewitt Springs. The Shiraz is also home-grown Rayner fruit (70-year-old vines on sand), while the Mataro was sourced from the Lacey vineyard in the foothills of Willunga on the famed, rocky Kurrajong soils.All the fruit fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in old oak. As always, the blend was composed with the idea that Grenache is the hero, with Shiraz supporting with roundness and depth and the Mataro lending spice, structure and tannin. The Counoise which has joined this years blend provides a fleshy undercurrent of deep red fruits. Although 2025 saw a riper fruit profile than 2024, early picking kept the wine lifted. It's dangerously easy to drink, with dark juicy fruits, dried herbs and lingering umami note. 

Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2025
Bondar Fiano 2025

Bondar Fiano 2025

The Fiano grown in McLaren Vale is prized for its thick skins and high natural acidity. Andre and Selina sourced the fruit from two sites run by the talented Ben Lacey: Lacey Branson Road site in Tatachilla and Lacey HQ block on Olivers Road. Due to its proximity to the sea, Branson block maintains relatively cool temperatures in the warm summer months. The soils are grey-brown loam over limestone, and the thick-skinned fruit holds its natural acidity well. The Olivers Road block faces north with higher summer temperatures and rich red loam soils over limestone.Picked in mid-February, the grapes were gently pressed to draw out texture from the skins. Fermented in tank with 10% in old oak, the parcels were blended and bottled young to preserve freshness. In Andre Bondar’s words: “it’s fine and fresh, not neutral or boring.” Expect orchard blossom and herbs on the nose, a salty mineral line, and a pithy, textural finish.

Bondar Fiano 2025
Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Clarendon Shiraz 2023

Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Clarendon Shiraz 2023

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.

“Dark, plummy red in the glass. Fragrant and lifted aromas of spice, bramble, earth, charcuterie, sarsaparilla, blueberry, forest floor and an earthy woodsiness. Full-bodied, punchy and crunchy on the palate. Blue and dark fruits, snappy acidity, granular, grippy tannins and sappy spice are all at play. Long, textured, layered and complex.”
95 points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
“It feels as though there’s good volume here because the fruit and tannin spreads through the finish. In general it’s medium bodied. It tastes of toast, smoked meat, undergrowth and plums, with peppercorn, violet and graphite as afters. There’s a surliness to this wine but then the finish has such excellent carry. This needs to be left along a while but it’s very good.”
94 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
“From the Hickinbotham vineyard, planted in '71 and managed under biodynamic and organic certification. This is effectively the second year for this wine, though the cuvée name is new, christening a range that explores sites outside of the home vineyard that Andre and Selina believe excel. Elegant and lifted, dry spiced and red fruited, eschewing heft for refinement, this is a deeply layered wine, both in flavour and structural architecture, with pervasive yet not intrusive ferrous and graphite notes. The carefully crafted tannic matrix is a standout. This is stunning now, but it feels like a sleeper, with the score likely inadequate.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Clarendon Shiraz 2023
Bondar Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024

Bondar Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024

The fruit for this wine comes from the Rathmine Vineyard, which sits south of the tourist town of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. The Bondar family have worked with this grower for over 10 years, making stunning wines from the amphitheatre-shaped site. The vineyard is planted to Bernard 76 clones which are reaching 30 years old. Under the earth, the roots seep through shallow clay into limey rocks and a limestone base—a perfect foundation for Chardonnay.Andre and Selina hand-pick the grapes and press them slowly, not shying away from oxygen. They ferment with natural yeast in large barrels (25% new) at warmer temperatures to “encourage a richer mouthfeel and nutty, complex flavours.” The wine stayed in oak until December, then moved to tank until February. This has the poise and intensity of topflight Australian Chardonnay down to a tee, with zaps of flinty minerality at the core, wrapped in ripe citrus and stone fruit flesh. An elegant revival of a more textural South Australian Chardonnay, with restraint and precision at its core.

Bondar Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2023

Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2023

This exceptional Shiraz is drawn from the two oldest blocks in the Rayner Vineyard, planted respectively in 1950 and 1960. Three-quarters of the fruit comes from Block 24 in the northeast corner of the vineyard, on deep sandy soils with ironstone rocks, dry-grown and organically managed. This portion gives wonderful fragrance and elegant structure. The remainder is cropped from Block 1, in the northwestern corner of the vineyard, laying in a cool gully. The latter selection brings “the bones” and structure to the fleshier fruit from the older vines.The fruit was hand-picked and wild-yest fermented with two weeks on skins. The wine aged for 12 months in two- and three-year-old French oak before a further six months’ aging in large, old foudres. As you might expect, the Ryaner is deeper, more structured, and more age-worthy than Bondar’s Violet Hour and Midnight Hours wines. The restrained use of oak and inclusion of 90% whole bunches ensure this wine shows a freshness to complement the old-vine intensity.  It’s a wonderful, textbook follow up to the 2022 vintage.

“Andre Bondar is never going to pursue rich styles, but this bottling usually has a little more supple generosity. That’s still true here, with a sultry feel to the dark-fruited nose in blackberry, boysenberry and black cherry, and to the silky, saline palate. There’s also a malty, tarry note, master stock, kelp, violets and iron. The cool year, the third in a row, plays into the house credo, balancing fruit depth and intensity with pep and floral lift. It’s a very good release.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Halliday Wine Companion
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2023
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AT-A-GLANCE

• Andre and Selina Bondar established Bondar in 2012 with the purchase of Rayner Vineyard.

• The site is in the north of McLaren Vale on the border of Blewitt Springs and Seaview. It has deep sandy soils with ironstone rocks throughout.

• The 1950s-planted vineyard is dry-grown, organically managed and home to old bush-vine Shiraz and Grenache, with recent plantings of Counoise, Mataro, Carignan and Cinsault.

• The Bondars also purchase fruit—including Chardonnay, Fiano and Monastrell—from like-minded growers in McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills.

• The style hinges on freshness: picking is earlier than most, extractions are gentle, and new oak is used sparingly.

• The range includes entry-level blends and straight varietals in white, red and rosé, plus premium, single-vineyard reds.

IN THE MEDIA

“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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