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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 Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2023

Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2023

Junto is Spanish for ‘together’, and in this case means a union of old friends: Grenache (65%), Shiraz (16%), Mataro (8%) and Carignan (3%). The Grenache is culled from three separate blocks: the lion’s share is from Bondar's own Rayner vineyard with the balance coming from the Trott Wilpena and Slattery Vineyards in Blewitt Springs. The Shiraz is also home-grown Rayner fruit (70-year-old vines on sand), while the Mataro was sourced from a grower in the foothills of Willunga on the famed Kurrajong soils. The tiny addition of Carignan was drawn from young plantings in the Rayner vineyard. All the fruit was wild-fermented with approximately 20% whole-bunches, then raised in old oak for eight months. The blend was put together with the idea that Grenache heroes, with Shiraz supporting with flesh and the Mataro with spice, structure and tannin. The Carignan adds further finesse to the palate and contributes to the complexity. As always, Junto is a lively, vibrant wine with the restraint, energy and sheer drinkability that was once hardly known in the McLaren Vale.

"Frisky red fruited style with a smattering of dried herb and lemon zest. It’s light to medium-bodied, strawberry and orange rind, light grip of tannin, kind of edgy in character, though I like the fresh spiced and sappy strawberry thing it offers. There’s something like ozone or coal dust in the mix too, and the finish is lively, spicy and red fruited, with a Campari-like bitterness. Fun wine, could take a light chill even."
91 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“Made with approximately 20% whole bunch including a portion of carbonic maceration and matured in French hogsheads and puncheons (10% new). A medium-bodied, fragrant and elegant wine that opens up with red and black fruits, floral notes, pink peppercorns and blood orange. On the palate, this has real grip, intensity and persistence, and this will totally reward those who still have some in their cellar a decade from now.”
95 points, Philip Rich, The Wine Companion
“This is a delicious blend of grenache-dominant southern Rhône varieties. Kirsch, forest, whole bunch accents, peppercorns and cloves along a long, spicy ride. Prosaic in the very best sense, destined to be chilled and poured in large drafts. Drink now. Screw cap.”
93 points, Ned Goodwin MW, jamessuckling.com
“Vibrant ruby colour. Mulberry, dried blood and violets on the nose. Medium weight with a bright core of blue and purple fruits, layers of meaty savouries adding character to the flow. Tannins are supple and direct it to a decent length finish.”
90 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2023
Bondar Rosé 2024

Bondar Rosé 2024

Once again, Grenache plays the starring role in Bondar’s Rosé, weighing in at 91% of the blend with the balance Cinsault and Mataro. Most of the fruit comes from Andre and Selina Bondar’s Rayner vineyard, with a small portion of Grenache sourced from an old sandy site in Blewitt Springs. Most Grenache vines at the sandy Rayner Vineyard are 50 years old, with a small block of younger material also included in the mix. The Cinsault and Mataro are grown on the home site. Andre uses a variety of techniques to build complexity and texture. The Grenache from the grower, young-vine Grenache from the Rayner vineyard and Cinsault fermented at cool temperatures to preserve bright, primary characters. Then, for weight, texture and savoury character, the older-vine Grenache from the Rayner vineyard and the Mataro fermented at warm temperatures in old oak. The result is a pure, fresh, layered rosé packed with juicy red fruit flavour, chalky, pithy grip and a refreshingly long watermelon drenched close. 

“A shimmering rose gold in hue, this continues the impeccable lineage of this wine, with flavours of cranberry, watermelon, tart redcurrant, subtle pink grapefruit and musk. As always, those flavours are suggestive, melding into each other, eschewing obviousness for refinement and effortless class. This is properly dry, with a gentle tug of savoury grip, set against a core of succulent fruit purity and finely tuned texture. Superb.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Rosé 2024
Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2023

Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2023

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; whole-bunch and destemmed fruit are used, and the juice spends varying times on skins, depending on the block. The wine sees only seasoned oak, usually for 10 months. The result is a seemingly effortless, transparent, deeply expressive wine that perfectly captures site, season and the Bondar style. The third in a string of La Niña years in McLaren Vale, 2023 was, in fact, the region’s coolest season in decades. Andre Bondar’s preference is for wines of perfume and restrained power, so these marginal conditions and low yields played right into his hands. Picking came late in the season, giving the fruit plenty of time to hang and develop intense, complex flavour while maintaining high, fresh acid lines. The result is a joyously bright, fragrant, spice-driven wine with dark berry flavours, a warm woodsy feel and purple flower lift. The palate is full and plump, with svelte structure and a bright, long finish. 

“Deep, dark and inky in the glass. Heady aromas of mulberry, plum, sweet spice, dried herbs, violets, nutty oak, earth and bramble. Generously flavoured, full-bodied and mouth-filling. There's a lovely drive of fleshy dark fruits, along with firm, grippy tannins, bright acidity and shapely oak. Power and balance evident here.”
92 points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
“The value here has always been super keen. That’s as true as ever with this iteration from a cool year, typically lifted and fragrant but also with some serious import. A tick up from mid-weight, this is spicy and peppered ferruginous minerality, along with blackberry, dark cherries, tapenade, violet, cassia, bay, coffee bean and salted licorice. Red berries swell up on the palate, with a thoughtfully woven skein of tannins underwriting its class. Excellent.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2023
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2022

Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2022

This exceptional Shiraz is drawn from the two oldest blocks in the Rayner Vineyard, planted in 1950. 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. Dry-grown and organically managed, the shallow clay on the limestone base builds fine structure around the prettier, fleshier sandy portion.Fermented wild with 20% whole bunches, the wine spent two weeks on skins before 18 months’ aging in mostly used French hogsheads (with 5% new oak as part of the final blend) and was bottled without fining or filtration.

“Blueberry, blackberry, mint and sage, seaweed, some liquorice and biscuit spice. It’s full-bodied, but only just, saline and savoury, black olive, sweet blue and black fruit, raspberry ripple, ripe fine-grained but insistent tannin, oyster shell and cool peppermint, it’s thoroughly regional but has depth and presence. Lots to like here, and it feels classic McLaren Vale in character, though turned out with a light and deft touch in the winery. Ripe tannin rolls out the red raspberry carpet on a finish of fine length.”
95 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“Among the finest shiraz in the Vale, with the meager volume, subsequent concentration and tannic delivery of 2022 serving the plush, aromatic, full-bodied style well. Boysenberries, anise, pepper and ferrous tannins, forceful without compromising the tenacious, juicy flow of the fruit. Textbook Vale shiraz.”
95 points, Ned Goodwin MW, jamessuckling.com
“Dense and inky core, deep purple at the rim. Mulberry, clove, iodine, and mocha aromas. Dense and weighty with plush blue and purple fruits driving the core. The fruit sits fresh and lively though, alongside clove and vanilla spices, with a deep iodine ferrous undercurrent. Fine grained tannins keep it rolling along and it finishes very long. It has a classic Vale plushness but without overworking the fruit. Honestly, a bargain at the price.”
95 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
“From the two oldest blocks (1950 and ’60); two weeks on skins with about 20% whole bunches; 18 months in French hogsheads (5% new). The home vineyard shiraz trio are neatly differentiated. Here, there's a denser, more ‘classic’ feel, though the house style of restraint is still writ large. In part, this is defined by the iron, iodine and nori mineral notes sitting so forward in the wine, blue florals perfuming. Blackberry pastille, dark cherry, bitter chocolate, tar and master stock spice feature across a plumpness of fruit, but sans sweetness, rather suffused with the silky, supple gravitas of old-vine fruit guided by assertively fine tannins.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion 2025
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Shiraz 2022
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2023

Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2023

Bondar’s high-toned and beautifully pure Grenache is sourced from the 1970 block in the Rayner Vineyard. The vines sit on very sandy soils (part of the Pirramimma sandstone geology) and are dry-grown and organically managed. Facing east on the site's western side, these low-yielding vines produce small bunches and berries and miss out on the hot late-afternoon sun during summer.Seeking a pretty but savoury style, the Bondar team picks their Grenache fruit a little earlier than many of their peers, helping to capture the fruit’s red fruit and herbal characteristics. To further aid in building structure and longevity, 20% bunches are used in the natural ferments. The wine is aged for six months in ceramic eggs and French barrels. From the coolest of a troika of La Niña vintages, there’s more lacy red fruits this year even if the result is the same. This is McLaren Vale Grenache in its purest guise.

“Very good Grenache here, it’s lively and gently herbal, raspberry, ripe cherry and almond, quite some spice and dried flower perfume too, a fair bit of mint. Juicy ripe cherry and red fruit, the tannin is a little raspy and stony, and really adds something to the wine. There’s also some raspberry friand sweetness, and it offers mouth-perfume, and excellent length. It’s crisp, but flavoursome. It’s not Blewitt or Clarendon, but gee, it makes an emphatic statement about how good McLaren Vale Grenache can be. So lovely. Juciy juicy, Nice nice. I’m kind of 94.5 on this, but hey, let’s go.”
95 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“From vines planted in 1970 on sand in a section of the vineyard that misses the hot late afternoon sun and yields smaller bunches of small berries. About 20% whole bunches; six months in ceramic eggs and old French oak. It's very early on this, and these are always made to age, but the charm of the vintage has its say. Dried and fresh rose, raspberry leaf, rosemary and dried orange peel across tart raspberry, pomegranate and redcurrant, the ripeness neatly captured for flavour and verve, with a proper line of grape and stem tannin, artfully extracted, pristinely ripe, acidity a guiding vector.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
“Medium intense ruby core, purple at the rim. Blueberry, raspberry and lavender bush aromatics. A powerful density of forest fruits on entry, tannins have a firm hand to ensure that fruit intensity remains controlled as it runs long to the finish. For now there’s only hints of a meaty undertone but that savoury edge will build over time.”
93 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2023
Bondar Fiano 2024

Bondar Fiano 2024

For the fourth consecutive year, cool conditions prevailed in McLaren Vale. However, unlike the preceding vintage, thankfully, yields returned to normal in 2024. 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 block 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. After the late 2023 vintage, picking returned closer to the norm in 2024, and the parcels came off the vine in the last week of February and first week of March. After a short spell on skins, the fruit was slowly and gently pressed to old oak and stainless steel. The wine remained on light lees until June before blending and bottling. The cool conditions and long hangtime have led to a bright, fresh and deliciously textured white, made to accompany warm nights and smoky barbequed fish.

Bondar Fiano 2024
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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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