Rayner Vineyard Grenache

Bondar Wines

This gorgeous wine is sourced from the McLaren Vale's historic Rayner Vineyard's tiny 0.7ha block of 48-year old Grenache vines planted in sand. These are the lowest-yielding vines—hand-picked and fermented with indigenous yeast. To draw out the many lenses into this precious terroir, Andre & Selina opted for a few different maceration regimes, recombining them in the end for a nuanced expression and a several-layered structure. To that end, some of the fruit was fermented in a ceramic egg for no less than 120 days on the skins while other portions of the harvest were fermented whole-bunch and still others fermented whole-berry. The result is terrific complexity and delicacy emphasizing the mystifying aromatics of pure, old-vine Grenache. In the end, only 200 cases were made, and we're overjoyed to be able to enjoy some here in Alberta.

"We often think of grenache as a style-choice: hefty or light, ripe or tart. The best ones seem to do both, swinging back and forth on the palate at once. At Bondar, sundrenched and sea breeze-swept, Andre and Selina’s Rayner vineyard captures the tension between those two poles in a generous manner. Fragrant, finessed and fruitful.”
— Jonathan Ross, “How to Drink Australian” 2023