Ministry of Clouds Kintsugi GSM 2020

Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese art of ‘golden joinery’, the creation of enduring beauty from broken fragments of ancient pottery as they are pieced together with lacquer laced with gold. It befits a desire to meticulously blend only the very best parcels of old vine fruit from a single year. Kintsugi is thus the best Southern Rhone inspired wine that Bernice and Julian can create each year, no matter its components.

Aiming to make a reserve Rhone blend from the very best parcels in any given year, Kintsugi is an assemblage of only our most favourite ferments, selected for their purity, distinctive tannin line, and their potential for savoury longevity. In 2020 the heart of the wine is 62 % Grenache from three separate bush vine blocks from the austere rocks of Seaview, and the sands of both Blewitt Springs and Mclaren Flat. All were dry grown and bush vine planted with ages up to 80 years, and provide a deeply fruited aromatic core, balanced by nearly equal proportions of whole bunch Shiraz and Mataro from Blewitt Springs, and Carignan planted in our home vineyard The Chase. Ideally this wine is less about brightness of fruit, and early drinkability, and more about the structured persistence and ageabilty we so rarely see from McLaren Vale Grenache blends these days. Matured in old puncheons on fine lees, and then a year in bottle before release. Bottled un-fined but filtered - Vintage & Vine/Ministry of Clouds.

‘An elegant, but deeply fruited wine, showing aromatic floral red fruit lift, and spice from old vine Grenache, built upon intense blue fruits and violets of dry grown Mataro and Shiraz. Layered and long this wine exhibits a tightly wound core of dense red berried crunchy fruit, framed by persistent sandy tannins, and bright acidity.’ Bernice and Julian.