***** Outstanding Winery, James Halliday, 2016 Australian Wine Companion
Spinifex was started by Magali Gely and Peter Schell. To know their background is to understand their style. Magali is a winemaker from a family that has been growing grapes around the Montpelier region of France for more than 10 generations, whilst Peter is a trained oenologist and has made wine in Burgundy, Switzerland, Provence, the Minervois, the Languedoc, Bordeaux and his native New Zealand.
The Spinifex story begins in 2001 when the opportunity arose for them to source some great old-vine Mataro, growing in deep white drift-sand, on the Western Ridge of the Barossa Valley. Their focus is on making regional wines from the traditional Mediterranean grape varieties that have been grown successfully in Australia for over 150 years - Shiraz, Mataro, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, Ugni Blanc, Grenache Gris, Marsanne and Semillon.
Spinifex is a historically significant producer being one of the few Barossa wineries producing artisanal quantities of full bodied red wines, yet managing to retain genuine complexity, savouriness and a sense of place. In a barrel of sweet, oaky South Australian reds, Spinifex have long been a beacon of hope.
“Pete [Schell] and his partner Magali Gely operate what I think is the best new-wave of small-scale Barossa wine companies to emerge at the beginning of the 21st century…These weren’t big, blockbuster, showy wines designed to impress. They were wines that managed to take the best of the Barossa’s sometimes forgotten varietal traditions and fuse them onto a very European flavour sensibility.”
Wines produced at Spinifex are quite unlike the traditional Barossa norm, but they remain saturated with what is often called a ‘sense of place’. Namely, they offer the textural openness and generosity that is the mark of the region, without compromising definition, tannic freshness and line.
Featured Wines
Spinifex Luxe Rosé 2017
51% Mataro 38% Grenache 11% Cinsault. Prestige rosé only produced when vintage permits.
Spinifex Semillon 2017
Old vine Semillon (planted in 1926) sourced from the Gallasch Vineyard, where estate grown Shiraz grapes regularly play a role in Penfold’s Grange wine.
Spinifex Garcon Grenache 2016
Spinifex Bete Noir Shiraz 2014
Bête Noir is the bane of one's existence, referring to the multitude of small parcels that go into the blend. The 2014 Bête is sourced from twelve vineyards from across the Barossa, with vine age ranging from between 25 and 130 years.
Spinifex Tabor 2009
100% Mataro. Meaty, gamey, feral aromatics, with a little ironstone and something earthy.
Join us at The Long Table with winemaker Peter Schell for a five course menu created by Muse Head Chef Steven Sweeney, that perfectly matches the impressive range of Spinifex wines available at this intimate dinner.
Welcome to the new Barossa!
Tickets: $120pp (includes all wine and five course menu)
Download Menu - Vegetarian and gluten free options provided as standard