2023 Aphelion Rapture Grenache, McLaren Vale

Rapture is an interesting word, it puts me in mind of happy clappers waiting for something more interesting to happen to them, and also the kind of bad but good rap song that Blondie did in 1980. Also while I’m here, I have a particular dislike for Ford Ranger Raptors. Huge fuel guzzling beasts generally driven by tail-gaiting lunatics. And they weigh a road-battering 2500kg. Apologies to any TWF subs who drive one, but not really. Anyway, aside that, “60% of the final wine, the Wait vineyard fruit was destemmed and fermented in a 950L concrete egg-shaped vessel. After fermentation was complete the wine underwent extended maceration on skins for five and a half months before pressing and then being returned to the concrete egg for further maturation. Being 40% of the final wine, the Brini fruit was fermented with 100% whole bunches and matured in seasoned French puncheon. The wine was racked and bottled in May 2024.

Raspberry, mint tea, and quite some perfume too, mandarin peel, strawberry and peanut shells and pandan leaf (don’t mind me). It’s medium-bodied, all the poached strawberry and spice, fine emery board tannin, and while it’s kind of feathery, it does have some presence and granularity that’s very pleasing, there’s also something exotic here too, a kind of cardamom perfume, and there’s a juicy blood orange and strawberry finish of excellent length. Lovely wine. Frisky and energetic. Drinks a charm, even as a young wine, and maybe best enjoyed in flush of youth? Hard to say.

94 points Gary Walsh winefront.com.auDrink 2024 - 2033

Aphelion Rapture Grenache from McLaren Vale is a powerful yet detailed single-vineyard Grenache that captures the variety’s full potential in one of its most exciting modern expressions. Aphelion, founded by winemaker Rob Mack and his partner Louise Rhodes, has built its reputation on site-driven Grenache and a philosophy of minimal intervention, and Rapture stands at the pinnacle of their range — a small-batch wine of finesse, texture and quiet intensity.

Sourced from old bush vines in Blewitt Springs, one of McLaren Vale’s coolest and sandiest subregions, the fruit is hand harvested and treated with extraordinary care. Fermentation is with wild yeasts in small open fermenters, often with some whole bunches to enhance structure and perfume. The wine is matured in older French oak puncheons and left unfined and unfiltered, allowing the vineyard to shine through with clarity.

The nose is lifted and complex, showing raspberry, wild strawberry, rose petal, orange rind, and hints of white pepper and dried thyme. The palate is silky and layered, medium bodied but with lovely depth and persistence. Red fruits dominate, underpinned by savoury herbs, fine-grained tannins and a gentle mineral line that adds tension through the finish.

Food pairing: excellent with roast duck, lamb with rosemary, spiced cauliflower, or beetroot and goat cheese tart. Also a beautiful match for chargrilled quail or mushroom and thyme risotto.

Cellar potential: expressive now but will reward 8 to 12 years of cellaring, gaining savoury depth, forest floor notes and velvety tannin integration.