2024 Juxtaposed Wait Vineyard Grenache, McLaren Vale

Destemmed and crushed, older oak, as usual. Textural, sweet-fruited but not sweet, if that makes sense, a sweep of flavour, generous but not heavy, savoury in demeanour. There’s a rosso vermouth character, with white pepper, wormwood, cinchona and angelica echoes, along with black cherry, Earl Grey and rosehip tea, raspberry and red plum. Oak has an influence, drying the profile a little, adding a senesced wild-grass character, though in balance with fruit. Drink to 2034.

94 points Marcus Ellis for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

This 2024 Wait Vineyard is fine and ethereal with layers of red cherry, rose petals, fresh meat and fennel seed spice slowly emerging, yet once they arrive remain pure and persistent. Light weight, young, and vital, again with gorgeous purity, holding through a fine and slightly closed finish, with a solid base of firm, sandy tannins to display its mettle and purpose. Charming and should build beautifully over the next five to ten years. Drink to 2034.

93 points Angus Hughson for Wine Pilot, February 2026

A Canadian snowboarder who took a restaurant job in Whistler for thirteen years to keep his days free for the slopes — before wine took over entirely. A degree in wine biochemistry, an internship at Château Léoville Las Cases in Bordeaux and a PhD later, Wes Pearson arrived in McLaren Vale via an unlikely route in 2008 and now works as a Senior Sensory Scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute. Fancy. His label Juxtaposed launched in 2011 is the other side of his professional life: where the research world demands precision and process, the winery demands feel and instinct. The name captures both. A Len Evans Tutorial alumnus, Wes focuses on single vineyard Grenache and Shiraz from across McLaren Vale, sourcing from growers whose stories he considers as much a part of the wine as the fruit itself.

The fruit for this small batch wine was grown in a single vineyard located at an elevation of 210 metres in the sandy Blewitt Springs subregion of McLaren Vale.

This wine captures why the variety has enjoyed such a remarkable renaissance in McLaren Vale. Rather than chasing sheer ripeness, the emphasis is on perfume, texture and the personality of the site.