2025 Paxton Grenache, McLaren Vale

A layer cake of whole bunches and destemmed fruit, with a gentle approach to extraction. The wine was raised in foudre and old French oak. Spicy, lifted, brambly, medicinal in a good way, like an old all-purpose tonic that becomes a fashionable drink. A hybrid Campari, cherry cola, bitters, gentian kind of thing. Thorny wild raspberries, with tart fruit and aromatic leaves, cherry and sour redcurrant, cranberry sauce. Tannins are complex, structured by bunch and skin, the interplay of savoury and fruit sweetness deftly handled. Lovely, and superb value. Drink 2026 to 2031.

93 points Special Value Marcus Ellis for Halliday Wine Companion, April 2026

David Paxton is one of McLaren Vale's most respected viticulturalists with a career built not on winemaking but on growing exceptional fruit. His vineyards have been certified organic and biodynamic since 2011.

Winemaker Ashleigh Seymour came to Paxton after a decade of immersion in biodynamic thinking in Italy. This influenced not just her view on farming but living how she approaches the rhythm of the seasons. Her approach is to guide the wine rather than direct: getting it right in the vineyard first, then keeping the wine under wraps as it finds its own way. It's a natural fit for a producer whose reputation was built on viticulture, long before it was built on winemaking.

Paxton's Grenache comes from bush vines at Landcross Farm, the historic 1860s sheep station that is also home to the Paxton cellar door. Bush vine cultivation is labour-intensive but produces naturally low yields and fruit of concentrated character. The hand-picked grapes are tipped into open fermenters in alternating layers of whole bunches and whole berries, a gentle approach to extraction that builds structure without heaviness. Eight months in a large French oak foudre and seasoned puncheons gives the wine shape and subtle texture without oak dominance.

The result is a Grenache in a lifted, spicy, aromatic register — wild raspberry, cherry, cranberry and sour redcurrant on the nose, with a herbal, almost medicinal complexity that gives it real character and interest. The tannins are fine and structured, drawn from both bunch and skin, with a savoury edge that keeps the fruit sweetness in check.

An expressive, individual wine that rewards a little time in the glass. This is a really versatile wine to have at home: you could try it with grilled lamb kofta with yoghurt and flatbread, a Provençal-style chicken with olives and herbs, or maybe Korean pork bulgogi with steamed rice. The wine's lifted aromatics and fine tannins sit easily alongside anything with herb, spice or a touch of char.

Drink now through 2031.