2022 Coates The Syrah, McLaren Vale

Duane Coates likes to say that he applies a heart-over-head approach to winemaking, but his deep technical expertise is undeniable. His emotional instinct is backed by exacting standards and a highly deliberate approach: the use of indigenous yeasts and the avoidance of fining agents and filtering are all choices that require care and attention to detail in the cellar.

The range of wines on offer under his negociant label has grown slowly over the years, through relationships with South Australian growers cultivating vineyards that for Duane express the purity of flavour and clearly articulated regional characters he is looking for.

The 2022 Syrah is a blend of two Clarendon vineyards, complemented by one in Willunga. The season was mild in McLaren Vale and its wines display vibrant fruit character and supple tannins. Grapes were destemmed, partially crushed and fermented for thirty days on skins. The wine matured for 18 months in French oak from various coopers with a quarter of the barrels new, with two rackings before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The wine displays lively and generous aromas of dark fruit and licorice, complemented by notes of coffee, tempered warm spice and charcuterie. The lush and lightly textured palate follows the promise of the aromas, with layers of soft velvety tannins folded into the fruit. 

Enjoy slow pottering around the house on a Sunday, with a Brazilian black bean and smoked pork stew (Feijoada) or Peruvian coriander and beer braised duck (Seco de Pato) simmering on the stove.