By Erin Larkin…
The Wine Advocate
2021 Ministry of Clouds Kintsugi Grenache
RP 96+
Drink Date:
2024 – 2041
Hailing from the magnificent 2021 season, the 2021 Kintsugi Grenache is lead by Grenache (55%), Carignan (35%) and Mataro (10%). Aromatically, the wine leads with dried herbs and wild game, arnica root and even mustard seed. This is exotically spiced, savory and has a real “of the earth” feeling, without being rustic or unpolished. The tannins are more sinewy and lean than in other cuvées tasted here today, however this definition in the mouth is attractive and certainly more “classically styled,” if that is indeed a valid descriptor. This is bloody, bony and autumnal in its way. It has notes of cracked leaf litter, iodine, ferrous and ironstone. The fruit is Smart Grenache and estate-owned Carignan, both co-fermented, and the Mataro is from Springs Hill. 14.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Sep 06, 2024
2023 Ministry of Clouds Spice Garden Single Site Grenache
RP 96
Drink Date:
2024 – 2038
The 2023 Spice Garden Single Site Grenache vineyard is right in the heart of Blewitt Springs, bush vines planted in 1939 on squeaky white beach sand. Aromatiucally, the wine leads with Boscobel rose and raspberry seed, red apple skins, black cherry and star anise. The “minty” aspect of star anise leads into things like shaved fennel and a hint of tarragon. I love that about it. It’s a cool offset to the red fruit. In the mouth, the tannins are silky, chewy and seamless. It provides a perfume in the mouth that helps to redefine the palate once again. It’s sort of circular in that way. This wine makes you think more about it—about its flow and shape, its presence and impact. This is a beautiful wine. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Sep 06, 2024
2023 Ministry of Clouds Silk & Stone Single Site Grenache
RP 95
Drink Date:
2024 – 2038
The 2023 Silk & Stone Single Site Grenache is from the Smart vineyard, picked across two different picks (a week apart), and only five hundred liters was made. The vines are the 1922 plantings, the oldest part of the vineyard. This is the highest-elevation Grenache vineyard in Clarendon, right up against the Adelaide Hills. Aromatically, the wine is loaded is baking spices: cinnamon cassia, fresh grated nutmeg, distant clove and star anise, ash, incense and lavender. The soils up in Clarendon are heavier than down in Blewitt Springs, for example, yet the elevation allows for a distinct perfume. In the mouth, the wine is full of raspberry and strawberry, redcurrants and red apple skins. The tannins are of course the highlight here for me: lacy, gently gritty and profuse. It’s chewy, and I like that. This is a lovely, wispy wine. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Sep 06, 2024
2023 Ministry of Clouds Grenache
RP 95
Drink Date:
2024 – 2038
The 2023 Grenache comprises a blend of vineyards from McLaren Vale, three in Blewitt Springs (aournd 60% of the blend), and one in Clarendon (the balance). The picking dates cross over a wider aperture of time given the breadth of vineyards; in 2023, this spanned approximately three weeks, and to give some context, in 2024, that aperture was significantly contracted. In the mouth, the tannins are chalky and finely grippy. This is perhaps aided and abetted by the maturation vessels: these are demi-muid, old puncheons and concrete. The wine is racked only when absolutely necessary, and the total is comprised of nine different batches. It was made with 19% whole bunches. The wine was blended right at the end prior to bottling. This is less floral than the Grenache Carignan tasted prior, but it has more textural complexity and stamina through the finish. This is a beautiful wine, an eloquent message of McLaren Vale Grenache. It is light in the glass, intense in the mouth, saturating and sapid. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Sep 06, 2024
2023 Ministry of Clouds Grenache Carignan
RP 94
Drink Date:
2024 – 2033
The 2023 Grenache Carignan leads with strawberry and cranberry, star anise and pink peppercorns. It is light and fine aromatically, and this is reflected in the translucent yet vibrant color in the glass. In the mouth, the wine is lacy fine, littered with red apples and brine, dried herbs and sweet paprika. The approximately 20% whole bunches in the ferment provides capaciousness and exoticism—it was on the skins for three to five weeks. The Grenache is from the earliest-ripening parcel (the San Remo vineyard, planted on rocks, at around 200 meters in elevation) at the top of the Onkaparinga gorge, and this makes up 70% of the cuvée, the balance is Carignan. Part of the whole was co-fermented, but not in its entirety. Wild roses and sweet cherry follow through the finish, making for an emphatically lovely close to an already beautiful drinking experience. This is all liquid flow and seamlessness. I love it. 13.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Published: Sep 06, 2024