Named after the evocative sky beneath which Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly picked the last Shiraz bunches for their first-ever release of this wine, Violet Hour is a blend of fruit from 10 blocks in Bondar’s Rayner vineyard. Each block has a different aspect, and soils range from deep sand with ironstone rocks to clay over limestone. The Shiraz vines are some of the oldest on the property, reaching 70 years in some blocks—a key to understanding the depth and detail this wine can express.
Violet Hour encapsulates the Bondar style—fragrance, juicy fruit and lightness of touch. The winemaking is adapted to the season; whole-bunch and destemmed fruit are used, and the juice spends varying times on skins, depending on the block. The wine sees only seasoned oak, usually for 10 months. The result is a seemingly effortless, transparent, deeply expressive wine that perfectly captures site, season and the Bondar style.
The third in a string of La Niña years in McLaren Vale, 2023 was, in fact, the region’s coolest season in decades. Andre Bondar’s preference is for wines of perfume and restrained power, so these marginal conditions and low yields played right into his hands. Picking came late in the season, giving the fruit plenty of time to hang and develop intense, complex flavour while maintaining high, fresh acid lines. The result is a joyously bright, fragrant, spice-driven wine with dark berry flavours, a warm woodsy feel and purple flower lift. The palate is full and plump, with svelte structure and a bright, long finish.