On The Road with Sam Berketa
HEAD WINEMAKER, SAM BERKETA
A winemakerโs fate is hours behind the wheel. Vineyard to vineyard, checking fruit, darting from here to there. Kilometres clocked before lunch, gravel roads, rows and rows of vinesโit's a full day ahead. Hitch a ride with Sam as he makes his daily rounds.
FIRST STOP: GATEWAY VINEYARD, MCLAREN VALE
"First stopโweโre in McLaren Vale, checking in on Sangiovese for the Blood of Jupiter which comes from these north-facing slopes of this beautiful vineyard.
The thing that makes this vineyard so special is the limestone. It's barely concealed beneath a thin layer of loamy topsoil, and when thatโs combined with the full daily sunshine from that northerly aspect, we get beautiful ripeness balanced with a retained acidity. Oh, and itโs biodynamically managed too, with thicker skinned grapes that have layers and layers of complex flavours hidden within.
You can see here the effect of the rough weather at flowering this seasonโitโs a bit of โhen and chickenโ, so weโve got both big and small berries on the same bunch, which means the ripening had varied across it.โ
Blood of Jupiter Sangiovese 2024
SAM BERKETA
"The thing that makes this vineyard so special is the limestone."
Next stop, Our Hercules Shiraz Vineyard.
โWeโre not going far for this next stop... There are many vineyards of Shiraz in McLaren Vale, but ones with 100yr old vines are few and far between! The gnarly old vines here have been doing great things for years, and continue just doing their thing, producing incredibly concentrated little berries for our Hercules Shiraz.
Thatโs the thing that distinguishes an old vineโits capacity to weather the seasonal variations and just produce great grapes, year in year out. The Shiraz bunches here are nice and elongated, and the berries are small, yet not shrivelled, promoting concentration without over-stressing the vine.โ
SAM BERKETA
"Thatโs what distinguishes an old vineโit can weather the seasonal variations and produce great grapes, year in year out."
Hercules Shiraz 2023
STOP THREE:ย SPRINGHILL VINEYARD, MACCLESFIELD
"Weโre heading out of the Fleurieu nowโlast stop, Macclesfield. Dave is one of the leaders of Gruner Veltliner and Tempranillo in the Adelaide Hills, with multiple clones of each in his Springhill Vineyard. Meticulously managed with the help of the whole family. He also grows Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and many other varieties for us in perfect, tidy rows.
The topsoil here has beautiful ironstone pebbles, lending a uniqueness to the wines made from the grapes here, but particularly the Tempranillo. Just look at these leaves on the Temp. Like massive solar panels turning that beautiful sunshine into glorious energy for the vines. Not long left to go now!โ