A taste of Australia that’s worth celebrating
This understanding of the land is regulated and legislated. The French even enshrined the concept in the language. Terroir.
Ever since the conversation around wine moved on from the biblical basics, it has dwelled on the beauty that lies in the way a liquid can tell you where it comes from.
In winemaking’s Old World, the venerated vineyards of Europe, this is how wine has been framed for centuries. It’s why a Burgundian vineyard originally planted by the Romans, celebrated for its quality when worked by monks in the 13th century and then avariciously acquired by the nobility in the friendlier days before guillotines kissed necks, remains the most prized patch of vineyard on the planet even today. A bottle from the Romanée-Conti vineyard will cost you more than $10,000. This understanding of the land is regulated and legislated. The French even enshrined the concept in the language. Terroir.
But our country, where we make wines in theoldest dirt on the planet, on land with characteristics deeply considered for 60,000 years, is what those in traditional winemaking cultures like to call the “New World”. We highlight the differences in shiraz grown in the South Australian region named after a Spanish battlefield as opposed to, say, the one in New South Wales named for a colonial Governor, but are slow to acknowledge the deeper resonance these places have.
There are some winemakers who now apply traditional place names to their wines alongside the modern markers, but none put it at the forefront like Paul Vandenbergh of Munda Wines. Vandenbergh, a former top-level basketballer who now manages Indigenous Engagement for the AFL, is a Wirangu man from South Australia’s west coast and munda is their word for “terroir”. He works closely with key winemakers to create wines that express regional characteristics, while labelling them with place names we should know better. It’s a step in the direction we need to head.
MUNDA WADANDI COUNTRY CHARDONNAY 2023
$45
The Wadandi Boodja stretches through southwestern WA, taking in the vineyards of Margaret River. If you didn’t already know that, this wine makes it crystal clear. Polished and precise, layered with grapefruit pith, green almond, flint and crushed oyster shell. There’s a mid-palate fruit intensity, tightening through an energetic finish.
13.4% alcohol, 93 points
MUNDA KAURNA COUNTRY SYRAH 2023
$45
Kaurna country runs from a peninsula named after a Frenchman to the top of a Gulf recognising the patron saint of winemakers. McLaren Vale is some of the best of it. Dark plum and black cherry, cocoa powder and turned earth. Roasted bones and bush smoke. An ironstone firmness at the core, wrapped in generous fruit.
14% alcohol; 93 points
MUNDA DJAB WURRUNG COUNTRY SYRAH 2023
$45
Distinctly different from the Kaurna country, tighter, spicier. But you’d expect that: the Grampians is another world. Blackberries and Chinese salted plums, a flick of white pepper, a pop of raspberry essence at its core. Sinewy and taut, a palate of layered shale. Precise and focused.
14.2% alcohol; 95 points