It has been an enjoyable exercise aligning the recent spate of cooler Barossa vintages with wine projects that benefit from the tension and flavour spectrum that such seasons contribute.

The 2022 Fratres, our first Cabernet Franc exhibited plenty of the crunch and leafiness that we might see in Chinon or Saumur, but without any overt greenness. La Niña conditions extended into 2023, resulting in a challenging vintage where any hint of overcropping in the vineyard was punished by fruit that failed to properly ripen. Despite these challenges, the 2023 Fratres, sourced from the same Bethany vineyard and again made by Alex MacClelland at Bethany Wines actually feels fuller and slightly riper than its predecessor. The extra richness hasn’t been achieved at the expense of varietal definition; the wine shows deep cherry flavours with dried herbs and potpourri.

Although I look forward to tracking the evolution of this wine over the next ten years, I really can’t resist it right now. There’s a middle eastern dish on the Otherness menu at the moment and this new vintage of Fratres is such a perfect match!