Who says nice guys finish last? It’s been a great twelve months for Andre Bondar and Selina Kelley. Not only was Bondar crowned the Dux of the 2023 Len Evens Tutorial, but the pair were also immensely proud to find their still young label at number 52 in The Wine Companion’s Top 100. With words like these, why wouldn’t they be; “Forget, if you can, the fact that few wineries can match Bondar on value,” wrote Campbell Mattison. “Instead, concentrate on the fact that Bondar’s McLaren Vale wines are full of energy, drive, fruit power and more. Bondar’s wines are of such relentless quality that everything produced here is almost guaranteed to be good.” We could not have put it better ourselves. You don’t need a LET-quality palate to recognise that the wines from Bondar’s Rayner vineyard have never tasted finer. Focused on soil health and bringing more structure to the inherent generosity gifted by Rayner’s sandy soils, Bondar’s intricate, organic-leaning approach to viticulture is paying ever-higher dividends. So much so that with Rayner ship-shape, Andre and Selina can now celebrate the best of McLaren Vale beyond their base camp. Andre Bondar can’t hide his excitement that he is now working with Shiraz from the marquee Hickinbotham vineyard in Clarendon. Biodynamically farmed by Pete Fraser and his elite viticultural team, this dry-grown site was first planted on rocky, ironstone-rich red soils in 1971. Clarendon sits considerably further inland than Bondar’s Rayner Vineyard, and at 250m, the cooler climate and unique soils produce a very different expression of Shiraz. “Hickinbotham is finer, with a ferrous quality and red fruits; there is a tightness and coiled power,” explains Andre. “It’s lighter in alcohol and more savoury and mineral—all the things I love in great Shiraz.” Bondar’s first release is nothing short of exceptional. This year also marks Bondar’s second Grenache from Sue Trott’s Wilpena vineyard in the heart of Blewitt Springs. Despite its proximity to Rayner, the site generates a darker fruit expression with more grip and structure, albeit rendered with considerable finesse. It’s another radiant, earth-to-glass wine from a variety Bondar believes translates the diverse altitudes, aspects, and soil types of McLaren Vale with the greatest fidelity. As for the vintages, the cooler conditions of 2022 and 2023 fit the Bondar style like a glove. Sure, yields could have been better, but the long hang times and ideal rainfalls provided model conditions to chase down the velvety elegance, lively freshness and heightened structural frame Bondar craves in its wines. “They are both great years for our wines,” says the Len Evens Dux. When a self-effacing, tell-it-like-it-is grower like Andre Bondar uses the word great, you can take that to the bank.