Log in for prices and ordering

Bondar Monastrell 2022

Log in for prices and ordering
Bondar Monastrell 2022
Producer Bondar
Region, Country McLaren Vale, Australia
Bottle Size 750ml
Case Size 6
Product Code 22135-750

Bondar’s Monastrell is a limited release (only 100 dozen are made). It comes from fruit off the Lacey vineyard in Willunga, where rocky clay loam soils lie over the revered Kurrajong geology formation. The 15-year-old vines here are farmed with minimal inputs, and the winemaking follows a similar path, with hand-picking, no additions, and bottling unfined and unfiltered. A portion of the fruit was fermented as whole bunches, and maturation was for 13 months in seasoned French hogsheads.

Andre Bondar has chosen the moniker Monastrell rather than the more popular Mataro or Mourvèdre, as he aims for a more savoury, medium-bodied wine than the tannic beasts the region is known for.

It is brightly perfumed with berry fruits, exotic spices and enticing whole-bunch notes. The palate brings a more savoury and mineral layer to the warmly spiced fruit, fresh structure and vivid flavour. It leaves a lasting and forceful impression, so it’s easy to understand why this wine has garnered a cult-like following.

Bondar Monastrell 2022

Reviews

"Deep purple-red colour; a straightforward but pleasant cherry-plum bouquet, a touch of pepper-spice, the palate sinewy and underlined by a thread of tannin bitterness, which helps cleanse the finish. This could well build more character with a bit of bottle-time."
89 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“This is the parcel used in the Junto blend, but it was always a favourite component, thus warranting its own bottling. Some whole bunches and 13 months in older French. Monastrell (aka mataro and mourvèdre) can be gruff, dark-fruited, ruggedly herbal, tannic and a little wild. That makes for a great blending parcel, but while this carries echoes of those varietal attributes, it fits the Bondar frame of approachability coupled with subtly wrought complexity. Macerated dark cherries, blood plum, violet, iodine and a little dusty dark spice in the star anise, brown cardamom vein. Pulpy and fleshy, the balance is brokered by ferrous tannins and guiding acidity.”
93 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion

Reviews

"Deep purple-red colour; a straightforward but pleasant cherry-plum bouquet, a touch of pepper-spice, the palate sinewy and underlined by a thread of tannin bitterness, which helps cleanse the finish. This could well build more character with a bit of bottle-time."
89 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“This is the parcel used in the Junto blend, but it was always a favourite component, thus warranting its own bottling. Some whole bunches and 13 months in older French. Monastrell (aka mataro and mourvèdre) can be gruff, dark-fruited, ruggedly herbal, tannic and a little wild. That makes for a great blending parcel, but while this carries echoes of those varietal attributes, it fits the Bondar frame of approachability coupled with subtly wrought complexity. Macerated dark cherries, blood plum, violet, iodine and a little dusty dark spice in the star anise, brown cardamom vein. Pulpy and fleshy, the balance is brokered by ferrous tannins and guiding acidity.”
93 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion

While you're here