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Pete Schell’s Papillon was one of the first mod-Barossa wines to show that ripeness and depth of flavour needn’t come at the expense of freshness and vineyard expression. All these years later, it remains at the top of its game—if anything, it has never been better. This release sees a return to Grenache dominance, clocking in at 66% of the blend, with a balance of Cinsault (31%) and Counoise (3%). All the fruit is sourced from exceptionally old, dry-grown bush vines in the Barossa Valley. The Grenache component comes from a plot of vines planted around 1890 in Vine Vale and rooted in deep, coarse, sandy soil. The Cinsault is sourced from a plot of pre-Great-War vines (1910) in Ebenezer's friable, deep, red-clay soils, and the Counoise hails from a comparatively young block in Vine Vale.
A portion of the Grenache fermented as bunches, while the balance combined bunches and berries. The Cinsault and Counoise fermented as berries. Macerations were gentle and long, and the wine matured in large-format oak and stainless-steel tanks. Pete’s knocked it out of the park again with this cracking little blend. It’s pretty, perfumed and stylish, full of bright fruits, flowers and spice with mouthwatering mid-weight appeal, full flavour and nervy freshness, keeping things tight. Just super.