Spinifex Lola

Pete Schell is crafting a slew of exciting, avant-garde whites from the Barossa and Eden Valleys these days, yet his ‘cherry cola’ blend is the original, and some would say the most multi-layered white. At three-quarters of the blend, Semillon again takes centre stage in this year’s Lola, joined by Clairette, Ugni Blanc and Vermentino. The Semillon—a grape that has been grown in the Barossa Valley since the 1850s—is sourced from three old-vine vineyards (65, 75 and 95 years old) located in Ebenezer, the foothills near Bethany and the valley floor close to the Para River. Schell’s extensive attention in the vineyards and a light touch in the shed have given us another exceptional release of this unconventional white. It’s a deliciously fresh and textured white blend, flush with stone fruits, citrus, salinity, spice, and some lovely hay and talc notes lending complexity. It’s fleshy with a nice phenolic tension, bracing acidity and a long, savoury finish—one of the Barossa’s most original white wines, and one of its best.