Ministry of Cloud Tempranillo Grenache 2022 Vintage and Vine

75 % Tempranillo, 25 % Grenache. Based upon four vineyards of Tempranillo, from cool sites in Blewitt Springs and McLaren Foothills and our own estate vineyard atop the Onkaparinga Ridge. Blended with old vine Grenache from a range of blocks up to a 100 years of age. We destemmed and fermented in large open vats, with daily pump overs. All ferments were from indigenous yeasts and worked gently to preserve delicacy, but time on skins was extended in 2021 up to 3 weeks to further build tannin line. After basket pressing the wine was matured in a mixture of stainless steel, old French oak puncheons, and a large 5000 litre old oak foudre for maturation before bottling in December 2021… 14.4 % alc/vol.

‘This wine combines lifted notes of pomegranate, sarsaparilla, violets and nutmeg typical of McLaren Vale Tempranillo, with the red berried perfume and succulence of old vine Grenache. This medium bodied wine is pretty, but deeply flavoured, and deliberately moreish. A lithe and juicy wine, it errs on the blood orange, cherry, red berry spectrum on the palate supported by a long line of ferrous tannin.’

Ministry of Clouds is the creation of Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood and it’s just on a decade since they decided to leave the security of the corporate wine world (the ministry) for the adventure (the clouds) of their own wine venture. And it’s been quite a journey thus far.

From the 2012 vintage their first five releases all rated between 94 and 97 points in the Halliday Wine Companion and earned them a spot in the Top Ten New Wineries for the year. Basing themselves in McLaren Vale, they sourced red fruit from around the Vale, securing parcels from some of the most venerable and sought-after old-vine Shiraz and Grenache vineyards.