Sven Joschke
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Heavily influenced by new-wave European styles - especially the crisp reds and whites of the Jura where he worked alongside Marin Fumey of Fumey-Chatelain - these are contemporary (predominantly) Barossa bottling of real elegance. Much of Sven’s deft touch can also be attributed to his vintages alongside Pete Schell (Spinifex) and Jason Schwarz (Schwarz Wine Co) where he learnt that Barossa does not necessarily need to be synonymous with high extraction or alcohol.
Not feeling the need to confine his range to one region, in true negociant style Sven seeks fruit from the cooler Adelaide Hills for his electric Chardonnay, Langhorne Creek for one of Australia’s finest and most sought-after Sangioveses, and the Jura itself for a very special oxidative white in some vintages. These, along with a swathe of yet-to-be-announced barrel projects form a compelling and exciting new opportunity for Vinify.
Assisted by his friend turned business partner, ex Movida head somm Andrew Marshall who lends more than just a stylistic hand, Sven and his label are simply the real deal.
2022 Chardonnay Pet Nat
After playing around with Chardonnay from the Barossa in V21 as a test run, we had to put it into a Pet Nat. It showed linear acidity and minerality with that classic Chardy depth. A nice cool Barossa year in 22 suited this Chardy too.
Winemaking:
Fruit was picked at 10.9 baume, ph super low, immediately bag pressed and chilled to facilitate settling of solids. Tank vinification temp controlled with a component of non-fermented juice kept separate for post fermentation dosage. Juice was then added back to the base wine once settled, bottled and allowed to ferment in bottle. No adds, fining or sulphites, just the juice.
Tasting Notes:
This pops with a limonata citrus freshness, yellow grapefruit and green apple. Not a complex wine, this is nevertheless a very clean Pet Nat, pithy and leesy in the right places and a fresh whip of acid to finish.
2023 Rose 'La Adeline’
Mourvedre and Grenache fruit was sourced from the local lads at the Valley Hotel from Stockwell Road on the Valley Floor and Biodynamic Cinsault from infamous Wayne at Smallfry Wines. Fruit was handpicked early in the morning to ensure fruit was cold, raced back to the winery with Mataro and Grenache destemmed and immediately pressed. Cinsault stalks were beautifully ripe so we took the opportunity to direct press bunches to give the Rose Wine a little extra tannin and herbaceousness.
Winemaking:
Cinsault juices were directly added to Mourvedre and Grenache juice in tank to settle for 24 hours and racked off solids. Part barrel fermented in a neutral French oak puncheons and in stainless steel tank. Both barrels were racked off fine and malo lees when dry to minimise lees contact and blended. Minimal sulphur added on bottling, no fining or filtration.
2023 Fume Blanc ‘La Gabriella’
Eden Valley provided for us in a difficult higher altitude ripening GI. Fruit came off later than expected but still delivered what we were after. Destemmed and pressed to the chilling tank, racked after 24 hours to puncheons and a small second use barrique for barrel fermentation. A component of fruit/berries was held separate and wild fermented in a new pure toast rotating Taransaud 600ltr barrel. 2 month skin contact. Greater varietal expression from V22 but still holding texture and flesh.
2022 Chardonnay 'La Justina’
In a round about way, we worked our back to Woodside after a disastrous 2020. Immaculate care was taken in the vineyard with up right shoot positions carefully held in place with catch wires, obnoxious weeds taken care of with undervine slashing. Put simply, maximum care and minimal external inputs.
Winemaking:
Barnard 76 Chardonnay clone at an elevation of 383m, 40 yo vines were handpicked and immediately destemmed and pressed. After 24 hours of cold settling pre ferment, juice was racked to 80% new and old French oak for barrel fermentation, remainder to tank. Juice sat on lees for 11 months, racked and bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphites.
Tasting Notes:
Adelaide Hills Chardonnay at its most interesting, this is a Chard of real complexity and texture, with quince, vanilla cream, nutty nougat and all manner of citrus fruits. Citrus pithiness flows onto the palate which has a great core of fresh acid. Long flavour.
2023 Chardonnay ‘La Lulu’
Buttery oak meets medium weight and minerality. The fruit is destemmed, pressed and chilled over night. The juice is racked to a combination of new, second and third use Bordeaux puncheons for barrel fermentation to integrate wood early. Fresh oak barrels are lees stirred (post lees sampling) every two weeks to bring on toasty almond characters in time. The wine goes through 100% malolactic fermentation and is matured in oak, on lees for 11 months. Fresh, fine acid lines complemented by malolactic weight and of course, toasty oak notes.
2022 Muscat à Petits Blanc & Semillon ‘L’ambre’
First component - A five Muscat clone site sourced from Williams Town Barossa Valley, 100 yo organic dry grown fruit which has never been sprayed since planting. Handpicked, destemmed and fermented dry on skins. 2 months skins contact with cap meticulously maintained. Basket pressed to neutral French oak.
Winemaking:
Second component – Semillon sourced from Rowland Flat Barossa Valley. Destemmed, fermented on skins for 10 days and pressed to settle. Racked to neutral French oak.
Blended after 8 months in barrel, bottled unfined and unfiltered. Minimal sulphites on bottling.
Tasting Notes:
A blend of a couple of strange bedfellows are Muscat Petits Grains and Semillon, but these work really harmoniously in a wine that’s all about the ginger, mandarin and spice of beautifully handled amber wines. Some salty macadamia and fresher citrus characters in here too, with a palate that’s very textured, chewy and clean.
2022 Viognier 'La Elizabeth’
Winemaking:
Gently pressed, cold stabilised and racked to new and neutral French oak. Why go half arsed, let viognier be all that it can be. Wildly barrel fermented, lees work and loads of time in barrel. Racked after 12 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered. Not a wine for the faint hearted, a true winter warmer destined for cheese and cuddles.
Tasting Notes:
A variety from another era, but a wine that’s right up with the now. Yes, every typical varietal note applies, apricot, yoghurt, orange candies and marmalade, but it carries a tension and perkiness about it. Full bodied, maybe a touch oily, but made up for with grippy tannins and nimble acidity.
2023 Light Red ‘La Rouge Clair’
The shiraz fruit comes from the Krondorf vineyard, tended by Tommy Schiller, and picked at 11 baumés. It’s immediately destemmed and pressed to avoid colour and tannin overextraction. The juice is barrel fermented, taken off lees post malolactic fermentation and returned to barrel. The wine is matured in barrel for 11 months. It has bright, electric raspberry red fruit, great texture, and length with a hint of oak adding structure.
2022 Grenache 'La Gillianna’
After losing our Valley Floor Grenache site in 2020, we thought it was impossible to source an equivalently immaculate parcel. We thought wrong. Vine Vale sandy soils, old vines that hover above the once used trellis.
Winemaking:
Handpicked, MOG sorted and whole bunch fermented with no adds. Post carbonic maceration, whole bunches were foot stomped and pressed to tank to settle. 300 litres was rack to old and neutral French oak, the remainder rack to stainless to settle and mature for 11 months.
Tasting Notes:
Svelte Barossa Grenache very reminiscent of cooler climate versions of this noble variety. Very clearly Grenache with its red licorice and red raspberry fruits that play alongside fresh earth characters, mushroom and mellow spices. A very fine and refined Grenache, delicate but plentiful tannins and a wicked freshness about it.
2023 Sangiovese 'La Eleanore’
Tried to pair this one back slightly on the tannin front this year…didn’t work. Sangio can’t change it tannins stripes is the old adage apparently. Picking fruit nice and early, fruit was desteamed and separated into two separate ferments. One to be pressed at 8 baume, the other at 3. Idea was limit exposure to seeds and extraction and let the fruit shine through. Wasn’t meant to be, ferment still threw those beautiful dusty tannins but did accomplish the addition fruit spectrum we were after.
Winemaking:
Single vineyard 24 year old Sangiovese vines from Langhorne Creek, another cracker year from the Horn. Bag pressed off to natural French hog heads for barrel fermentation. Racked off lees, rested for 6 months and bottled unfined, unfileter with inimal sulphur added on bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Cherry spice, dusty dry tannins, perfume 'a la Dario the Mad Butcher'... serve chilled if required... Food? at times not needed, but think tuesday night pizza, wednesday penne parma rosa. Drink now, will age, never enough left to asses however.
2022 Syrah ‘Das Klaus’
Winemaking:
Sourced from Tommy Schiller’s, 25 year old vines. 100% desteamed berries were fermented in stainless steel tank with minimum allowable pump overs and punch downs. Free run was racked at 3 baume straight to 2 French oak barrels for barrel fermentation, one super new. Skins were pressed straight to tank and the racked off fine and malo lees post ferment. A lean, super approachable Barossa Syrah without the over extraction. Minimal sulphur added on bottling, no fining or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
A Shiraz of real presence and composure, this is full of the black cherry and blackberry fruits that are a signature of old vine Barossa Shiraz, with Sven’s signature elegance. Not just fruit but licorice, cracked black pepper, game meats and savouriness. A lifted palate with a sturdy frame of acid and tannin. Barossa with more than a hint of the Rhone.
2022 Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Yiannis’
30 year old vines on Sandy loam and clay soils on the valley floor. Fruit was picked unconventionally early for traditional Barossans at 12.8 baume, destemmed and wild fermented to approx. 2 baume and gently pressed. Fermenting juice was fermented dry in neutral French oak hogheads and stainless. Post malolactic fermentation, juice was racked and returned to clean oak. Barrel aged for 11 months.
Tasting Notes:
If more Barossa Cabernet were made this way, there might well be more Barossa Cabernet! Undeniably Cabernet, this is bristling with the cassis and brambly fruits typical to the variety with stacks of roasting herbs and spice. Full of flavour, this has intensity without being heavy-set with briskness to its acidity, firm tannins and immense length.
2023 Fortified Syrah ‘V.S.V.P’
Taking a little inspiration from our Portuguese friends, here’s our Barossa Vintage “Port”. Also known as ‘Very Special Vintage. Port’.
Winemaking:
Early picked Syrah spread over three nally bins, foot stomped twice a day to extract maximum colour and tannin. Whilst we didn’t adopt the tradtional lagar approach, Motely Crue accompanied us on this stomping journey. Aged Brandy Spirit added at a mild baume of 3 arrested the ferment at 52gms residual. Must was immediately pressed to tank, settled and bottled s hortly after with zero fining or filtration and no oak. The result, a complex balance between savoury and sweet savoury, liquorice spice, lavender and violets.
Tasting Notes:
As the Portuguese do, savour for your offspring’s 21st birthday and once opened, enjoy shortly after. It’s a delicate wine after all….not a tawny. If not, enjoy now with a wedge of stinky blue.
As metnioed, in true Portuguese style, this is a wine made to age in bottle. however to drink now a freshca style with a salty cheese or rich chocolate desert is defintley the way foward...