The Beast(s)
McLaren Vale/Langhorne Creek, SA
by Sam Bowman, Dave Kynaston and Matt Head
In the midst of the pandemic, Dave and Sam had lost track of The Beast. Discovering it had fled NSW in fear of lockdown, searching for a new home to live free, only to be locked up in South Australia.
With the help of friend Matt Head, the beast was found and a second unearthed.
Wild and unrestrained, they set free the Beasts.
From Sam,
2021 The Beast Fiano/Vermentino
50/50 blend of Fiano and Vermentino from a vineyard I've been working with since 2015 in Langhorne Creek. Clay over limestone, the vineyard has a 1km proximity to lake Alexandria meaning that as the cool breeze from the southern ocean comes across the lake, the "lake doctor" lowers the vineyard temperature in the afternoons to allow effective ripening throughout the summer months. Crushed and wild fermented on skins separately for 6 days then pressed and blended before bottling. Unfined and unfiltered.
Textural and energetic, sprightly citrus and stonefruits with a little pineapple ping.
2020 The Beast Malbec
The fruit for this wine comes from a vineyard Matt Head and I have made wine from for the past 4 vintages. Located in Aldinga in McLaren Vale, the maritime climate is perfect for ripening Malbec tannins without creating a high alcohol wine. The vineyard is sand/loam over limestone and the proximity to the ocean is about 5km which like Langhorne creek lowers the summer temperatures to increase the ripening window. Picked around 13.5 baume to maintain acidity the wine is crushed into open fermenters for wild fermentation, hand plunged and pressed to stainless for Malo. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged in French and American oak (all 2nd or 3rd use) to lower tannins and increase the micro-oxygenation of the wine. Unfined and unfiltered.
Rich, plump fruits bound out of the glass. Dark berries, spice and cocoa, lively acid keeps it fresh and well rounded tannins finish things off.
