SHIRAZ

Winemaker Jayden and partner Morgan Ong set out their goals thus: "Our wines unashamedly reflect the year and the site that the fruit was grown and harvested. The highs, the lows and the guiding hand of our wine making philosophy. There is nothing for us to hide; our ambition is not to strive for a ‘perfect wine’, instead balance is the cornerstone of our offering. We believe our wines will express their own alluring character."

Jayden, who was not from a wine growing family, had to start somewhere, and did so by buying grapes from single blocks (hence the 'One Block' label) which he supervises though the year - "Single block, single vineyard wines. I have the same rows in those vineyards each year, and good control over spray regimes, but I do not own them. However, I am now in the position where some of these farmers are now selling the fruit from their ‘home’ blocks to me as they love the wines I make from their vineyards."

Jayden also makes wines from his own vineyards, under the 'Jayden Ong' label, and buys other fruit not strictly from 'one block' to make other wines under the 'La Maison de Ong' label - just as much worth looking for.

There is not much to add to this other than that Jayden is clearly already an astonishingly accomplished winemaker with experience all over the world, and it is a long time since we got this excited about a set of wines from Australia. A 'must try'.