In late 2023, Toby and Emmauelle Bekkers invited me and a small group of McLaren Vale winemakers for a casual benchtop tasting. We looked at Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet wines newly made from their Clarendon Vineyard Estate. The tasting sheet indicated there was a small parcel of Shiraz grapes available from the 2024 vintage for a long-term agreement. The red wine made from the top block located on pure schist with a thin topsoil, tasted breathtaking. Fragrant, elegant, linear, yet packed with flavour and tension. Result of a cool, elevated, and terraced vineyard in a warm region. I knew I had found the missing part for my ambitious rosé project! Now making Australia’s first collectable rose that can be cellared for 8-10 years feels closer and closer! And trust me, it makes a hell of a red too: Bekkers Clarendon Syrah

Winemaking: As previously, the winemaking is a culmination of all techniques I have played with since 2021: whole bunch pressed, short-maceration, wild-fermented and aged in various formats of ancient barrels (15+ years old puncheon and barrique) with a slightly longer elevage (18 months) than in previous years. I also started a perpetual reserve aged under flor in 2021 with the purpose of adding complexity, savouriness and texture (similar to the perpetual reserve in Grower Champagne). There is an 8% perpetual reserve included in the 2024 Clarendon Rose. While it's a different style from most Australian roses, every step was taken with intention and deliberation to make a serious and complex wine with elegance and persistence.

- Marcell Kustos, LVDO