2022 Inkwell Infidels Primitivo

Primitivo isn’t exactly a household name in McLaren Vale, but that’s never stopped Dudley and Irina Brown from doing things their own way. The “Infidels” is their nod to the wild side of the Vale – a single-vineyard, dry-grown wine from organically farmed vines, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in older French oak.

There’s no trickery here. It’s all hand picked, foot crushed, and fermented on skins until the texture and balance feel just right. Then it rests quietly for a year or so in barrel before bottling with no fining and minimal sulphur. The result is dark and generous, but with a savoury core and a natural kind of ease that makes it feel more restrained than many bigger-bodied reds in the region.

Only a few hundred dozen made, and it’s often snapped up quickly by those who know. It’s juicy, honest and a little bit rebellious – just like the name suggests.

93 points
"This is genuinely reminiscent of Puglian primitivo, resplendent with dried fruits, currants, fig and date, blackberry, and hit heavily with spices, in an amaro and panforte register, anise to the fore, and underwritten by a dry, tarry earthiness. It’s opulent, in its way, but intensely savoury, too. Much more Puglia than California. And, of course, intrinsically McLaren Vale. Compelling."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)