JAUMA - HOLA NURIA VERDELHO PÉT NAT (2020)

Jauma is one of the first natural winemakers in Australia, with James Erskine starting to make his first wines a little over 10 years ago. Until last year James didn’t owned any property, but along with his business partner Fiona managed vineyards in Clarendon and McLaren Vale (Fiona is basically employed as his full time farmer). Last year, James bought a cherry farm in a region called Lenswood, in the higher elevation part of the Adelaide Hills. He picked the cherries last year (and did some fun projects like cherry vinegar) but also got to work on planting his first, own vineyard. He makes his wines, for now, in Basket Range (he is hoping to build a winery on his new project, TBD), in a beautiful old fruit shed. He makes what seems to be a million different wines, as he is constantly inspired by new vineyards, new varieties, new techniques, etc. That being said, Grenache is most certainly his jam. He makes everything from pet nat, to full carbonic, to blended with shiraz, to multiple single vineyards of it. His background is an a high end sommelier and wine judge, and I think this shows in particular in his single vineyard Grenache bottles. They are as natural as wine can get, but have a more serious tone to them, even if that labels are playful. They can also certainly age, even though bottled under crown cap.