Hayes Family Grenache Koonunga Creek Vineyard 2021

Hayes Family Wines is a small, family-owned producer based in Stone Well, on the Western Ridge of the Barossa Valley. Founded by Brett Hayes and helmed by winemaker Andrew Seppelt — a Barossa veteran with over 25 years' experience, including a stint as GM and winemaker at Torbreck — the label is built on old, dry-grown vineyards farmed with minimal intervention, letting each site and vintage speak for itself. The Estate Vineyard is Certified Organic and Certified Sustainable, and Hayes has carried a five-star rating in the James Halliday Wine Companion every year since launching.

Ian Becker's old bush block in Koonunga feels caught in time — farmed by Ian Becker and his family for generations, in an isolated spot that quietly produces exceptional fruit, year after year. Adrian Hoffmann took over management of the vineyard for the 2020 vintage, continuing to farm it essentially as it was 100 years ago: dry-grown bush vines, naturally low-cropping, with no modern shortcuts. In a truly great year like 2021, this site shows exactly why it's so special.

The fruit was hand-picked, destemmed and transferred to small fermenters, where it spent close to 20 days on skins. Once fermentation finished, the wine moved into older French oak puncheons for 9 months before bottling in December 2021. Just 1,350 bottles were produced.

Highly perfumed, with citrus blossom, red plum, cherry and a spicy gingerbread note, all wrapped in fine, sandy tannin. An arresting nose of violet, rose and raspberry leads into a genuinely textural palate — the structure girdles the core of fruit, giving it framing support while gently taming its exuberance. Intense and fruit-driven, clearly powerful, yet with a subtlety and balance that suggests real cellaring potential in the right conditions. A landmark vintage, and a landmark wine to match.

Critical acclaim:

• 95 points — Wine Companion (Dave Brookes), praised for its fragrant purity and silty tannin
• 95 points — QWine Reviews (Steve Leszczynski), called a "pearler" with sleek, refined polish
• 93 points — The Vintage Journal (Andrew Caillard MW), noted for its buoyant texture and supple tannin