Hope Springs Eternal is a new project for Bondar, with the vision to produce great, elegant, age-worthy wine from vineyard sites we believe to be among the best for the variety in the region.
2024 Hope Springs Eternal Shiraz - 96 points, Halliday Wine Companion
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From the Hickinbotham vineyard, with these vines planted in 1971 to red soils studded with ironstone. It’s an elevated, relatively cool site and certified biodynamic. This was fermented mostly as whole bunches, with a long élevage of almost two years in an old, thick-walled demi-muid. Yes, just one, with 600 bottles produced. Dark plum, blackberry, concentrated yet savoury raspberry and preserved sour cherry, wild-fruited, agreeably tart in profile. There’s a compactness here, a finely packed spiciness, a graphitic and almost granitic mineral quality, dried herbs, tobacco and a twiggy snap in the background. Refinement reigns, like the grenache in the range, with time the key, though abundant air reveals layer after layer of subtle detail. A wine of real cellar potential." - Marcus Ellis.
