Current Vintage: 2021
Vintage may vary during the year. If you are looking for a specific vintage, please get in touch.
Pete Schell's Papillon was one of the first of the mod-Barossa wines to show that ripeness and depth of flavour needn't come at the expense of freshness and vineyard clarity. All these years later it remains at the very top of its game. If anything, it has never been in better form. Papillon is crafted from a range of old vine, dry grown Grenache (78%) and Cinsault (22%) vineyards, located in the east and far northern reaches of the Barossa Valley.
The Papillon sports a deliciously crunchy texture, cleansing acidity, savoury grip, and is somehow perfectly integrated with the wine's generous fruit giving a delicious sense of balance. As always, the wine is naturally fermented with a portion of whole bunches (40% in this case for heightened fragrance and more freshness) and pulled out of large format old wood after five months with the same logic.
Region
Home to some of the oldest grapevines on planet Earth, the Barossa Valley is perhaps Australia's most renowned wine region. In 1842, German settlers planted vines and the rest is history!
On the red wine front, it's all about the big reds like Cabernet and Shiraz here - with full bodied Barossa Shiraz being sought out around the world. It is rich, muscular, and super sexy - Aussie 'ocker with distinctive finesse.
But the Barossa isn't a one trick pony. In a salute to the region's rich German heritage, the Eden Valley (which falls within the broader region) produces some of Australia's finest rieslings - crisp, fresh, but still balanced.
Critic Reviews
"Aromatic wine of high perfume, red cherry, touch of maraschino, some clove notes, touch of earthiness. The palate has a distinct crispness and crunch, red cherries, firm but fine web of tannins. It's bright and vivacious but tells you who is boss. Drinkability is very high." 92 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
