Ministry of Clouds Shiraz 2024
The Wine
We combined two separate picks from our own Onkaparinga Rocks vineyard, and three separate picks from a trio of sandy dry grown Blewitt Springs sites which were spread over more than a month. Whole-bunch inclusion ranged from 0% up to 60%, with approximately 18% whole bunches retained in the total blend, the rest gently de-stemmed to preserve whole berries for purity. Of the 18 separate ferments all were fermented wild, and either hand plunged or pumped over twice daily. Maceration on skins ranged from 8 days up to more than 30 days to build both complexity and retain freshness. After pressing, the wine was matured for 7 months in a combination of French oak hogsheads, puncheons, demi muids, and foudres. 14 % alc/vol. Bernice and Julian
'An exercise in slender power, bringing early picked McLaren Vale Shiraz characters exhibited by cool blue and red fruit with layers of coal dust and earth to entice, supported by a gentle oak creaminess, which progresses to the palate exhibiting a deep fruit weight kept bright, nervy, and fleshy and filed down nicely by a fine and mineral tannin line.' Bernice and Julian
The Details
Variety - Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - South Australia
Sub Region - McLaren Vale
Extra - Screwcap
Year - 2024
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Ministry of Clouds is the creation of Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood and it’s now a dozen years since they decided to leave the security of the corporate wine world (the ministry) for the adventure (the clouds) of their own wine venture. And it’s been quite a journey thus far.
From the 2012 vintage their first five releases all rated between 94 and 97 points in the Halliday Wine Companion and earned them a spot in the Top Ten New Wineries for the year. Basing themselves in McLaren Vale, they sourced red fruit from around the Vale, securing parcels from some of the most venerable and sought-after old-vine Shiraz and Grenache vineyards.
To these plots, they added Tempranillo from the Vale, Riesling from the Clare and Chardonnay first from Tasmania and now from the Adelaide Hills. And then from the 2016 vintage came a new flagship wine, Kintsugi, named for the Japanese art of ‘golden joinery’ used to resurrect ancient, broken pottery.
The big step up though occurred in that same year with their purchase of the 9 ha Chase Vineyard and its 650 million year-old Onkaparinga Rocks geology. And so their second single vineyard Shiraz was born, joining the original highly lauded Blewitt Springs interpretation.
Since then, they have set about augmenting their 6 hectares of Shiraz with their own plots of Tempranillo, Mencia, Carignan, Cinsault and Picpoul. In 2019 they processed their first vintage at their small winery at the Chase, releasing a new varietal Mencia, a new Grenache Carignan and their first bottling of Picpoul.
Which brings us to 2024 and the launch of two new Single Site Grenaches, drawing on Bernice and Julian’s experience sourcing and studying old-vine Grenache over the last decade or so. Released in tiny volume from the 2023 vintage the Silk & Stone (Clarendon) and Spice Garden (Blewitt Springs) Grenaches are both beautiful and insightful interpretations of the complex geology of McLaren Vale.
Ministry of Clouds' wines show careful attention to detail; they are wines that speak of the land and reveal the essence of the season. They are wines of flavour and texture, yet wines that show artful restraint in their delicately poised balance of ripeness and tension. They are wines that beg to be shared at a convivial table and consumed with all manner of complementary foods, flavours and textures.
With these new releases, new varieties in the ground, new concrete eggs in service and a new expanded winery, the Ministry of Clouds journey is just gathering steam.
