2022 Jauma 'Ralph's' Shiraz
You may have spotted Jauma’s electric labels in the shop at some point in your visits. We’ve carried the wines since day 1 of the Gemini Bottle Co.. When we think of natural wine from Australia, Jauma is the first that jumps into our head. They were one of the first Aussie natural wines we tasted back in the early days. The farm and the winery are located in Lenswood, Adelaide Hills in South Australia. Jauma is a working farm, vineyard and orchard with a focus on cherries. Everything is organically farmed and the vines date all the way back to 1940. They have a year round team that helps them with the property that has been with them for about 8 vintages now. This is no small feat employing a large team and providing a full time role at Jauma. There are many amazing things about this model and the biggest one is consistency and quality in the wines. The work in the vineyard is non stop and everything is done by hand. They prioritize cover crops and use organic teas they make at the vineyard to deal with pests.
Shiraz or Syrah is the main event on the property however they grow other grapes like Muscat, Chenin Blanc and Grenache. Most of their fruit is grown on their property but they do buy some fruit from local like minded vineyards when needed. Fiona Wood manages a lot of the vineyard work for Jauma and the grapes for this wine come from her father, Ralph’s vineyard in Clarendon. This vineyard is dry farmed but this area gets a
lot more underground water than other plots of land lending big juicy bunches which definitely translates in this wine. You can taste the lushness and ripeness of the fruit in the glass. Shiraz from Australia is known for its power, high in alcohol, fruit and weight, however this wine is the opposite of that while keeping some of the essence of that style. The wine is made using whole bunches, with daily punchdowns by hand. The wines are all unfined, unfiltered and have no sulfur added.
Pairing Recommendations: Lamb chops with roasted cherries, beef ribs with sweet and spicy hot sauce, bitter leafy greens and/or roasted broccoli or cauliflower, rich spicy curries...