Polygon 3 Grenache fruit grown on a propitiously sited old vine limestone outcrop, flecked with schist and iron. The plot is a meagre 0.274 hectares. Biodynamic farming, a given. 50 percent whole bunch imparts briar and a skein of lithe tannins, embellished with a natural fermentation in a concrete tulip, before 15 months in 10 year-old wood. This is Grenache for Pinot lovers! Transparent. Seville orange, turmeric and scents of the Moroccan souk. Red fruit allusions, too, beamed long by a mellifluous flow of juicy acidity melded to that immaculate veil of tannin, precise, pixelated and succulent. Almost sandy of feel.
The oldest vines are from the 1950s with the most recent plantings from 2017 and the whole vineyard is certified biodynamic. Alkina call their lieu dits ‘Polygons’, inside the main vineyard. The wines are raised in concrete, amphora or large oak. These Polygons are exceptional, unique soil profiles (limestone focused here) and tiny-tiny in size. This wine comes from a plot that measures just 0.274 hectares. It’s a very ambitious grenache project across the Polygon wines.
Fine boned grenache, succulent, elegant and all that stuff that makes the word refined roll around your mouth as you taste. High toned perfume of red berries, old rose petals, truffle and game meat. Similar flavours bound in a sheath of lacy yet strict, emery board tannin. A sense of purity to the wine, grapes picked just right, freshness on their side, a tension to the skins before that becomes the tannin here. It takes you to source. It’s quite a remarkable wine, truly. Very fancy.
95+ points, The Wine Front (March 2021)
This has a very light and lacy, whole cluster-influenced nose with aromas of dried wood, graphite and sandalwood, as well as red berries and flowers. The palate has a very ripe yet elegant, soft and fleshy feel with a mellow, open-knit finish. Light, lithe and drinkable now.
92 points, JamesSuckling.com (September 2020)
After mapping and separating the Alkina vineyard in Greenock into tiny patches known as polygons, based on varying geologies, the winemaking team has made tiny amounts from the most distinctive of them in what they deem the results of intense research and extreme commitment. The prices of their Polygon wines reflect this and their rarity.
From a limestone-based section of just 200 grenache vines, this is made in much the same manner as all the Alkina wines, here 50% whole bunch fermented in one concrete tulip before 15 months maturation in 10-year-old barrels. Delightfully red-fruit juicy, subtly spiced with a surround of chalky tannins, imbued with energy, the balance of all involved elements delivers a purity of intent as well as fabulous drinking pleasure.
95 points, Wine Pilot
Colonel William Light, the South Australian colony’s Surveyor-General, named the Barossa in 1837 after the site of an English victory over the French in the Spanish Peninsular War. In the mid-1800’s Silesian and English immigrants settled in the area. The Barossa itself comprises two distinct sub-regions: Eden Valley and the warmer Barossa Valley floor at 270m.The Barossa Valley enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate characterised by hot dry summers and relatively low rainfall. Cool sea breezes from the Gulf of St Vincent modify the temperature, however hot northerly winds can occasionally dominate creating considerable vine stress. Many older established vineyards are dry-grown, but supplementary irrigation is also extensively used. The valley is comprised of rich brown soils and alluvial sands. A long history of uninterrupted viticulture in the area means the Barossa valley is home to Australia’s largest concentration of old-vine Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre with many over 100 years old. Although most famous for Shiraz, the Barossa can also produce fragrant and deliciously fruity Grenache blends and beautifully rich, chocolatey Cabernet Sauvignons.
