This incredible elixir is simply the best

2016 Soul Growers El Mejor This deliciously carnal creature boasts incredible intensity and fabulous, ululating tannins.

Matthew Jukes
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published
in Features

2016 Soul Growers El Mejor

2016 Soul Growers, El Mejor, Cabernet Mourvedre, Barossa Valley, South Australia£76, woodwinters.com

It was great to see winemaker Stuey Bourne in the UK last week. A serious talent, this chap has spent his life nurturing his relationships with the old grape-growing families in the Barossa Valley. These original settlers have the finest plots of land in the region and Stuey's handshake is all that is needed to guarantee a few tonnes of their finest fruit for his Soul Growers wines.

El Mejor is Soul Growers' most arresting red, made from the final squeeze of the basket press each time it ekes out precious juice from the amazing bunches of grapes. Stuey unhooks the hose, and places a bucket under the tap and then he drops the press down another inch. It is this incredible elixir that is then put into a single barrel. The majority of the wine is cabernet (approximately 90%), but there are a few buckets of mourvdre and shiraz in the mix, too, which bring untold complexity to the end wine.

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This is a deliciously carnal creature with incredible intensity and fabulous, ululating tannins. Aromatically, it is one of the most complete sensory experiences I can remember because every time I swirl the glass the wine shapeshifts and alters its delivery. It is not surprising that its name translates as "The Best". Stock has only just arrived in the UK, so make it your mission to track down this awesome wine.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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