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International Fine Wines
International Fine Wines
International Fine Wines
International Fine Wines

Bondar

“Ethereal quality” from a Young McLaren Vale Star

Exciting times are these for Australian wine. Times when quality small producers are popping up everywhere across the viticultural landscape. Times when many of these producers are striving to make delicious, lighter-bodied, fresher, purer, more digestible wines that have a strong sense of place. And now, most significantly, it is a time when some of these producers are realising that it is in the vineyard activity—more specifically the way their vineyards are planted and the way they are managed—that will ultimately determine the quality and uniqueness of the wines they are able to produce. Bondar is certainly at the heart of this zeitgeist.

Established in 2012, Bondar is the vision of husband-and-wife team Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly. Andre, with a history as a winemaker in the Adelaide Hills and Selina with a background in marketing and law, have planted roots (literally) in the north of McLaren Vale, Their new home is the Rayner Vineyard on Chalk Hill Road, where plantings of old bush vine Grenache and Shiraz vines up to 65-years-old are already in play, while newer, closer planted Counoise (one of the 13 Châteauneuf varieties) has been recently planted, and Mataro, Carignan and Cinsault are on the horizon.

“There must be a bit of magic behind Bondar. All of the wines have an ethereal quality” Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion

Straddling the Blewitt Springs and Seaview subregions, the Rayner Vineyard was planted in the 1950s. Today, under the meticulous management of Andre Bondar and Ben Lacey, the Rayner site is only now beginning to reveal its true potential. As the investment in the vineyard continues apace—with a focus on building soil health and microbial diversity—Bondar notes that this terroir and its old vines have begun to disclose a unique and consistent brand of freshness and elegance that screams of this deep sandy site. In tandem with the ascent of its vineyard, Bondar’s star continues its rise.

Andre sees his role in translating the Rayner site into the wines as minimalist, and he picks earlier than many to catch the fresh fruit flavours intrinsic to Bondar’s graphic and fresh calling card. Native yeasts and gentle, extended extractions are par for the course, as is the use of mainly older hogsheads, puncheons and now demi-muids. Whole bunches are used extensively to introduce some more savoury characters to complement the purity of fruit that Rayner delivers. Regardless of the source of fruit, Andre and Selina want to make, in their own words, ‘… wines that are bright, structured, mid-weight, yet concentrated in flavour, and with a savoury element’. And of course, they want to make the finest quality possible. Terrific quality and remarkable pricing make for a heady mix and have gained Bondar the strong following they thoroughly deserve.

The Range

Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Blewitt Springs Grenache 2023
$79.00
Added

Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Blewitt Springs Grenache 2023

Bondar’s Hope Springs Eternal wines are sourced from vineyards that Andre and Selina consider among the best McLaren Vale sites for each given variety. In the case of Grenache, this means Blewitt Springs in deep sandy soils. Each vineyard must also sit at high elevation to adhere to Bondar’s preference for elegant, fine, quietly powerful wines. This wine used to be labelled Higher Springs Grenache.Sue Trott’s Wilpena vineyard lies in the heart of Blewitt Springs. The vines were planted in 1952 and are dry-grown on deep sand. It faces steeply east—an uncommon aspect in McLaren Vale, but Bondar’s favoured—and thus misses out on much of the warm, late-afternoon sun. According to Bondar, the Trott vineyard tends towards a darker fruit profile than his Rayner site, alongside impressive power and structure.To this end, the parcel was split into two ferments, one with 80% bunches and the other with 10%, to build fine structure and bring out the best of the site’s darker-fruited profile. The wine is bottled after 10 months in amphora and seasoned Stockinger demi-muid. The quality of the site, as well as 2023’s cool, fresh signature, shines through in this year’s release. It’s incredibly pure, with high-toned perfumed and a dense, focused, driving core with plenty of savoury depth.

“Vibrant ruby and purple colours swirl in the light. Raspberry, crushed raspberry leaves and biltong aromatics. Powerful and intense on entry with dark berries, ferrous minerality and a deeper beef consommé undertone. Powerful fine gravel tannins ensure the tension is wound up yet don’t hide any of the characters on show, allowing it to flow incredibly long and remain bone dry to the end. Many years ahead of it if you have the patience.”
95 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
“It’s tea time. Here we have rosehip and Earl Grey tea, dusty spices, blackcurrant and raspberry, mint and thyme, hazelnut paste, something stony with a waft of petrichor (happy for you to pop me in Pseuds Corner, but that’s how it seems). Medium-bodied at most, spicy, a pomegranate tang through a dark fruit profile, crushed stone tannin, orange peel, something of a Barbaresco thing happening here too (again, don’t mind me), with a peppery and dusty finish of excellent length. Wonderful wine. Beautifully made. Specific.”
96 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“From the Trott vineyard’s '52 vines on Maslin Sands. About 80% of the fruit was fermented with 70% whole bunches and two weeks on skins; 20% saw 10% whole bunch and four weeks on skins; matured in sandstone amphorae and older oak. Well, here’s a thing. The darker tones of the Trott fruit are here, but decidedly in the red zone – deep red cherry, pomegranate molasses (not confected, just concentrated), dried cranberry, warm terracotta, crushed dark roses, caraway, white pepper and Baharat spices. There’s a bit of bunch for a cool year, but it quietly meshes in, upping the savoury interest while creating an engaging warp and weft of tannin, intricately woven, fine yet determined. This is detailed, layered and just so engaging. What a triumph.”
97 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Blewitt Springs Grenache 2023
$79.00
Added
Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Clarendon Shiraz 2023
$79.00
Added

Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Clarendon Shiraz 2023

Andre Bondar can’t hide his excitement that he is now working with Shiraz from the famed Hickinbotham Vineyard in Clarendon. This high, dry-grown, biodynamically farmed site was first planted in 1971 in these rocky, ironstone-rich red soils. It’s a revered site in SA circles, supplying Grange, Eileen Hardy and Clarendon Hills, among others, over the years. Clarendon sits considerably further inland than Bondar’s Rayner Vineyard and, at 250m altitude, produces a very different expression of Shiraz. “It’s finer, with ferrous quality and red fruits; there is a tightness and coiled power,” explains Andre.In a very Bondar way, the winemaking does not detract from the purity of the site. Around 65% bunches were used in the ferment, and the wine matured in seasoned French hogsheads for 14 months. This is the second release of this wine (previously called Clarendon Shiraz). Andre played the first release with a straight bat: minimal bunches and a lick of new oak. Now he’s seen what the fruit can do, he’s incorporated some Bondar flair: the bunches bring an abundance of savoury spice to the intoxicating, potent power of the Hickinbotham fruit. It’s a hell of a wine.

“Dark, plummy red in the glass. Fragrant and lifted aromas of spice, bramble, earth, charcuterie, sarsaparilla, blueberry, forest floor and an earthy woodsiness. Full-bodied, punchy and crunchy on the palate. Blue and dark fruits, snappy acidity, granular, grippy tannins and sappy spice are all at play. Long, textured, layered and complex.”
95 points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
“It feels as though there’s good volume here because the fruit and tannin spreads through the finish. In general it’s medium bodied. It tastes of toast, smoked meat, undergrowth and plums, with peppercorn, violet and graphite as afters. There’s a surliness to this wine but then the finish has such excellent carry. This needs to be left along a while but it’s very good.”
94 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
“From the Hickinbotham vineyard, planted in '71 and managed under biodynamic and organic certification. This is effectively the second year for this wine, though the cuvée name is new, christening a range that explores sites outside of the home vineyard that Andre and Selina believe excel. Elegant and lifted, dry spiced and red fruited, eschewing heft for refinement, this is a deeply layered wine, both in flavour and structural architecture, with pervasive yet not intrusive ferrous and graphite notes. The carefully crafted tannic matrix is a standout. This is stunning now, but it feels like a sleeper, with the score likely inadequate.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Hope Springs Eternal Clarendon Shiraz 2023
$79.00
Added
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2024
$41.00
Added

Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2024

Bondar’s high-toned and beautifully pure Grenache is sourced from the 1970 block in the Rayner Vineyard. The vines sit on very sandy soils (part of the Pirramimma sandstone geology) and are dry-grown and organically managed. Facing east on the site's western side, these particularly low-yielding vines miss out on the hot late-afternoon sun during summer and produce small bunches and berries. These vines are marked and picked specifically for this wine. Seeking a pretty but savoury style, the Bondar team picks Grenache a little earlier than many of their peers, helping to capture the fruit’s red fruit and herbal characteristics. To further build structure and longevity, 20% bunches are used in spontaneous ferments. The wine ages for six months in ceramic eggs and mature French barrels. From another cool, late season in McLaren Vale, this year’s Rayner Grenache combines lacy red fruit character with bright acidity, perfume and spice. This is McLaren Vale Grenache in its purest guise.

“Raspberry, strawberry, and quite some minty nutty perfume. It’s fresh, lots of strawberry dusted with pepper, succulent and red fruited, I like this bit of almond paste it shows, and also bright acidity, a sort of cocoa richness, with a peppery tannin and ginger biscuit finish of excellent length. It’s a bony and spicy wine that offers delicious sweet red fruited flavour. Minty, yes, but so fine.”
94 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“From a sandy 1970-planted block on the home Rayner vineyard; about 10% whole bunch; aged in ceramic amphorae and large-format old oak for 10 months. There’s always an ease to this wine, a red-fruited clarity of expression, a sense of immediate joy, but the Bondar wines never let the fun override the seriousness, nor vice versa. There’s certainly serious intent here though with elegance as the mantra, and perhaps more so in this vintage, with a more savoury lean. Wild raspberry, tart cranberry, rosehip, pomegranate, crushed rose, cinnamon, white pepper, young bay, cracked earth and tamarind. The mid-palate is supple, swirling with flavour, the tannins discretely resolute. Lovely.”
96 points, Marcus Ellis, The Wine Companion
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2024
$41.00
Added
Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2024
$31.00
Added

Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2024

Junto is Spanish for ‘together’, and in this case means a union of old friends: Grenache (78%), Mataro (12%) and Shiraz (10%). The Grenache is sourced from two sites. The majority comes from Bondar’s Rayner Vineyard, with supplementary fruit from a deep, sandy site in Blewitt Springs. The Shiraz is also home-grown Rayner fruit (70-year-old vines on sand), while the Mataro–at its highest proportion ever in a Junto release, thanks to the warm conditions and outstanding quality–was sourced from the Lacey vineyard in the foothills of Willunga on the famed, rocky Kurrajong soils. All the fruit fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in old oak for eight months. As always, the blend was composed with the idea that Grenache is the hero, with Shiraz supporting with roundness and depth and the Mataro lending spice, structure and tannin. Predictably, 2024 Junto is a lively, vibrant wine with restraint, energy and sheer drinkability.

“A fresh and lively wine. Has something of a petrichor character, that thing when rain hits a hot road, which I like very much. I also associate it with ozone, which is the smell when a storm rolls in and lightning starts to strike. All that nonsense aside, it’s red fruited, cranberry and raspberry, a light spiciness with some gum leaf perfume. Medium-bodied, crisp and crunchy, some Spanish black olive lends a slightly metallic and savoury element, and it sports pepper dusted strawberry and orange peel on a finish of solid length. Light and frisky, but a nice wine. Easy to like.”
90 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
Bondar Junto Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2024
$31.00
Added
Bondar Monastrell 2023
$36.00
Added

Bondar Monastrell 2023

Bondar’s Monastrell is a limited release (only 100 dozen are made). The fruit grows on the Lacey vineyard in Willunga, where rocky clay loam soils lie over the revered Kurrajong geology formation. The almost 20-year-old vines are farmed with minimal inputs, and the winemaking follows a similar path, with handpicking, no additions and bottling without fining or filtration. A portion of the fruit fermented as bunches, and the wine matured for 15 months in seasoned French hogsheads. Andre Bondar has chosen the moniker Monastrell rather than the more popular Mataro or Mourvèdre because he aims for a more savoury, spicy, medium-bodied wine than the tannic beasts the region is known for. Andre has always maintained that marginal conditions produce magnificent results, and 2023 releases like this prove as much. It’s brightly perfumed, with berry fruits, spice and lovely bunchy complexity. It strikes a delicious balance between fruit and savoury tones, with fresh structure and a lasting close. Smashing stuff.

Bondar Monastrell 2023
$36.00
Added
Bondar Nero 2024
$36.00
Added

Bondar Nero 2024

This year, Andre Bondar sourced Nero d’Avola from two vineyards. Andre has been working with one of the sites for years, located in the Sellicks Foothills subregion behind Willunga, where the soil is rocky alluvial clay. Here, the vines sit at 100 metres, face west and give fruit with high-toned aromatics and soft, red berry character. The second site is located near Tatachilla, between Andre and Selina’s McLaren Vale home and the sea. This site's soil is black Biscay clay and gives a contrasting profile, with more density, darkness and structure. Being a warmer site, Tatachilla was picked first, followed three weeks later by Willunga. The Tatachilla fruit was destemmed and fermented for 12 days, while the Willunga fruit fermented as bunches for two weeks. Blending and bottling occurred in September. Now in its sixth year, Andre Bondar continues to craft a youthful and fresh Nero that exudes youthful splendour. True to the season, the 2024 Nero is a cool, fresh, brightly flavoured wine with all the berry fruits, spice and earthy flavours inherent to the variety, backed up by lively acidity and a delicious savoury close. A joy to drink. 

Bondar Nero 2024
$36.00
Added
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AT-A-GLANCE

• Andre and Selina Bondar established Bondar in 2012 with the purchase of Rayner Vineyard.

• The site is in the north of McLaren Vale on the border of Blewitt Springs and Seaview. It has deep sandy soils with ironstone rocks throughout.

• The 1950s-planted vineyard is dry-grown, organically managed and home to old bush-vine Shiraz and Grenache, with recent plantings of Counoise, Mataro, Carignan and Cinsault.

• The Bondars also purchase fruit—including Chardonnay, Fiano and Monastrell—from like-minded growers in McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills.

• The style hinges on freshness: picking is earlier than most, extractions are gentle, and new oak is used sparingly.

• The range includes entry-level blends and straight varietals in white, red and rosé, plus premium, single-vineyard reds.

IN THE PRESS

“There must be a bit of magic behind Bondar. All of the wines have an ethereal quality” Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion

“Marquee McLaren Vale vineyard now in the hands of some really good people, really good winemakers. It’s a very exciting proposition. The resulting wines, so far, short as the tenure has been, have been great.” Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

“Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly began a deliberately unhurried journey in '09, which culminated in the purchase of the celebrated Rayner Vineyard post-vintage ’13. Andre had been a winemaker at Nepenthe wines for 7 years, and Selina had recently completed a law degree. They changed focus and began to look for a vineyard capable of producing great red wines. Rayner had all the answers: a ridge bisecting the land, Blewitt Springs sand on the eastern side; and heavier clay loam soils over limestone on the western side. The vineyard has been substantially reworked and includes 10ha of shiraz, with smaller amounts of grenache, mataro, touriga, carignan, cinsaut and counoise, all of which are tended to with modern winemaking.” ★★★★★ Halliday Wine Companion

Country

Australia

Primary Region

McLaren Vale, South Australia

People

Winemaker: Andre Bondar

Availability

VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, WA

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