2021 Alkina Kin Night Sky GSM Blend Barossa Valley

Most Americans encounter GSM through Paso Robles or through Châteauneuf-du-Pape — and they fall for it the same way every time. Grenache brings warmth and red cherry and spice that California Cabernet rarely offers; Shiraz adds structure and dark fruit; Mataro (that's Mourvèdre, the grippy one) contributes earthiness, depth, and the kind of longevity that makes the blend worth cellaring.

Together they make a wine that's generous enough to satisfy a Cab drinker and interesting enough to hold a Pinot person's attention. The question is always who's making it, and whether the fruit is serious enough to carry the concept.

For this one, the answer to both questions is Alkina. The estate in Greenock is backed by Alejandro Bulgheroni — an Argentinian industrialist who built one of South America's largest energy companies and spent the last two decades channeling that into a quietly serious collection of wine estates in Spain, Argentina, and France. When he came to the Barossa, he didn't build a tasting room and call it a project. He brought in a terroir specialist to map the 43-hectare property soil by soil — each distinct block designated its own polygon — committed fully to organic and biodynamic farming, and started making the kind of GSM the region's climate has always been capable of but rarely bothered to pursue.

The 2021 is 48% Grenache, 37% Shiraz and 15% Mataro, each picked and made on its own before blending. The vineyard is NASAA certified organic and biodynamic, and the label art is by Adnyamathanha artist Damien Coulthard.

At 14.6%, it's dark raspberry and blackberry, with liquorice, pepper and earth underneath. The tannins are firm and chalky, and the acidity keeps it fresh. I'd give it an hour in a decanter, then grill some lamb chops.