2022 Spinifex Bete Noir

The 2022 Spinifex Bête Noir showcases Pete Schell’s mastery of old-vine Shiraz, blending fruit from Barossa and Eden Valley vineyards aged between 25 and 110 years.

With six small parcels sourced from Moppa, High Eden, Light Pass, and the Eastern Foothills, this wine balances Barossa richness with Eden Valley elegance.

Approximately 35% whole clusters were used during fermentation, followed by 20 months in 35% new French oak and larger-format barrels. The result is a medium-bodied Shiraz with aromas of blackberry, red plum, and dried herbs, backed by savoury spice and silky tannins. Its refined, old-world style nods to classic Barossa reds of the 1970s, offering a modern take on a timeless tradition.

Balanced, layered, and quietly powerful, this is a Shiraz that pairs beautifully with food or a few years in the cellar. Elegant, expressive, and superb value—Spinifex Bête Noir is a must for Shiraz lovers.

95 points
"Deeply coloured and one of the broodier examples of Peter's wines with deep, wonderfully pure blackberry, black cherry and Doris plum fruits, cut with clove, bay leaf, crushed rock, dark chocolate bullets, black tea, meadow herbs, olive tapenade and roast meats. Purely fruited with a crushed rock savouriness, great length of flavour and a bright seam of acidity that lifts everything up on the finish."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points
"This is a Barossa Shiraz for all-comers. It’s bold, rich and flavoursome but it’s also complex and tannic. It gives and it gets. It tastes of peanut shells and saturated plums, fragrant herbs, raisins, purple flowers, a ferrous note and red licorice. It carries a keen spread of tannin but this tannin is drenched in fruit flavour. In short, it delivers lashings of flavour in serious style."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)