2023 Gentle Folk Onkaparinga Valley Sangiovese

Here’s something fresh and exciting from Gentle Folk’s 2023 release—their very first single-vineyard, premium Sangiovese! Sourced from the highest and rockiest section of the Turnbull Vineyard in Charleston, these meticulously farmed 26-year-old vines have finally allowed Gareth Belton to fulfil his dream of crafting a site-specific Sangiovese. And what a debut it is!

This Sangiovese is still youthful, with its natural acidity and fine-boned tannins giving it a tight structure that will only get better with time. The wine is brimming with blue fruits—think juicy blueberries and plums—while the chewy tannins give it a rustic charm and depth that is classic for the variety. Vinified with 100% destemmed fruit and given time in both terracotta amphora and a French oak barrel for 10 months, the result is a beautifully textured wine with a lovely balance between earthiness and elegance.

At 14.5% ABV, it’s robust yet refined, with plenty of potential for cellaring. With just 1,487 bottles produced, this wine marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Gentle Folk, and it’s one we can’t wait to see evolve over the next few years.

96 points
"A new addition to the Gentle Folk portfolio. Like the harmony and flow of precise choreography, this is an effortless, purposeful wine and commands pause. Potpourri and twig, sour red cherry and fired clay. Lessons in beauty and grace. But it is wilful; there is intent. The scent of watering the tomatoes in summer, dusk looming. Dried marjoram, oregano and soft leather. Powerful. The tannins are granular, complete and fine. We often talk about integrated structure in wine as a requisite for excellence, but this is something more fluid than a sum of parts integrated, it is metronomic balance. A very fine wine that transcends expectations."
- Katrina Butler (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points
"Medium cherry red colour. Raspberry, red cherry, musk stick and crushed rose petal on the nose. Medium weight on the palate, a wonderful mix of red fruits with musk, rose and dusty earth all playing their notes in harmony as it flows along the palate. Tannins have classic sangiovese grip but stay in time with the fruit, ensuring a great carry and final dryness. Will evolve further in the cellar too."
- Stuart Knox (The Real Review)