Introducing Saltfleet Wines: A new small-batch wine label developed by young winemakers Kyle Egel and Jonny Cook (brother of Elise Cook from Down the Rabbit Hole Wines). As lovers of Down the Rabbit Hole, we simply had to sus out what Kyle and Jonny were up to and if great winemaking ran in the family.
McLaren Vale is home to some of the oldest Grenache vineyards in the world, and Saltfleet has been lucky enough to access an old bush vine Grenache vineyard that is almost 120 years old. Two 2021 vintages are now available on the Saltfleet website, showcasing some of the best grapes the region has on offer.
“We source our fruit from growers within McLaren Vale. Being in the region for 8 years now, we have developed many contacts throughout the region. For us, one of the highlights is working with really passionate growers in McLaren Vale,” said Kyle and Jonny.
“There is so much knowledge, passion and characters who have worked this land for generations. Buying fruit gives us the opportunity to select the best parcels from a given year and experiment with different varieties.”
The Saltfleet Grenache and Touriga Nacional are both vegan friendly and available online for $35 per bottle. The Grenache is described as a tribute to McLaren Vale, produced with minimal intervention to allow the red fruits and cherry aromas to shine.
The Touriga Nacional offers something a little different.
“The Touriga Nacional is a Portuguese variety and is incredibly well suited to the McLaren Vale environment,” said Kyle and Jonny.
The Touriga Nacional is a largely underrated wine variety, but is quickly developing a reputation for itself. Portuguese grape varieties thrive in challenging, hot growing environments and do pretty well in SA.
For Saltfleet, their version has an expressive floral aroma and full bodied, with flavours of black currants and dark cherries. It certainly sounds like one to watch, and one to try!
Kyle and Jonny shared that they’ll look into opening a venue somewhere down the line, but for now, their main priority is to “develop the range, use different and interesting varieties, and build a reputation for Saltfleet itself.”
“We are always challenging ourselves to make better wine than we did the year before,” said the duo.
“We have both worked for some amazing winemakers in the industry and we love being apart of the McLaren Vale community. We have both had mentors that have helped us develop our skills and knowledge over the years and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.”
Jonny did his first vintage at Rosemount Estate in 2014. After working at Coriole and Serafino, Jonny has since been at Wirra Wirra for the past 6 years.
Kyle started off at Serafino where he worked for 5 years and then went on to work for Memstar, a wine filtration company. He has been an assistant winemaker at Ryecroft Estate for the past 2 years.
“We are both very passionate about wine making and have thoroughly enjoyed the process of walking a vineyard and seeing a wine through to a bottled product that people can enjoy for years to come,” said Kyle and Jonny.
“At the end of the day, we are making wine, not saving lives. We have a lot of fun and find ourselves very lucky to be doing what we are doing.”
Follow Saltfleet Wines on Facebook and Instagram.
To buy, go to the Saltfleet Wines website.
