Ministry of Clouds
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Wines that speak of the land and the essence of the season...
A sensational McLaren Vale Producer making waves in the wine world, Ministry of Clouds was formed by Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood after the pair branched out from the corporate side of the industry and into the vineyard. Ever since their first vintage in 2012, they have been renowned for taking chances, forging their own path and creating sensational wine.
After the purchase of their own vineyard in 2016, they have specialised in planting drought-resistant, alternative varieties that Bernice describes as "the future of the Vale". Each year, Bernice and Julian are resolved to capture the vintage within each bottle, and use every ounce of creativity at their disposal. All of their wines use wild ferments, producing softer, more elegant and textural wines. They also own some of the best grenache vines in McLaren Vale, with all of their vines in the renowned Blewitt Springs planted between 1920-1940.
The Kintsugi is their flagship wine; best described as a southern-Rhone style blend akin to some of the great estates of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It is perhaps best - and far too humbly - described on their website:
Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese art of “golden joinery”, the creation of lasting beauty from broken fragments of ancient pottery as they are pieced together with lacquer laced with gold. It befits our desire to meticulously blend only our very best parcels of old vine fruit from a single year. In direct comparison with the Australian obsession to label single varietal wines, Kintsugi is the simply the best Southern Rhone inspired wine we can make in a year, no matter its components. The whole, we hope, is greater than the sum of the parts."
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