Alkina releases its first Estate range – bridging the gap between its entry-level and top-tier wines

It’s been ten years since Alkina set up shop at an established vineyard in Greenock – by Argentinian businessman and vigneron Alejandro Bulgheroni – with the support and tenacity of local grower Amelia Nolan. The ambition at this Estate is confidently met with unwavering commitment, and the soil and vines have received the kind of attention bestowed upon the firstborn.

“Dead soil makes dead wine”, Alkina’s oenologist Alberto Anotinini is quoted as saying. Therefore, every effort has been made to restore and renew the soil health of the site, with particular attention also paid to yield and potential overcropping. And it’s for this reason that it’s little wonder the Polygon wines – a project dedicated to site exploration and cultivation – accompany a considerable price tag. But this is fine wine, and Alkina broadcast their vision with resolve.

Still, in a bid to bridge the gap between the Kin range (their entry-level range, focused on experimental winemaking methods and blends) and the flagship polygons, they introduced this month the inaugural release of their Estate wines.

Three wines, Grenache, Shiraz and Semillon, priced at $55 each, are undoubtedly complex, textured and graceful, and they are a little kinder on your wallet. We had the pleasure of welcoming winemaker Amelia to Halliday HQ last week, and she poured the new releases for us.

Alkina Estate Semillon 2024 Barossa Valley

The Estate wines aim to achieve freshness and purity. And they’ve achieved that here in part thanks to the winery's adoption of concrete vessels for fermentation. There’s texture, a citrussy, pear-drop canopy overarching it all, and a mineral line, open and porous, reverberating through the fruit. Minerality is a detail that Amelia says is synonymous with the site and the work of esteemed terroir expert Pedro Parra.

Speaking of how the feeder roots are exposed to minerality by accessing the varying rock and shist surfaces underground, Amelia shared, “they get into the fractures, and they spread themselves over the face of a rock and they're eating the sort of degraded soil… in a healthy vineyard they are living in a symbiotic relationship with fungi. And fungi is critical to the food that a vine gets access to”. It's these considerations in the vineyard that build complexity and  nuance of site in the wine. 

Alkina Estate Grenache 2024 Barossa Valley

Grenache in the Barossa runs the risk of being sweet and confected. Alkina employs the use of whole bunch (where berries are left on the stalks and fermented whole) to mitigate this. Amelis went on to say, “When you’ve got a sweeter variety like grenache … and you’ve got a warmer climate, keeping the stems on your fruit really helps to add some freshness … it helps to cut the sweet”.

Here she’s used 80% wholebunch, and the resultant wine is pretty, elegant and juicy. There’s plenty of supporting spice, fresh strawberry and raspberry, dried orange rind, and potpourri notes of rose and lavender. The ease in its approach makes it a very dangerous wine to pour. Such is its poise and beauty. 

Alkina Estate Shiraz 2024 Barossa Valley

This Shiraz is comprised of the fruit from the best blocks and polygons, and was matured in both old foudre and concrete amphora. The weight of the wine is suspended by pure acidity and mineral texture – the kind that creates pockets and divots for fruit with tannins evenly dispersed. Notable complexity and expression here aren’t accidental.

Yield management is critical and has been one of the most important learnings for Amelia since Alkina’s inception. “You cannot overcrop it because you cannot fix it in the winery”. There’s an appetising ferrous and mineral line, almost iodine, with fresh blackberry, blue fruited as a whole with notes of raspberry and boysenberry. A remarkably versatile shiraz.

These new releases are available for purchase now via the Alkina website.

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