Paxton Wines, McLaren Vale, Australia.
A producer whose wines we’ve stocked for a while but who we only met in person our buying trip to McLaren Vale in February 2019. When a bunch of winemakers take you to lunch to taste their wines. When the restaurant is in an idyllic location on the top of cliffs overlooking a bay with white sand and calm azure waters. When the winemakers get you gently sozzled before taking you to play beach cricket. Well it's easy to lose perspective. All the wines tasted great. The winemakers were all great guys. I'll buy everything!
Not all holiday purchases make sense when you get home to the real world. That poncho you picked up in Chile because it's 'really quite practical' only for you to realise that it looks a bit daft on Basildon High Street. We've all been there.
So it was with much relief that I found that the Paxton Graciano, imported exclusively for us on the back of that boozy lunch, makes as much sense back home in Cornwall as it did under the McLaren Vale sun.
I shouldn’t have been surprised really. The Paxton family have been making wine since 1979 and were certified as organic and biodynamic producers in 2011. They produce a fabulous range of organic, biodynamic wines and, like many McLaren Vale winemakers, they've been excited at the prospect for Mediterranean varieties in South Australia. We can’t wait to see what the do next.
“Making outstanding wines with the minimum of fuss and minimal intervention. It all starts with great fruit and boy… do the Paxton’s know how to produce great fruit.”
The BinTwo take