Rayner Vineyard Shiraz

Bondar Wines

In their eponymous Rayner Vineyard cuvée, Shiraz meets Syrah, so to speak. Two dry-farmed old-vine parcels marry in this wine, 75% of the volume from the deep ironstone sands of Block 24 and 25% of the volume from the cool gully of Block 1 with its shallow, limestone clays. Bondar’s steady hand comes to life here. In the inclusion of whole-bunches in his ferments we see the influence of his time with Alain Graillot in the Rhône (and Graillot’s own experience adapting the lessons of Domaine Dujac’s Jacques Seysses). The resulting wine is remarkable, earning praise and agreement from the new-schoolers and traditionalists alike.

96 points – Halliday Wine Companion 2025, Marcus Ellis
“From the two oldest blocks (1950 and '60); two weeks on skins with about 20% whole bunches; 18 months in French hogsheads (5% new). The home vineyard shiraz trio are neatly differentiated. Here, there's a denser, more classic feel, though the house style of restraint is still writ large. In part, this is defined by the iron, iodine and nori mineral notes sitting so forward in the wine, blue florals perfuming. Blackberry pastille, dark cherry, bitter chocolate, tar and master stock spice feature across a plumpness of fruit, but sans sweetness, rather suffused with the silky, supple gravitas of old-vine fruit guided by assertively fine tannins.”

95 points – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“Blueberry, blackberry, mint and sage, seaweed, some liquorice and biscuit spice. It’s full-bodied, but only just, saline and savoury, black olive, sweet blue and black fruit, raspberry ripple, ripe fine-grained but insistent tannin, oyster shell and cool peppermint, it’s thoroughly regional but has depth and presence. Lots to like here, and it feels classic McLaren Vale in character, though turned out with a light and deft touch in the winery. Ripe tannin rolls out the red raspberry carpet on a finish of fine length.”

95 points, Ned Goodwin MW, jamessuckling.com
“Among the finest shiraz in the Vale, with the meager volume, subsequent concentration and tannic delivery of 2022 serving the plush, aromatic, full-bodied style well. Boysenberries, anise, pepper and ferrous tannins, forceful without compromising the tenacious, juicy flow of the fruit. Textbook Vale shiraz.”

95 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
“Dense and inky core, deep purple at the rim. Mulberry, clove, iodine, and mocha aromas. Dense and weighty with plush blue and purple fruits driving the core. The fruit sits fresh and lively though, alongside clove and vanilla spices, with a deep iodine ferrous undercurrent. Fine grained tannins keep it rolling along and it finishes very long. It has a classic Vale plushness but without overworking the fruit. Honestly, a bargain at the price.”

2021 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz - Top 100 Wines of Australia (Top 20 Red Wines over $40) – James Halliday for the Weekend Australian: 
97 points: “From the two oldest blocks on the vineyard, planted 1950 and ’60. Deep, brooding crimson purple. This is a faithful reproduction of variety and place – a meaningless statement unless I add 'of the highest quality,' which it is. It's velvet in the mouth, and mines all the black fruits, dark chocolate, licorice and spice hoped for. The tannins are polished, the oak absorbed by the fruit. So it is also a faithful reproduction of the vintage.”