Tucked in the western ranges of the Barossa Valley near Greenock, the Alkina winery represents a radical shift in Australian viticulture. Established in 2015 by Alejandro Bulgheroni and Amelia Nolan, the estate, whose name means “Moonlight” in a local Indigenous language, is a “new story in an old place,” centered around a core of heritage vines planted in the 1950s.

What sets Alkina apart is its obsessive focus on micro-terroir. Working with world-renowned terroir expert Dr. Pedro Parra, the team conducted an exhaustive geological study, digging over 160 pits to map the complex interplay of 700-million-year-old schist, limestone, and ironstone soils. This led to the creation of “Polygons” – micro-parcels often smaller than 0.3 hectares, each harvested and fermented separately to express its specific geological fingerprint.

Certified organic and biodynamic, Alkina champions regenerative farming and minimal intervention. In the cellar, winemaking is transparent: wild yeasts, whole-bunch fermentation, and the use of concrete tulips, eggs, and amphorae prioritize texture and site-expression over oak influence. The resulting wines, primarily from Grenache, Shiraz, and Mataro, are a revelation, offering a vibrant, ethereal, and structural elegance that redefines the modern Barossa Valley identity. I recently tasted the new release Polygon 3 cuvee in the UK and was suitably impressed. I look forward to tasting their Polygon 5 cuvee as well in due course.

Alkina Polygon No.3 Grenache 2023, Barossa Valley, 14% Abv.

The clarity and crystallinity of the colour is only equalled by the cool purity of the wine’s aromatics that are initially quite restrained and reserved, elegant yet classically restrained, but slowly offering up notes of perfumed violets, fresh orange peel and crushed cranberries over a definite dusty, granitic mineral limestone undertone. Cool, bright and texturally super precise in the mouth, the acids are delicately pithy and slightly rasping without being too tart, merely helping to accentuate the chalky minerality of the limestone tannins. Fabulously tightknit, seamless, and expertly polished, this is one of the prettiest Grenaches I have tasted in a long time. Drink 2026 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)