Australia · Barossa Valley

Spinifex Wines

Barossa and Eden Valley wines shaped by old vines, southern-French varieties and contrasting vineyard sites.

The producer

Spinifex Wines was founded in 2001 by Peter Schell and Magali Gely at Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley. It began with old-vine Mataro planted in the deep white drift-sand of the Western Ridge, then widened its palette through Grenache, Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise from Barossa and Eden Valley sites.

Rostein Vineyard, bought in Eden Valley in 2014, brings elevated ground and cool nights; Dominion, acquired on the Barossa floor in 2018, holds century-old Grenache and Shiraz. In the 2023 Esprit, Grenache forms 82% of the blend, with Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise adding lift and shape to a red built around fruit, acidity, tannin and finish.

Known for

Grenache-led blends and southern-French varieties from Barossa and Eden Valley vineyard contrasts.

Notable facts

The story

A name found at 2 a.m.

The Spinifex name was reportedly devised at 2 a.m. over red wine, with the reference being a New Zealand tumbleweed. Peter Schell and Magali Gely had come from New Zealand to Australia in the early 1990s to study oenology and marketing at Roseworthy College. When they established Spinifex in 2001 at Nuriootpa, the first fruit that set the project in motion was old-vine Mataro from deep white drift-sand on the Barossa Valley’s Western Ridge. The late-night name remained as the winery developed grower relationships across the Barossa and Eden Valleys, then bought Rostein Vineyard in 2014 and Dominion Vineyard in 2018.

From the atlas

Spinifex Wines

At A Glance

The Producer

Spinifex Wines was established in 2001 by Peter Schell and Magali Gely, with its winery in Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley. Their bottles draw on Barossa fruit and Eden Valley sites rather than treating South Australia as one uniform source: old-vine Mataro began the project, while Grenache, Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise now shape a broader southern-French grape palette. The result is a range built around blends, varieties and vineyard contrasts rather than a single regional recipe.

Place

Nuriootpa places the winery in the Barossa Valley, but Spinifex works across both Barossa and Eden Valley through long-standing grower relationships and its own vineyards. The difference matters in the glass because the two places offer different growing conditions. Dominion sits on the Barossa Valley floor, where century-old Grenache and Shiraz provide a deep-rooted estate source; Rostein, in Eden Valley, stands at elevation, with cool nights and a wider shift between daytime and night-time temperatures. Those sites allow warm-valley fruit and cooler-valley fruit to appear within the same producer’s range.

Soil And Site

The first fruit that set Spinifex in motion was old-vine Mataro from the Barossa Valley’s Western Ridge, planted in deep white drift-sand. That physical detail matters more than a generic Barossa label: Mataro was not simply bought as a variety, but came from a particular old-vine planting and soil setting. Later vineyard ownership expanded the site picture. Rostein brought an elevated Eden Valley holding in 2014; Dominion, bought in 2018, brought century-old Grenache and Shiraz from the Barossa floor. Each acquisition added named ground to a producer first built through grower fruit.

Story

Schell and Gely arrived from New Zealand in Australia in the early 1990s to study oenology and marketing at Roseworthy College. Spinifex followed in 2001, beginning with access to old-vine Mataro and then developing through relationships with growers in the Barossa and Eden Valleys. The important shift came through vineyard purchases: Rostein in 2014 and Dominion in 2018. The wines could then draw on both continuing grower connections and estate parcels, including cooler Eden Valley conditions and old Barossa Grenache and Shiraz.

Vineyards And Cellar

Spinifex’s vineyard work is organised around contrast rather than one grape or one district. Old-vine Mataro from drift-sand, century-old Grenache and Shiraz at Dominion, and the cooler nights at Rostein all provide distinct fruit sources before blending begins. That makes a grape blend more than a list on a label: Grenache, Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise can be assembled from a South Australian vineyard network shaped by warm Barossa ground and higher Eden Valley conditions.

The available vineyard facts support a clear consequence for the range. Dominion supplies established Barossa vines at the valley floor, while Rostein’s elevation brings cool nights and a greater day-to-night temperature range. In red wines, that site contrast helps explain why a producer can make Grenache- and Shiraz-based bottles without relying on one fixed weight, tannin level or fruit register across every label.

Wines

The range begins with Mataro’s place in the founding story, then opens into Grenache, Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise. These grapes make the southern-French thread visible in a Barossa and Eden Valley setting. The 2023 Esprit is the clearest named blend: 82% Grenache, 12% Shiraz, 3% Cinsault and 3% Counoise. Grenache supplies the bulk of the blend, while Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise make up the remaining 18%, so the label describes a Grenache-led red rather than a straight varietal wine.

Indigene and Lola show that Spinifex does not rely on one red-blend format. Their bottle notes describe distinct fruit, acidity, tannin, weight, texture and finish, which makes the range useful for comparing structure as well as grape names. Esprit is the blended red reference; Indigene and Lola extend the choice of fruit shape, palate weight and finish within the same Barossa–Eden Valley frame.

In The Glass

Across the documented wines, fruit is joined by acidity, tannin, weight, texture and finish rather than presented as aroma alone. Esprit’s 82% Grenache base places a warm-climate southern-French variety at the centre, with Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise adding supporting roles in the blend. The useful way to taste it is in sequence: fruit first, then the feel of the palate, then acidity and tannin, then the finish. That sequence makes the grape proportions more meaningful than reading them as numbers on a back label.

The contrast with Rostein and Dominion sits behind that tasting approach. Cool Eden Valley nights and the warmer Barossa-floor vineyard are different fruit environments, while old Grenache and Shiraz establish another layer of material at Dominion. The wines therefore invite attention to body, texture, grip and finish as well as fruit, especially when comparing a Grenache-led blend with other named bottles in the range.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the 2023 Spinifex Esprit. It is a red blend of 82% Grenache, 12% Shiraz, 3% Cinsault and 3% Counoise, so one bottle introduces the producer’s southern-French grape focus without leaving the Barossa setting behind. Its structure should be read through the blend: Grenache is the main fruit component, while Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise occupy smaller roles. Taste for fruit, acidity, tannin, texture and finish in that order, then compare it with Indigene or Lola to see how a different bottle changes the balance of weight and palate shape.

Anecdote

The Spinifex name was reportedly devised at 2 a.m. over red wine. The reference was not to an Australian vineyard or a local landmark, but to a New Zealand tumbleweed. Peter Schell and Magali Gely had come from New Zealand to Australia in the early 1990s, where they studied oenology and marketing at Roseworthy College before establishing Spinifex in 2001. The late-night name stayed with the winery as it grew from its first old-vine Mataro source on the Barossa Valley’s Western Ridge into a producer working with Barossa and Eden Valley growers, then with Rostein and Dominion as estate vineyards.

Final Word

Spinifex is most clearly understood through its vineyard contrasts: old-vine Mataro in white drift-sand, century-old Grenache and Shiraz on the Barossa floor, and cooler Eden Valley nights at Rostein. Esprit puts several of those grape ideas into one Grenache-led red, while the wider range offers further comparisons of fruit, acidity, tannin, weight, texture and finish.

Sources

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