Vine Guide: Basket Range edition
Great wine doesn’t always conform to the norm. Take a trip to Australia’s home of natty wines, where creativity and quality reign.
South Australia’s Basket Range may not technically be a region – it’s a little pocket of the Adelaide Hills – but you’d never know that for all the buzz it’s had over the years. As one of the most influential places on the national wine scene, Basket Range is considered the home of Australian natural wine. Over the past 15-ish years, a growing band of savvy local producers have put these leftfield wine styles – and Basket Range – on the map.
While it’s just one of many places making lo-fi wines in Australia, this tiny enclave of the cool-climate Adelaide Hills, on Peramangk Country, is known as the epicentre of these different styles. Thanks to some forward-thinking like-minded producers, a raft of wines showing a definitive twist first emerged from Basket Range at a time when Aussies were ready to embrace something new. These were wines made from sustainably farmed grapes, with as few additions as possible, often without any filtering, and commonly incorporating more skin contact than we’d seen before. Funky, experimental, thought-provoking styles that were unlike our traditional wines.
Today, Basket Range producers still largely follow minimal-intervention approaches, but after years of refining their techniques and better understanding the sites they work with, these wines have continued to evolve. These days, not every Basket Range wine is as easily identifiable as “natural”, but you can absolutely expect delicious expressions that all reflect their distinctive sites and makers.
- The Basket Range is just a 20-minute drive from Adelaide, encircled by a collection of hills.
- Many Basket Range producers source grapes from elsewhere, but some key grape varieties grown here include chardonnay, gamay, shiraz, pinot noir and gewurztraminer.
- The Basket Range’s early pioneers, who banded together as the influential Natural Selection Theory, include Anton von Klopper of Lucy Margaux, the late Taras Ochota of Ochota Barrels, James Erskine of Jauma Wines, Tom Shobbrook of Shobbrook Wines and the late Sam Hughes of Dandy in the Clos.
Despite the shared philosophies among these producers, the wines made here are all incredibly different – much like any region with a community of diverse growers and makers. Spanning bright and cloudy whites to structured and juicy reds and pretty much everything else in between (piquette, perhaps?), the Basket Range turns out an incredible choice of must-try styles.
This is thanks in part to the experimental approach that has defined these wines, as well as the fact many local producers have long sourced fruit from other places, with the focus on sustainably farmed fruit. With the Adelaide Hills renowned for its chardonnay and pinot noir, it’s no surprise these varieties are well represented in the collections of Basket Range wineries. Grenache also has a solid foothold, with nearby regions being benchmarks for the variety, including McLaren Vale. Sparkling wines are also among the regional stars, as well as skinsy takes on pinot gris, experimental blends, elegant shiraz styles, bright pet nats and more.
Top producers have long been drawn to Basket Range and are known for their collaboration and sharing of ideas. While newer wineries have turned up in recent times, the OG heroes remain (including the brilliant Ochota Barrels, where Taras’s wife Amber has taken the reins), and their wines are only getting better.
One such winery is BK Wines, which Brendan and Kirstyn Keys established back in 2007. After time spent working in wine in the US, New Zealand and Argentina (as well as some very cool career detours along the way), they were drawn to the Adelaide Hills and set up camp in Basket Range. Their focus has always been on crafting premium wines that push the envelope and are artistic expressions, but that also offer delicious drinking. As just two standout examples, the Skin n’ Bones White is a textural white blend with a lovely acidity and chalky tannins, while the Spring Hill McLaren Vale MSG is a complex blend showcasing fruit from McLaren Vale’s Blewitt Springs.
As a place that burst onto the scene as something of an upstart, with producers consciously pushing the boundaries of what wine could be, it’s safe to say this same spirit still thrives. But in the years since they first caught people’s attention, there’s also been a maturing of sorts – from the producers in terms of their knowledge and skills, as well as in the vines. As a result, Basket Range wines remain true benchmarks in the lo-fi wine scene, as well as being simply outstanding wines.
More top producers continue to emerge from here, so we can expect plenty more still to come. Labels like Gentle Folk lead the way, with Gareth and Rainbo Belton behind this winery. Both marine scientists by trade, the duo now grows fruit here and quickly gained a loyal following for their diverse releases, which straddle the experimental and traditional wine worlds in the best possible way.
Mordrelle is another label making waves; Argentinian Martin Moran (pictured) established this winery with his Australian wife Michelle and her family in 2010. While based in Hahndorf, just 20 minutes away from Basket Range, Mordrelle is an excellent example of minimal-intervention winemaking. Sparkling wines are a focus here, but they’re far from the only offering. Think chardonnay and sauvignon blanc – two key Adelaide Hills flagships – alongside pinot, cabernet, tempranillo and more, all with striking labels featuring artwork by Martin’s father.
At Basket Range Wine, it’s a family affair, with Phillip and Mary Broderick first planting vines here in 1980 and making wine soon after, and their sons Louis and Sholto have since joined the operation. Today, the family grows a wide range of grapes, including the native Georgian variety saperavi, and Phillip and Mary continue to make more traditional styles, while the boys produce some highlight lo-fi wines that are well worth seeking out.
