2025 Vanguardist V Cinsault

95 pts
A light and juicy McLaren Vale Cinsault with a fragrant, refreshing red fruit profile.

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Sale price$54.00
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Description

Extremely limited - Only available in the Vangaurdist pack.

Vanguardist’s obsession with Rhône varieties has finally led Michael Corbett to Cinsault. After a one-off collab with Brash Higgins in 2023, Michael decided to make it a permanent fixture in the lineup. Sourced from the Lennon vineyard, these vines sit on heavy mottled clays near the ocean - soils that tend to give this usually "light" grape a bit more depth and density than you'd expect.

The 2025 season was the driest in over twenty years, resulting in a wine with serious intensity and a low 12.1% alcohol. Michael spent years working with this variety in the south of France, and that experience shows in the cellar. He used a third whole bunches and a long, six-week gentle ferment before ageing the wine in large 600L demi-muids.

When we tasted this with Michael, we were struck by how much character he's squeezed out of a relatively young vineyard. It’s got that signature Cinsault perfume - bright red berries and florals - but it’s backed by a savoury, earthy richness from those clay soils. It’s light-footed and incredibly fresh, but it has a "serious" edge that sets it apart from more simple, smashable versions.

95 points
"Strawberry and raspberry with a kiss of sweetness, plenty of exotic spice, souk-y even, peanut shells, almond, lively perfume... So delicious. Such joy. Brings a huge smile to the face. I’m all about this style of wine."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points
"This is another new wine in the V range... It’s diaphanous, a veil of dried fruit and spice, dry toned yet lissom, and very good. Australian cinsault is having something of a moment, and this is one of the finest examples."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Light Bodied
Variety Cinsault
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Feature High Score
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure DIAM Cork

Vanguardist

Vanguardist is an up and coming producer from McLaren Vale started by three friends after many long nights in Hawkes Bay talking about their shared love of wine.

Their mission is to bring premium, authentic, small-batch wines to a market they see as crowded by "overly commercialised wines produced by corporates who take up all the elbow room."

They source very high-quality fruit from great vineyards across South Australia, looking to build wines with texture and vibrancy.

With experienced winemaker Michael Corbett at the helm, the future looks bright for this plucky challenger brand.

Winemaker Michael Corbett Vanguardist

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