Good Pair Days - Ben Haines 'Amber' 2021

Ben Haines is a winemaking superstar - formerly head winemaker of iconic estate Mt Langi Ghiran in the Grampians in Victoria, and time at esteemed winery Mitchelton (amongst others) prior to that. These days all of his considerable energy is channelled into his own wines... and what wines they are.

With each new release the quality seems to go up - Ben is always learning and improving. He's got a sweet touch with all the wines he makes - they're always beautifully balanced, with fruit to the fore but a really savoury undercurrent. The harmony between the fruit, the oak and the expression of the soil is really special.

Recently the wines have really gone to another level - more nuance, more character and greater depths. Exploration is the thread that ties the Ben Haines winemaking together. Ben admits to being naturally curious - pushing boundaries and making better wines. And he is delivering on that in a big way.

Ben Haines has been experimenting with layering small amounts of skin contact into a few of his wines lately, but this goes the whole hog - everything is naturally fermented on the grape skins to impart extra weight and texture. It's still light bodied. though, just with extra grip. Flavours of barely ripe orchard fruits, savoury spices and a hint of ginger. Excellent.