Unico Zelo
— Portfolio —
PET NAT SEA FOAM 2022
Bottle Shot
2022 release of the Sea Foam is a 100% Vermentino sourced from Ricca Terra Farms in the Riverlands. Picked early to retain acidity for the Pet Nat.
After picking the grapes are destemmed then left for just a few hours on skins, before crushing and pressing. Not racked at all before the primary ferment. Primary ferment in tank to dryness, then racked off the lees. Then they add unfermented Vermentino juice back in from the original crush and bottle for secondary ferment which takes approximately 4 weeks. Unfined + Unfiltered. Vegan.
Add to this Grenache from the Riverland, a vineyard and variety they always wanted to use specifically for this wine, knowing it’s a classical base for some of the best expressions of dry Rose. Similarly to the Sangiovese the Grenache is picked earlier to retain acidity. Laura highlighted that Grenache can lose a little of it’s natural aromatics when you do this hence the decision to blend with the Sangiovese. Smart cookie that one.
All fermented separately. Picked and pressed specifically for Rose. Crushed, left in the press for 60 to 90 minutes then pressed off, fermented in tank. Very light press, virtually free run then settled in tank, racked and lightly filtered before bottling.
35% Sangiovese (Polish Hill River), 35% Grenache (Riverland), 35% Dolcetto (Polish Hill River)
JADE + JASPER FIANO 2023
Bottle Shot
Unico Zelo have championed this variety from the very outset by showcasing what this varietal can do in an ever-warming climate, retaining acidity in desert like conditions, dry grown throughout the growing season. Surely a grape for the future of the Australian wine industry. Those who know this producer well will know they produce more expressions of Fiano than anyone else from single vineyard/region expressions and even their off dry Panda Panda label. Passionate about Fiano for sure but Jade and Jasper was where it all began.
100% Fiano. Bunches are de-stemmed then left on skins for 24 hours. Pressed off, racked to fine lees, wild fermented in tank. Lees stirring for 12 weeks. No malolactic. Light filtering prior to bottling. Sourced from Waikerie and Barmera, sub regions of the Riverland from sandy soils. Fiano’s ancestral home is Avellino in Campagnia and as Brendan mentions Fiano is often referred to there as the ‘Riesling of the South’. Jade & Jasper isn’t a copycat of that style but definitley takes inspiration, their own style suited to the Australian culture of enjoying wine pre, during and post dinner.
“The Alpha & Omega of Unico Zelo. When discovering the ability of Fiano’s incredible to be dry grown in the Riverland, a bonafide desert, it set us on the path that we were set to follow. It also certainly helps that the wine produced from it is nothing short of a delight. Elegant whiffs of jasmine and white peach blossoms, racy and crackling acidity with distinct Fiano texture. One of those white wines that can suit almost any situation calling for a good glass – it’s destined for the lunch table” – Unico Zelo
2022 release is a blend of 50% Zibibbo (Riverland) with a blend of Gewürztraminer (Polish Hill River), Moscato Giallo and a small parcel of Greco di Tufo from vineyards in the Riverland and Polish Hill River.
What is Esoterico? A wonderfully delicious and genuinely affordable ‘dip your toe in Orange’ wine from Unico Zelo. A Zibibbo blend fermented on skins for 14 days. Half of the wine is left in tank whilst the second half is patiently left to age in a 3500 litre foudre for 10 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
This wine never fails to take me back to when I first met Brendan & Laura and they outlined their passionate mission to try and support a grower so he wouldn’t pull out his incredible old bush vine Zibibbo planted in the Riverland who just wasn’t getting any love for his grapes except for cask wine production. They saw first hand the quality of the fruit and set out to try and find a way to buy all the fruit from his vineyard, not just to save the vines but to find a way to pay him a far better price for his grapes. After a making/bottling these grapes in various guises Unico Zelo created Esoterico, a skin contact expression of the fruit from this vineyard and it has been a tremendous success. 7-21 days on skins (variety dependent) maturation in stainless & foudre for 12 months on fine lees, before racking to stainless for further maturation prior to bottling.
TERRA COTTA GRECO 2023
Bottle Shot
For those who have enjoyed Unico’s ‘dip a toe’ Orange wine Esoterico this is certainly more of a ‘graceful cannonball in the deep end’ style of orange/skin contact wine. Unashamably orange in all it’s glory. In fact recently someone asked me “have you got anything more Orangey from Unico?” Step up Terra Cotta Greco.
Fermented on skins until dry (14 days) in a blend of Amphora & Stainless steel. Racked off lees and matured in stainless steel for 9 months.
“Named Terra Cotta for the colour of the dirt that it’s grown in, but now we’ve experimented with fermentation in our Amphora. Phenolics and acidity are Greco’s two claims to fame, and when made with extended skin contact, can take a variety that’s primarily used for blending in Campagnia and transform it into a compelling and complex wine. The tannin profile here is sublime – a firm, silty frame for the wine. Flavour wise it’s all mango, papaya, blood orange – a litany of tropical fruits. Banging stuff” – Unico Zelo
RIVER SAND FIANO 2022
Bottle Shot
Zero meters above sea level in what effectively is a ‘desert’. Very sandy soils. Sourced from a certified Organic vineyard called Bassham in Barmera in the Riverland. A moderate level of ripeness coupled with a moderate to low level of acidity. “Broad and voluptuous without being overly heady, aromatic or intense” as Brendan describes. Perhaps the most accessible style of the 3 single region Fiano’s.
48 hours of skin contact in the crusher after picking. Pressed then wild fermented in tank. racked off gross lees post ferment. 9 months elevage on fine lees. Occasional battonage during ageing. The 2022 looks a little fresher than the 2021, with lots of green almonds along with the typical tropical and waxy notes.
“The 2022 River Sand Fiano smells of floss and peach skin, nashi pear and Granny Smith apples, lanolin, cheesecloth and brine. In the mouth, the wine is all of these things, plus green olive brine, fresh bandage, calamine and jasmine tea leaves. It’s a weird note, but this is a wine that demands extra thought and observation for all its characters. 12% alcohol, sealed under Diam.” – Erin Larkin – The Wine Advocate
ALLUVIUM FIANO 2022
Bottle Shot
This wine is most definitely the most ‘classic’ Fiano in style. What I mean by that is the Italian’s sometimes refer to Fiano as ’the Riesling of the South’. Lean, mineral with tension sums up this wine best. When young it’s most definitely a food style light mineral white wine, think Chablis for example.
Unico have also started aging this wine another 9 months in bottle post the 9 months elevage on lees in tank and it’s really helped allow this tighter expression of Fiano to shine on release.
Sourced from their grafted vineyard in Birdwood in the Northern Adelaide Hills. Vineyard was grated over to Fiano in 2015. This vineyard is the highest in altitude of the 3 Fiano bottlings and the coolest of all three, 500 meters above sea level, planted in Alluvial Quarts-Shot Clay soil. Brendan highlights the slow ripening of this site due to the consistent cooler temperatures throughout the growing season. Slow rate to achieve phenolic ripeness and sugars.
24 hours of skin contact in the crusher after picking. Pressed then wild fermented in tank. racked off gross lees post ferment. 9 months elevage on fine lees. Occasional battonage during ageing. 9 months in bottle.
SLATE FARM FIANO 2023
Bottle Shot
Always the most aromatically inticing wine, a real extravert as soon as it’s released. From the Hill River vineyard, 300 metres above sea level, Continental climate, Ironstone schist clay over the typical slate of the Clare. Higher UV index + hot summers means more ripeness than the Riverland, bordering on tropical aromas however the diurnal temperature switch that is classic Clare Valley (meaning the night’s are cold vs the hot days) means a lot of acid is retained. Loud, delicious tropical tones balanced with that tight acid.
Sadly it’s from a very small portion of plantings of Fiano in the region along with lower yields than the other sites hence we can never have enough to meet the demand in trade.
24 hours of skin contact in the crusher after picking. Pressed then wild fermented in tank. racked off gross lees post ferment. 9 months elevage on fine lees.
BIRDWOOD FIANO 2023
The inauragal release of a wine that has been in the design since Unico Zelo first put down roots in Gumeracha in the Northern section of the Adelaide Hills. Put roots down is a perfect adidage as they grafted over to Fiano in the neighbouring village of Birdwood in 2015. Their dream to produce the best Fiano possible. The site is 400 meters above sea level, East facing, Alluvial Quartz-Shot Clay over Limestone.
Destemmed, left on skins overnight, pressed into stainless steel to complete ferment, racked and then split between two new French 500L puncheons (Saury) and stainless steel, where it rested on fine lees for 12 months. Racked, and blended and then into stainless steel for a further 9 months rest.
Final blend is 40% oaked fiano to 60% stainless steel.
POLLEN GEWURTZTRAMINER 2023
Bottle Shot
From Red clay shale over blue slate soils in the Clare Valley. You’d be forgiven for not knowing the origins of Gewürztraminer; a German name, mostly grown in the Alsace, but it’s believed home is the town of Tramin, in the Northern Italian region of Alto-Adige (which has strong historical German ties and it is the most spoken language). We’re always fond of Northern Italian varieties, and Gewürz is no exception. We’ve been working with this plot in Polish Hill River, Clare Valley since 2020 – most notably in Esoterico – and it is a remarkable mirrored climate to its home. Similar rainfall, 600mm annually, altitude, 520m above sea level, distance from the ocean, give or take around 30kms, growing season temps. It’s right in our breadbasket.
“Does exactly what it says on the tin”, Unico’s Fresh as Fresh 😉 is predominently Nero d’Avola co-fermented with Zibibbo.
This 2023 release is predominently Nero d’Avola co-fermented a soupcon of Zibbibo both sourced from the Riverland, add to that some Nero d’Avola from Adelaide Hills. The Nero is 100% handpicked, important to note here that machine harvesting Nero is fraught with issues due to the large canopy/foilage Nero produces during the growing season, so hand picking is a necessity. Zibbibo comes from the wondrous old bush vines, 75 to 80 years old which they also use as the base for the Orange wine Esoterico.
Both Nero and Zibbibo varieties are picked on the same day. Destemmed, crushed, and co-fermented. Pressed off to tank to go through malolactic, then racked off gross lees to bottle. Blended with the Adelaide Hill’s component which also sees no oak. Light filtration. Vegan.
Fresh A.F, made from predominantly Nero d’Avola is Unico Zelo’s favourite red grape. Nero is a variety which thrives in the warmer climate of Australia, in particular the Riverland. It’s sustainability in drought conditions is a major factor in Unico’s passion to showcase this variety, alongside the fact that it helps them create a style of red they love – a deliciously bright, aromatic and fresh red wine without the need for acidification.
Brendan’s insight into Nero d’Avola is frankly always inspiring. As I understand from talks we have had over the years Nero d’Avola is a Isohydric plant. This is not the case for varieties such as Shiraz, widely planted in Australia. An Isohydric behaves by effectively shutting off the ‘valves’ to its leaves during periods of high stress/temperature, thus preventing the vine from dehydration. You can see why it’s perfect for both the sun-soaked slopes of Sicily and the warmer climates of Australia. It protects itself, thus meaning less water usage required.
“We’re intensely passionate about Nero d’Avola and it’s clear potential in the warm, sun-drenched spots of Australia. The insane water-efficiency of this variety coupled with no additions in the vineyard or winery (save for a small component of SO2 at bottling) displays the potential for this variety to craft succulent, juicy, aromatic, and supremely refreshing wine. A touch of ancient vine Zibibbo lifts the aroma into supreme smashability. Fresh. A.F. You’ve been warned” – Unico Zelo
TRUFFLE HOUND BARBERA BLEND 2022
Bottle Shot
The name of this wine hails back to fond memories for Brendan whist working in Barolo in 2014. As the vintage wore on and the Truffle season in Piedmont began he frequently witnessed the local Truffle hunters visiting the winery prior to their searches, enjoying a glass (or a few :)) with the owner of the Domaine of what was raw, freshly fermented Nebbiolo from the tank, something so alien at the time that you would drink this variety for enjoyment so young. Inspired by this Unico Zelo launched a Nebbiolo Nouvo style in 2015 and have continued this into what its now the Truffle Hound blend, a red created for consumption in it’s youth, full of florals and frankly just deliciousness in keeping with the original inspiration behind the wine.
This year it’s a blend of Nebbiolo (florals, tannin, savoury touch), Barbera (aromatics, fruit balance, ripeness) and Sangiovese (florals, cherry, redcurrant) all from the same vineyard in Polish Hill River. Harvested at the same, all handpicked. The Nebbiolo and Barbera are co-fermented, and the Sangiovese component is blended in post fermentation. No oak used for the elevage. Light filtration before bottling. Vegan.
JUNGLE JUNGLE DOLCETTO 2022
Bottle Shot
Named as such due to the fact that every year Unico Zelo donate 1% of revenue from the sales of the wine to deforestation projects around the world.
The Jungle Jungle is 100% Dolcetto all from the Polish Hill River sub region in the Clare Valley. Brendan and Laura were introduced to this vineyard early on in the Unico Zelo journey.
It’s in fact a former Penfolds trial vineyard, planted and owned by Southcorp in the mid 1990’s. The goals at that time were finding sites for the planned ‘white Grange’ which involved planting Chardonnay in various terriors plus a chance to look at ‘very alternate varietals’, I use the word ‘very’ considering it was the end of the 1990’s and varieties such as Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Barbera and Tempranillo were hardly mainstream on the shelves of Australian bottle shops and wine lists. This vineyard was a true trial, with each row being planted specifically to produce approximately 500kg of grapes, both North and South facing plantings and lots of clonal varietal. A playground of expressions, you can see why the Carters jumped at the chance to source fruit from here.
In the Mid 2000’s Penfolds sold the site to an independent grower and in 2015 he planted Sangiovese & Fiano which Unico Zelo also purchase for Rose, Truffle Hound and Slate Farm Fiano.
Final blend – 100% Dolcetto. Handpicked from vines planted in 1998 which have been dry grown, very low yields. Crushed, fermented in tank, pressed off then back to tank for the short elevage. Light filtration. Vegan.
Tourigal Nacional – Langhorne Creek
Grenache – Riverland
True Blue 2021 is the first Unico Zelo in the Rip-Tear-Share range that sit’s apart in terms of it’s varietal composition, in this case an Iberian blend. In keeping with Brendan and Laura’s appetite for progression and experimentation they wanted to be able to offer a new wine that carried a little more fruit weight and density than the Italian varietals offer, plus of course simply have fun exploring new varieties and terrior.
The blend comprises of some superb 60 year old bush vines Grenache from the Riverland, planted on sandy soils, giving a wine light in colour, fruit forward and aromatic. Add to this Touriga Nacional from Langhorne Creek, a new varietal and new wine region to the Unico Zelo stable. Sourced from 15 years old vines Laura highlights that the Tourigal can be very floral (violets) alongside dark colour and dark fruit tones adding fruit weight to the blend.
Wild fermented separately, then blended post ferment. Tourigal goes in to old Foudre for aging. Light filtration before bottling. Vegan.
MALLEE GAMBIT NERO 2022
Bottle Shot
Clare Valley seemingly with Fiano and Nero is all about extremes. Hot weather, big diurnal temperature switches from day to night creating fruit yet retaining acid all at the same time. This vineyard was grafted over to Nero in 2017.
But as is so often with wine when you think you have nailed the ‘climate/terrrior should = said outcome’ it turns around and offers you something completely different. Where the Fiano from Clare is bordering on tropical in aromatics the Nero seems to soak up the sun and ask for more, retaining herbal and savoury notes, a tip of the hat to it’s origins in Sicily.
The nose explodes with pomegranate, strawberries, cherries and red apple along with herbal notes of shiso leaf and lemon myrtle. These carry to the palate along with more savoury notes of black olive, bask and tea delivering a balanced coplex expression of Nero.
Hand picked + wild fermented. The berries are destemmed very gently to keep as many whole berries as possible. All Nero’s spend 7 days on skins during fermentation then pressed off to barrel. Elevage in 2nd year fill oak puncheons and foudre.
PIPE DREAM NERO 2021
Bottle Shot
Sourced from the Birdwood vineyard in Northern Adelaide Hills. 500 meters above sea level, planted in Alluvial Quarts-Shot Clay. Grafted over to Nero d’Avola in 2015. Typically as with the Fiano it’s the slowest ripening of the 3 regional bottlings. Pipe Dream regardless of the vintage for me always smells like Black Cherry yoghurt, memories of growing up and fighting over the Ski yoghurt four pack, black cherry always the most sought after flavour between my brother and I.
The darkest, fruit forward and overt Nero of the single vineyard range.
Hand picked + wild fermented. All Nero’s spend 7 days on skins during fermentation, pressed off to barrel. Elevage in 2nd year fill oak barrel and foudre.
HALCYON DAYS NERO 2021
Bottle Shot