BK WINES
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Before starting Juice Imports, I was fortunate enough to work with Brendon Keys’ (BK) wines at Vine Arts. Every year, the staff would wait with bated breath, impatiently anticipating the next vintage. When they finally arrived, the entire food and beverage industry would descend on our store in a flurry, and we’d promptly sell out. Improbably, the wines have continued to improve over the last seven years.
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Brendon found his way to the Adelaide hills from New Zealand via a winemaking stint in Argentina. Like most of our winemakers, he made a few extracurricular barrels of wine while working at someone else’s winery, spurring the transition to his own project. Surrounded by young and eager start-ups, the Adelaide Hills quickly became a centre for experimentation and cool climate viticulture. Tired of the boozy Shiraz wines that made Australia so popular to begin with, Brendon focused on freshness, tension, and nerve. He’s explored extended maceration, carbonic maceration, flor, oxidative ageing, unsung varieties, and every fermentation vessel known to man.
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Their bottlings are almost exclusively single-vineyard cuvées from small organic farms around the region. Where possible, he includes the subregion or town the wine comes from, illustrating the subtle nuances of terroir across an appellation that is anything but homogenous. His Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are arguably the focal points of the portfolio - always balancing raw crunchy fruit and savouriness in equal measure.
Whether he’s carving up the local bowl on a BK collaboration skateboard or DJing some wine-fuelled after-party (reggae 45s anyone?!), Brendon is dedicated to joy. Along with his wife Kirstyn, they’ve found their niche in the Adelaide Hills, surrounded chiefly by wildland and equally progressive vignerons. Eat Belle’s Hot Chicken and crush Pet-Nat!
MORE FROM AUSTRALIA: DORMILONA | GENTLEFOLK
GROWN AND MADE ON THE TRADITIONAL LANDS OF THE: PERAMANGK | KAURNA PANGKARRA
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $50.00 (BC)
CSPC: 789096 (AB), 785089 (BC)
2022 SKIN N BONES PINOT NOIR
Their entry level Pinot Noir is a blend from several vineyards around the Adelaide Hills. The goal was to capture the long and cool growing season, a rarity these days. The grapes were fermented as whole-clusters before being pressed off into a variety of vessels for a short élevage.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $50.00 (BC)
CSPC: 831273 (AB), 336407 (BC)
2022 OVUM GRUNER VELTLINER
This wine is an ode to Emmerich Knoll, the legendary godfather of Austrian Grüner Veltliner. 50% of the wine was fermented whole cluster, while the other 50% was direct pressed into neutral barrel. The two components then spend a year mingling in concrete egg on full lees before bottling.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $50.00 (BC)
CSPC: 780078 (AB), 263415 (BC)
2022 EGO IS THE ENEMY PINOT GRIS
After getting into a legal battle over the name of Brendan’s Pinot Gris, he opted to change the name and poke fun at the absurdity of trademarking wine terms. The grapes come from Lenswood Vineyard and are harvested a little later for maximum texture and ripeness. The wine is fermented in concrete egg before a brief élevage in the same vessel.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $50.00 (BC)
CSPC: 846171 (AB), 336517 (BC)
2022 CARTE BLANCHE WHITE
Every year, Brendon gives himself the creative freedom to compose a wine that’s less about terroir and more about the process. This year’s rendition is primarily Chardonnay from atypical single vineyard barrels. The remainder is Riesling, Pinot Gris, Grüner Veltliner, and some unrevealed secrets. Lees from other fermentations were also added, which promotes a rich texture. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), 50.00 (BC)
CSPC: 865951 (AB), 336616 (BC)
2022 CARTE BLANCHE RED
As with the Carte Blanche Brendon uses this cuvée as an opportunity to play with blending and new winemaking techniques. In this case, we have whole bunch Syrah fermented and aged on Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Pinot Gris lees. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB)
CSPC: 867000 (AB)
2022 RAMATO PINOT GRIS
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $42.00 (AB), $61.00 (BC)
CSPC: 837731 (AB), 263473 (BC)
2022 SWABY CHARDONNAY
The grapes for this project come from Bernie Swaby, a former head geologist at the University of South Australia. His high elevation site (650m) is planted on an east-facing slope comprised of sandstone and quartz in Piccadilly beneath Mount Lofty. The Chardonnay (primarily I10V1 with a small amount of Bernard) was direct pressed into French oak barrique, a quarter of which were new. After an eight-month élevage with judicious bâtonnage, the wine is racked and bottled.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $61.00 (BC)
CSPC: 336410 (BC)
2022 GOWER PINOT GRIS
BC Only! Kristy and Brendon have started managing this site in Lenswood so Anne & Jeff can enjoy their retirement – farming in your eighties is no easy task. The twenty-five-year-old vines are planted on a steep east-facing slope on sandstone and clay. Pinot Noir (777, 114, 115) was fermented whole-cluster in open-top tanks. After élevage in 30% new oak, the clones are racked and blended.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $33.00 (AB), $47.00 (BC)
CSPC: 785088 (AB), 202760 (BC)
2023 CHARDONNAY PET-NAT
This cuvée is made from Chardonnay grown in the Basket Range. Whole-clusters were direct pressed into concrete tank for fermentation. When the wine was all but dry, it was racked and bottled to finish fermentation under crown-cap. It was released with small quantities of delicious lees still in bottle.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $33.00 (AB), $47.00 (BC)
CSPC: 837730 (AB), 302164 (BC)
2023 PINOT NOIR PET NAT
This wine is made from Pinot Noir grown in Lenswood. The grapes were direct pressed into concrete for fermentation. When the wine was all but dry, it was racked and bottled to finish fermentation under crown-cap. It was released with small quantities of delicious lees still in bottle.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $47.00 (BC)
CSPC: 875722 (AB), 237865 (BC)
2023 SAIGNÉE PINOT NOIR
BK has slowly moved away from a direct pressed, Provençale style rosé, and towards a more toothsome Tavel style. The Pinot Noir for this project comes from Lenswood Vineyard. After a day or two of maceration the must is pressed off into neutral barrel for fermentation and élevage. It is more vinous as they harvested the grapes at proper red wine maturity. 12.5% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB), $47.00 (BC)
CSPC: 896945 (AB), 307590 (BC)
2023 GRENACHE NOUVEAU
The Grenache for this project comes from an organic vineyard in Blewitt Springs. The bush-vines go without irrigation. The whole clusters spend three days on skins before the must is gently bled off for fermentation. After a short élevage the wine is bottled with minimal SO2.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $92.00 (AB), $126.00 (AB)
CSPC: 865597 (AB), 307339 (BC)
2021 REMY PINOT NOIR
Their top cuvée is always a single barrel selection made as an ode to their son. The grapes come from Kirsty and Brendon’s Gower Vineyard in Lenswood. The twenty-five-year-old vines are planted on a steep east-facing slope on sandstone and clay. Pinot Noir (777, 114, 115) was fermented whole-cluster in open-top tanks for a month. After a fifteen-month élevage in new oak the wine is racked and bottled. Only 25 cases were produced.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $92.00 (AB), $126.00 (AB)
CSPC: 865956 (AB), 237862 (BC)
2021 ARCHER BEAU CHARDONNAY
Their top cuvée is always a single barrel selection made as an ode to their son. The grapes for this project come from Bernie Swaby, a former head geologist at the University of South Australia. His high elevation site (650m) is planted on an east-facing slope comprised of sandstone and quartz in Piccadilly beneath Mount Lofty. The Chardonnay (primarily I10V1 with a small amount of Bernard) was direct pressed into a new French oak barrique. After a fifteen-month élevage with judicious bâtonnage, the wine is racked and bottled. Only 25 cases were produced.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 (AB)
CSPC: 837790 (AB)