PAX ÆTERNA* Single Vineyard Barossa Old Vine Grenache 2025
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In early Spring, Huon, Dan & Theo tasted through the 2025 Grenache batches, barrel by barrel, and there was a complete agreement on the 2025 vintage wines being absolutely spectacular across the board! The Schild Vineyard batch that goes to Pax Aeterna was a shining highlight again with the now 93 year old vines delivering a wine of bright-fruited intensity and concentrated lip-smacking flavour.
Whole-bunch (34%) vibes emanate throughout, poised like a raspberry packed jack-in-a-box that has a sprinkling of dried cranberry thrown over the top before jamming the lid shut. On the palate, it's complex, breezy and lively, with bright red fruits and lip-smacking fine tannins that leave you wanting more.
Pax is more than an iconic Grenache, it’s also our original chillable red - for years top somms around have been telling us that customers love it when they serve it chilled! Pax is the type of wine you can pair with all manner of delicacies like roast duck or chicken terrine, or keep it simple - pop it in the esky on the way to a pool party with wood-fire pizza.
With only 493 doz made, this wine sells out without fail.
Winemakers: Daniel Chaffey Hartwig, Theo Engela + Huon Fechner2025
92pts "Old-vine grenache off Kevin Schild's vineyard in Vine Vale; 34% whole bunches. Mid-ruby with aromas of red plum, raspberry and cranberry fruits cut with hints of exotic spice, ginger cake, Campari, dried citrus rind, wildflowers and an expression of orange oil. Plenty of space and delicious red and dark fruits on the palate. This makes for spicy, fresh drinking" - Dave Brookes, James Halliday Wine Companion
90/100 "Dark fruited aromas of dark cherry, plum, Asian spice, bramble and anise. Juicy, plush and with plenty of grip and shape. Generously flavoured, long and youthful" - Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
2024
92pts "Grapes sourced from the 90-year-old grenache vines from Kevin Schild's vineyard in Vine Vale. Super crunchy and high-toned in the glass with characters of raspberry, juicy plum and cranberry fruits cut with exotic ginger spice, amaro herbs, dried citrus rind, gingerbread, cola and earth. Light on its feet with a minerally cadence, some light meaty tones on the palate, silty tannins and a whole lot of drinking enjoyment" - Dave Brookes, James Halliday Wine Companion
92pts "Old vine Barossa Grenache is surely one of the most exciting wines on the planet at the moment. This is done in what might be seen as a Nouveau style, with around 35% whole bunches in use. The grapes come from Vine Vale in the northern Barossa, from 90-year-old vines. The name means eternal peace or its equivalent (and good luck with that), from John 14:27. A pale strawberry / garnet hue, there are strawberry notes on the nose with dry herbs, florals, bergamot, orange rind and a hint of peppermint. A lovely, lingering finish with fine acidity and a good, gentle tannin balance. A focused style which will offer pleasure today and for the next four to six years. Lots to like here" - SA Wine Guide
91pts "Bright ruby colour. Raspberry and red peppercorn aromatics. Juicy and fresh red berry fruit on entry, paprika and sumac spices with a hint of dusty earth adding interest. Good length and finishes with a stylish flush of powdery tannins" - Stuart Knox, The Real Review
2023
92pts "Old-vine grenache off Kevin Schild's vineyard in Vine Vale; 30% whole bunches. A light ruby colour and fragrant aromas of raspberry, red plum and cranberry fruits dabbed with exotic ginger spice, light amaro tones, dried citrus rind and pressed flowers. Airy and spacious with a meaty, savoury flow across the tongue, light chalky tannins tugging at the roof of the mouth and a lively, lacy line of acidity" - Dave Brookes, James Halliday Wine Companion
90pts "Notes of rosemary mix with rose and raspberry on the pretty nose. The palate offers depth yet its texture is airy and the tannins glide across. It's a delicious young grenache that favours elegance over brawn" - Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review
2022
92pts "A floral nose of rose hip, sliced strawberries and pitted red cherries. Full-bodied with silky tannins. Juicy and fresh with the floral character continuing onto the palate, accompanied by some attractive leafy undertones" - James Suckling Review
2021
92pts "This release is fresh, delicate, laced with dry spice and tannin, juicy with fruit, and high in drinkability. It feels authentic because it is. Raspberry characters with a glow to them. Earth notes inlaid. Everything on firm/sure tippy toes, ballerina-like, elevated and exact. There’s texture here too, warm texture, silk fresh from the ironing board, treated right. A lovely drink, it is." - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
91pts "Velvety layers of deep raspberry and pomegranate fruit with rose petal heart, sage leaf, green peppercorn and a wink of a dark savoury edge. Fine and precise, balanced finish with brightness and clarity. Nothing too complex, this is a juicy, joyous and easily consumed wine!" - Regan Drew, Vinonotebook
2020
91pts "A bold, rich, raspberry-fruited style that has round and easygoing, fleshy texture. The palate has generous raspberries and red plums. Approachable and easygoing." - James Suckling Review
2019
92pts "Bright raspberries and some florals here with a fresh, intense impression on the nose, leading to a ripe, supple palate that has plenty of ripe, smooth, raspberry and red-plum flavor. Fresh, flavorful and fun style." - James Suckling Review
90pts "Old vine grenache. 27% whole bunches. Fresh and free-flowing. Emphasis on raspberry/redcurrant flavour with earthen spice and clove whispered through. Light on its feet. Delicious to drink." - The Wine Front
91pts "Medium to light purple/red colour, with a youthful, slightly sweaty and somewhat raw strawberry, raspberry aroma. The wine is medium-bodied and easy on the palate, rich and gentle and finishing with some firmness. A very pleasant wine for what it is: a lighter-weighted, balanced, fruit-forward red for earlier drinking. The light colour is deceptive. There's a hint of carbonic maceration and this confers a passing resemblance to Beaujolais. Delicious. (27% whole-bunch fermented)" - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
2018
92pts "I *think* this is the Pax Aeterna, but never saw the bottle. Is listed as straight Grenache, so it's likely. Light and fresh, strawberry, floral, spicy, slightly smoky and reductive. Fine and red fruited, soft but balanced acidity, tastes (and feels) like whole bunch spice here, with subtle stickiness, light emery tannin, and a savory finish, which is tasty, though not especially long. Stylish." - Gary Walsh, Wine Front
2017
90/100 "83yo vines from the Kevin Schild Vineyard at Light Pass, fermented with 33% whole bunches. Light and bright to the point of rose; strawberry/raspberry/red cherry flavours and the barest hint of tannins. I suspect it didn't meet up with any form of oak during its vinification." - James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
92pts "Perfumed and pretty to kick off - then the meat on bones. It's a plush grenache, a little more meat on bones, but has a savoury lick and a freshness underlying that assists drinkability. Feels like quality from the get go. Great drink" - Mike Bennie, WBM
92pts "Grown by Kevin Schild at Light Pass in the northern Barossa. 33% whole bunches. Unfined and unfiltered. Cloudy in a good way. Freeflowing and tense at once. An unfettered wine, free in its expression, ripped with spice and cranberry, anise and general woody spices. There’s a gentle twigginess here but it washes straight through. Energy. Crunch. Almost crisp. The red wine equivalent of frost. Have to admire it." - Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front
Bronze Medal "'I like this' said team leader Jan Konetzki: 'there's red, ripe fermented fruit on the nose with hints of dill and fresh herbs. The palate is dry but juicy, fresh and vibrant.'" - Sommelier Wine Awards UK
2016
93/100 "Of all things, a nouveau-style made from 82yo vines with 25% whole bunches in the fermentation, so it adds up to a light, bright, juicy and youthful drink, yet distinctive. Sweet raspberry and red licorice, woodsy spices with lightweight tannins and hits the right note." - Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
Hot 100 SA Wines feature "Beautifully lithe and supple. Finely framed, poised and precise." - Adelaide Review
93pts "Bang on. Both fresh and characterful. Not at all overdone – indeed it’s only light- to medium-weight – and yet there’s enough power to the fruit to make an impression. It’s made to be fresh and accessible and yet it pays homage to the age of the vines; it lets tension in through the front door. Sand, red and black cherry, graphite, cloves and rusty dry spices. A leathery, licoricey kick to the finish. Just enough tannin. Poise, presentation, the lot." - Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front
