NO ADDS IN THE NEW WORLD🐊 (ZERO ZERO DOWN UNDER x)

Source note: This post is adapted from Parched's August 25, 2026 newsletter

Hey,

How are we all? Finally managed a few days out of the country. Pure pleasure this time, zero wine consumed and feeling all the fresher for it. Anyway, before I left we took in a rather healthy stash from someone I have a lot of time for, after years of radio silence.

Tom Shobbrook is a winemaker who has been quite pivotal in my wine career. He, alongside James Erskine and Anton Van Klopper, changed Australian wine back in the late noughties. Their blog, Natural Selection Theory documented their revolutionary way of vinifying without additions, which at the time was unheard of down under. They sparked a movement, encouraging a new wave of producers to take risks and try something new. Whilst many have now swung back to a more middle ground, I still believe this trio was pivotal in really pushing the first wave of natural wine in the New World. Not only did they make some incredible, genre-defining wines, but more importantly, they inspired a whole generation to think outside the box.

Tom’s wines where the first I tasted from the gang, and they were always the ones that moved me the most. Sadly, the wines had practically disappeared from the UK market. Troubles back home, with growers, cellar space and the usual logistical nightmares, meant any production was uncertain let alone it coming to the UK.

However, after a long hiatus we have finally received a new tranche of wines from vintage 2022. When I saw a South London bar had got their hands on them before me, I made the pilgrimage to south London as soon as I could. As a born and bred north Londoner, this is not a trip I take regularly. Thankfully, it was worth it and the wines I had were more than delicious.

I then tasted through in a more ‘professional’ capacity, one that required a spittoon and I was further blown away by the range. They were on fire, and had been open for a while too. Tasting better than I remember from previous vintages and much cleaner too. Handled more reductively, they were all so cutting and fresh. A precision combined with a vitalitiy I had not previously encountered in wines made with no additions from these parts. Having recently been shipped quite literally halfway across the world, during the heat, and then knocked around a supplier's rucksack all day, I couldn’t believe what I was tasting.

The Chenin could easily be from a cult Anjou producer. The fruit is bruised and orchardy, full of varietal lanolin and wax. Its flinty reductive top notes melting into a mineral palate. Serious but effortless. No one else is doing this with Chenin in Aus.

Same deal for the Chardo. All lemon curd and custard creamsparc. Again, new world fruit handled with an old world sensibility. Old vine, free run juice, gently rested on full solids for two winters in barrel. Sheesh. Why is no one else doing this down here? Could they do it if they tried? Idk, Tom's got a real knack for this style. It's a style I very much enjoy. It's so pure and uplifting. You will like it too.

Riesling again given some Shobrook TLC. The variety is so often abused. Filtered and fined within an inch of its life before being doused with SO2, all in the name of keeping the purity of those initial aromatics in place. After you've manipulated this much, what is there really left to taste? Water weight and bordering on synthetic. No thanks, I'm alright. Tom handles things differently. He isn't afraid to show the inherent texture and flavour of Riesling. We still have a wonderfully fresh acidity, Australian and lime laced but with more pith and tonic-like bitters. It unfurls into stone fruits, florals and wild meadows given time to breathe. It's a Riesling with personality but also inherent drinkability. Tom is 3/3 on the whites.

Completing the quartet, he's knocked it out the park with his flagship Poolside. Apparently Poulsard sounds like Poolside with an Aussie twang, or vice versa, or whatever. I wasn't listening to the story the importer was telling, too busy having flashbacks to when I first tasted this. It's Tom's attempt to turn the usually brutish Barossa Shiraz into something more akin to a Jurassien red. Mission achieved in both texture and colour. The flavour profile varies obviously, but not in a bad way. Things are still lithe and crunchy. All wild rhubarb and whiffs of pepper. Effortless and fun, the supplier kindly left the bottle after the tasting and I had no issues seeing it off in record time. Just look at that colour! Drink cold and drink with abandon.

Whilst Tom was one of the first to do the whole zero zero thing in Aus, it's great to see the next gen are still following in his footsteps. Aristotelis Ke Anthoula, or AKA for short, are a Greek family who settled in the suburbs of Sydney, the parents making small amounts of wine for personal consumption as they did back home. Proper lo-fi garage wines for the whole family to enjoy. Their son Tony alongside his partner Maddison have now taken things to new professional levels. Still completley hands off and with nods to the old world, they've just embraced the culture whilst pushing it forward to the modern palate.

They recently pulled up at Karakterre and shocked the Austrian palates with their Australian bottles. Not many Europeans had seen natural wines from down under, let alone of this quality. I had a few friends shooting me message’s asking if I had tasted these. Nice to be ahead of the trend for once. They where standouts, and for good reason.

Namina Road is a new range. An energetic and vibrant Chardonnay, the Riesling bottled with a touch of spritz, tingly and taut! A punchy Pinot full of cherry laced fruit and cola spice. So good.

The orange series returns with the aptly named Mandarin. Slightly creamy, lightly macerated for a very citrus heavy wine. Clue is in the name. It's a vibe. Blood Orange is their take on a blouge. Campari like in colour, flavour and refreshment. again appropriately named.

There's a real nod to Greece with their Retsini. This is actually so good. Nothing like the overtly perfumed and pine spiked stuff you've had on holidays abroad. This is herbal and gently savoury, stupidly food friendly too. Niche but very niceeee.

Whiteish is a very wild little blend that is textured and nutty. Drink it fast for fun times! Whilst, Little Red could almost fool you for Beaujolais. Mid weight and moreish. They're all priced rather nicely too, another direct import that benefits from our generous (some say foolish) pricing structure. Could and should cost a lot more.

OK G2G! Boxes to break, boxes to pack, wines to taste etc etc.

Bisou
Fionn
xoxoxo