Why it matters
The producer
David Paxton is the founder and owner of Paxton. He built his reputation through growing and managing wine grapes, and the company remains family owned. Paxton was established in 1979.
Paxton describes its cellar work as minimal intervention winemaking. Minimal intervention limits additions and handling in the cellar, leaving the stated focus on fruit from the estate vineyards.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
McLaren Vale in South Australia is the sole source region for Paxton wines. All fruit comes solely from estate vineyards there. The holdings are family owned and spread across named vineyard properties within McLaren Vale.
The EJ section sits in the back left corner of Thomas Block. The oldest vines there were planted in 1887. Thomas Block remains on original rootstock and is one of five surviving McLaren Vale vineyards planted during the 1800s.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The family holdings include Jones Block at 22 hectares, Quandong Farm at 18 hectares, Landcross Farm at 2 hectares, Gateway at 55 hectares and 19th at 12 hectares. Thomas Block is the historic planting described separately above.
Paxton chiefly focuses on Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet, while also making wines from Tempranillo, Graciano and Sangiovese. The cellar approach uses minimal intervention winemaking.
Wines to know
The range in view
Paxton's range centers on Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet, with Tempranillo, Graciano and Sangiovese also represented. Now by Paxton Shiraz is a red wine from Fleurieu.
The 2022 bottling is made from 100% Shiraz and is unoaked. The broader range therefore sits beside a named red whose grape and cellar treatment are both plainly stated.