Roxanne the Razor Negroamaro 2023, Deliquente, Riverland

Almost like an Australian Beaujolais, the Roxanne the Razor has bright, refreshing acidity, pure juicy strawberry fruit and a touch of green herb. The grapes are picked early to change the fruit profile, giving flavours of raspberry, sour cherry and strawberry. A second bottle may be required.

Con-Greg Grigoriou grew up on a vineyard in the Riverland, South Australia, where his father managed wineries for over 35 years. A few years ago, while working for an advertising agency in Melbourne, he tasted his first truly interesting Riverland wine and something clicked – why weren’t people producing high-quality wines in his home region? Con-Greg’s idea for Delinquente Wine Co was to take advantage of the Riverland’s small vineyards planted with Southern Italian varieties, which are suited to the region’s dry Mediterranean climate. He buys in grapes from trusted growers who work organically, and is pretty much hands-off in the winery. All his wines are small-batch and single-vineyard, fermented in stainless steel with wild yeast. His aim is to make wine that is pure, drinkable and delicious – or as he would put it, “smashable”. To complete his vision he recruited local Adelaide street artist Ankles to design the edgy, eye-catching labels. Amid a sea of Big Wine, Delinquente has managed to convey a unique aesthetic and clear point of view: fun, uncomplicated and terroir-driven wines that will challenge people’s perception of the Riverland.

Grapes are sourced from a single vineyard in the Riverland region in South Australia. Vines are planted on their own roots, on red sandy loam soils, and are between 6 and 12 years old. The climate is Mediterranean.

Handpicked fruit is fermented using indigenous yeasts in open stainless-steel fermenters over the course of 10 days.