"You think it's great or terrible or, but you cannot ignore," says Paxton grape grower Toby Bekkers. "In the shop among the other bottles, our label is only one that is readable." The bold, tough Paxton-letters are indeed quite inevitable. In McLaren Vale you see many cars with logos of wineries, but the Paxton ones are the most striking ones. Even in the air, there is no escape. The big letters are on the roof of the Paxton’s cellar door, a beautiful historic farm from the time that not the grapes but only sheep stood on the hills around, close to the coast.

The large font is a contrast with the refined, elegant wines produced by Paxton under supervision of winemaker Michael Paxton, who with his brother Ben, manager of the company, grew up among the grapes. The father, David, worked as a grape grower and as a renowned vineyard manager in various parts of Australia.

A few years ago the company switched to biodynamic viticulture. At first reluctant and skeptical, but gradually the grape grower, Toby Bekkers, became more enthusiastic about it. "We started modestly. Now that we work biodynamic has not to do with environment motives, and certainly not with marketing, but simply because the wine taste better."

Resistant vines
"The vines are healthier and more balanced," adds Michael Paxton. According to him, that makes them more resistant to diseases and heat waves. The effect is they ripen more early. The Paxtons harvest as early as possible, that prevents heavy, high alcohol wines.

I tasted the fresh, green 2009 Pinot Gris and the bright Shiraz Rosé 2009 which is full and fruity. Or even better the elegant, soft red wines. The AAA Shiraz Grenache 2008 is jammy but, with hints of cherry and cloves, still enough acidity. The Qandong Farm Shiraz 2008 is dark, sultry and smooth, while the Jones Block 2006 is just somewhat spicier: bay leaf, clove, dark berries.

Delicious wines that are smooth and almost "light".  And with such a heavy name.

Cellar Door open: daily 10 am - 17 hours

This article was created in April 2010 by journalist Remke de Lange. For more wine articles: www.remkedelange.nl. This article is copyrighted