Jauma
McLaren Vale, South Australia.
Available in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, ACT, Queensland.
We've known James since the very beginning of his winemaking career, back in the heady days of Natural Selection Theory – a collaborative experiment in natural winemaking with fellow juice juggernauts Tom Shobbrook, Anton Van Klopper and Sam Hughes. The four were all finding their feet and concocting wild wine ideas together.
Without doubt, James has always stood on the front line of the natural wine movement in this country and helped forge a path that so many dynamic makers and growers have since followed. He has always been so incredibly thoughtful in his intentions but ever so precise in the winery. Passionate and even dogmatic, but definitely not idealistic.
Erskine has a list of qualifications, experience and achievements as long as your arm. After studying to be a chef, followed by a move to Germany to work as a sommelier and a stint in Austria making wine, he returned to Australia where he completed an honours degree in Agricultural Science while working in some of Adelaide’s best restaurants. After some further study at the prestigious UC Davis in the USA, James again returned home to Adelaide to work full-time as a sommelier. During this time, he was awarded the Gourmet Wine Traveller Sommelier of the Year Award, co-duxed the Court of Master Sommelier exams, won the Working With Wine Fellowship and was a Len Evans Scholar – bloody hell!
But the allure of winemaking proved too strong and he left his burgeoning somm career to make wine in his home state. He spent some time working with the Bowe Lees team in the Adelaide Hills, where he met Anton Von Klopper (Lucy M) and did some moonlighting for Pete Schell (Spinifex). Then in 2010, he started Jauma and the rest is history!
Fast forward to today and Jauma is firing on all cylinders: 100% McLaren Vale, 100% natural and 100% organic practices; zero sulphur, zero additions, zero fining and zero filtration... But we don't just want to talk about S02 (or lack there of), you need to know about the sites! James works with five vineyards across McLaren Vale, each one meticulously and organically managed by one of two viticulturalists (Fiona Wood and David Gartlemann) James has worked with for many years. Their express aim is to preserve the vines for 100 years or more, so every resource is deployed to organic farming and soil maintenance, ensuring the longevity of the sites that they work with.
In the winery, James puts a huge amount of focus and energy into how he can do nothing. Anyone who knows about winemaking will tell you this takes more thinking and hard work than commercial winemaking. He gently coaxes the greatest expression he can from each vineyard without imposing on the fruit. He’s a sucker for texture, something clear as day in his wines, so skin contact is used extensively as well as a myriad of vessels: amphora, steel, wood and fibreglass. There are no additions whatsoever... None... Ever. These are the epitome of earth-to-glass wines: clean, pure and so expressive of site.
Having had the pleasure of knowing James for many years, we know that he is sincere and thoughtful in his intentions, authentic in his approach, incredibly precise in the winery and insanely passionate about his craft. These wines belong on the dining tables of the best restaurants in Australia; they are deep, structured and wonderfully characterful.
Wine
Fujisan Pet Nat
Variety
Chenin Blanc
Terroir
Sourced from the sandy soils of Lulu’s Block in Blewitt Springs
Vineyard
Year after year, since organic conversion, James has seen improvements in this vineyard; more structure in the fruit and much less disease.
Viticulture
Organic
Winemaking
Fermented in stainless steel to preserve vibrancy
1000 Fires
Variety
Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc
Winemaking
The Chenin fruit was handled carbonically and spent three days on skins before being pressed off to a mix of old French puncheons and stainless steel. The Sauvignon component saw a more extended time on skins (between two and three weeks) before it was pressed to old French puncheons.
Danby
Variety
Grenache
Terroir
Red clay spliced through with shale shards
Vineyard
From a (now organic) site taken over by Dave Gartlemann in 2020
Viticulture
Organic
Winemaking
The fruit saw 100% carbonic fermentation in tank before it was racked to rest further in stainless steel tanks.
UJO
Variety
Shiraz (80%) and Cabernet Franc (20%)
Viticulture
Organic
Winemaking
Batches were destemmed and co-fermented before being pressed to oak for maturation.
Tikka the Cosmic Cat
Variety
Grenache and Shiraz
Terroir
Rich in ironstone
Vineyard
Both varieties are from Ralph Wood's vineyard in Clarendon
Winemaking
The Shiraz went through partial whole-bunch fermentation before being pressed to oak, while the Grenache was destemmed and then fermented to dryness in stainless steel before resting in old oak.
Audrey's Fairygarten
Variety
Shiraz
Terroir
Rich in ironstone
Vineyard
Ralph Wood's vineyard in Clarendon
Winemaking
Full carbonic maceration
Sand on Schist Sparkling Chenin
Variety
Chenin Blanc
Terroir
This three-acre, east-facing, 17-year-old Blewitt Springs site is in its seventh year of organic management and is co-run by gun viticulturist Fiona Wood. The soils are deep white sand over clay with schist.
Vineyard
Blewitt Springs
Winemaking
The fruit is pressed directly to tank for partial fermentation and bottled with 28g/L residual sugar. James then disgorges and tops with barrel-aged Chenin Blanc from the previous vintage, lending an extra dimension of complexity to this fresh, textural sparkling.
Origins Arneis
Variety
Arneis
Terroir
The fruit is from a secret site in McLaren Vale, sitting at 380 metres and facing north. The 22-year-old vines grow in soils of clay, quartz and ironstone.
Winemaking
The fruit ferments carbonically for two weeks (expect an orange hue to the colour) before being racked to steel to rest on full lees for 11 months.
Disco Special
Variety
Shiraz Blend
Terroir
A blend of Grenache (60%) and Shiraz (40%), the fruit is sourced from 30-year-old vines in the sandy, iron-rich soils of Ralph Woods’s organic farm high in Clarendon.
Vineyard
Wood Vineyard
Winemaking
Both varieties were picked once tannins were ripe and destemmed to tank for fermentation. Maturation occurred in seasoned French puncheons.
Somewhere On Another Hill
Variety
Sauvignon Blanc
Terroir
The fruit hails from the same ‘secret site’ in McLaren Vale that James sources his Arneis from. The site is home to 25-year-old vines that sit at 380 metres, face east and are rooted in soils of clay, quartz and ironstone. It’s a cool site, with more in common with Adelaide Hills than McLaren Vale when it comes to weather.
Winemaking
James picks as ripe as possible―when the fruit is pushing towards the tropical end of the spectrum―but uses extended maceration to harness that impact. The fruit was destemmed and left on skins for four weeks, so the phenolic presence is resolved back into the wine. The wine then matured on lees for 13 months in mature French puncheons. Acid, structure, finesse – this has it all!
Lilies Old Vine Grenache
Variety
Grenache
Terroir
The site lies next to Blewitt Springs at 110 metres elevation on deep sandy soils over yellow clay. The bush vines were planted in 1940, and these days yields are a paltry 2.5 tonnes per acre.
Vineyard
Lilies Vineyard
Winemaking
The wine spends a long time on skins (two months) and punch downs are kept to a bare minimum. The fruit is destemmed, and the 12-month maturation takes place in puncheons. By comparison to Ralph’s Grenache, you can expect a richer expression, with deep blue fruits, lots of spice and silky weight.
Lulu Old Vine Chenin Blanc
Variety
Chenin Blanc
Terroir
Jauma’s Lulu is sourced from McLaren Vale’s oldest Chenin Blanc vines. The vineyard is located in Blewitt Springs and is farmed organically by Lulu Linn. The soils are deep white sand on clay and schist, and the wizened old vines date back to 1940. Yields are predictably low―a tonne per acre would be a good crop―and the fruit is always intensely concentrated.
Vineyard
Blewitt Springs
Winemaking
The fruit was pressed directly, and only the free run portion went to mature French puncheons for fermentation. The wine then matured for 14 months. “There’s old vine mid-palate intensity, with an extra layer of minerality and extreme purity”, James told us, “It’s sick!”
Orders
For all order enquiries please get in touch.