JOSEPH 2020 Moda Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot McLaren Vale 750ml

The story begins in a London wine bar in 1984. Joe Grilli was there as a young winemaker on his first overseas trip, out to taste the great wines of the world. Hoping to impress him, the bar's sommelier poured something Grilli had never heard of: Amarone. The sommelier explained the method — grapes air-dried before crushing, concentrating their sugars, tannins, and flavors into something far more powerful than conventional vinification could ever produce. The power and opulence of that glass blew Grilli away. He decided, then and there, that this was a style he had to master.

Today, Moda is the result of that decision carried out, year after year, in McLaren Vale. Joe Grilli dries his best estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes in the Amarone style — appassimento — before crushing the dried fruit into Primo Estate's traditional open-topped concrete fermenters. The wine spends eighteen months in French and American oak, and then — in a commitment to patience that almost no other Australian producer makes — nine additional years of bottle aging before release. By the time a bottle of Moda reaches a shelf, it has already lived a decade.

The 2020 vintage earned 91 Points from The Wine Front — "a rich, hedonistic wine" in the style's broader critical reception, "made to a similar creed of dried grapes, attenuating the ferment into a lustful incantation of rum and raisin, mahogany and mocha accents," with tannins "suitably equipped to handle the barrage of fruit-driven intensity" and a finish described as "forceful and impressive." Joe Grilli's own tasting note: an intense bouquet of raisin, dark chocolate, and cedar, tasting of rich, lush blueberry wrapped in fine dark cocoa. This is one of Australia's most genuinely unique fine wines — Italian technique, McLaren Vale fruit, and a winemaker's forty-year obsession with a single glass he tasted in London.

Origins & Craftsmanship

JOSEPH Moda is produced at Primo Estate in McLaren Vale by owner and winemaker Joe Grilli, whose Italian heritage and 1984 encounter with Amarone in a London wine bar directly inspired the wine's entire production philosophy. Moda is made using the appassimento method — air-drying hand-selected Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes on racks before crushing, a technique borrowed directly from the Valpolicella region of Italy, where Amarone della Valpolicella has been made this way for centuries. The drying process concentrates sugars, tannins, and flavor compounds far beyond what whole, freshly harvested fruit can achieve, producing a wine of considerably greater density and intensity than conventional Cabernet-Merlot blends.

The dried fruit is crushed into Primo Estate's traditional open-topped concrete fermenters — the same gentle, hands-on vinification approach used across the estate's flagship reds. The wine then ages eighteen months in a combination of French and American oak barrels before an unusually patient nine years of bottle aging prior to release — a commitment that places Moda among the most deliberately slow-released fine wines in Australia. Some older vintages historically included a small portion of Coonawarra fruit, though the current production is sourced from McLaren Vale.

Critics Reviews

The Wine Front — 91 Points (2020 vintage, confirmed via VS Liquor):
Cellar-worthy selection recommended to pair with slow-cooked lamb or game.

Wine-Searcher aggregate — 91/100 (2020 vintage)

Primo Estate / Joe Grilli official tasting notes:
"The resulting wine gives an intense bouquet of raisin, dark chocolate and cedar. It tastes of rich, lush blueberry wrapped in fine dark cocoa."

James Suckling (2021 vintage, for context on house style):
"This is a rich, hedonistic wine that some may find fusty, but for those who enjoy Amarone there is plenty to like. After all, this is made to a similar creed of dried grapes, attenuating the ferment into a lustful incantation of rum and raisin, mahogany and mocha accents. The tannins are suitably equipped to handle the barrage of fruit-driven intensity. The length, forceful and impressive."

Wine-Searcher aggregate, other vintages for context: 2023: 95 · 2019: 94 · 2017: 92 · 2021: 93 · 2016: 90

Community tasting notes (confirmed):
"Made from partially dried grapes — 'moda amarone' — this is a lush, creamy Cabernet with bold chocolate and cassis flavors. Soft and elegant on the finish."

"Meaty, with a sexy bass line of plum. Tannins are smooth; accents are of vanilla bean, and some easy toasty, woody notes."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Intense bouquet of raisin, dark chocolate, and cedar — the appassimento drying process concentrating the fruit into a far more powerful aromatic register than conventional Cabernet-Merlot achieves. Mahogany and mocha accents add depth, alongside hints of rum-soaked dried fruit.

Palate
Rich, lush blueberry wrapped in fine dark cocoa — Joe Grilli's own description of the wine's defining character. The palate is intense and concentrated, with smooth, well-equipped tannins built to handle the fruit-driven intensity that the dried-grape method produces. Blackcurrant and cassis carry alongside vanilla bean and toasty oak.

Finish
Forceful and impressive, long and powerful, with the rounded alcohol and heavy style that defines the Amarone-inspired category. A lingering close of dark chocolate, raisin, and cedar spice.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Slow-cooked lamb
• Game meats — venison
• Rich braises and stews
• Hard, pungent cheeses