The Ministry of Clouds LDR 2023 is a light dry red from the Adelaide Hills, built on Pinot Noir with Syrah and Gamay for lift and crunch. Perfumed, medium-light in body and deliberately juicy, the LDR 2023 is a red made for drinking rather than contemplating.

Aromatically the wine leads with red plum, pomegranate and raspberry, with violets, white pepper and a struck-flint edge sitting behind the fruit. The palate follows suit — bright, sappy and unforced, with the Gamay component adding a crunchy red-berried snap and the Syrah lending a thread of dark spice.

Structurally this is a wine of line rather than weight. Tannins are fine and succulent, acidity runs cool and clean through the middle, and the finish is savoury and mineral, tapering off with more grip than the fruit first suggests. Served with a light chill, the Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir, Syrah and Gamay blend gains even more energy.

Ministry of Clouds themselves point to fatty fish, and they are right — grilled salmon, ocean trout or sardines on toast all work. Beyond that, try charcuterie, duck rillettes, mushroom risotto, roast chicken with tarragon, or a tomato-heavy pasta where the acid does the heavy lifting.

Drink the LDR 2023 now and over the next three to four years. There is enough acid and tannin to carry it, though the appeal here is freshness, so there is little reason to wait.