Description Handpicked fruit has been aged in French oak hogs heads and puncheaons to ensure the fruit was the dominant flavour and structure of the wine. On the nose layers of bright red and dark fruits greet you with perfume, spice and earth notes. This is followed by a complex and vibrant palate with a beautiful perfume. Layers of red currants and blueberries integrate with spice, underlayed with French vanilla bean and some earthy notes. It has waves of fine grained chalky tannins and a long finish.
With nearly 200 years of winemaking history, McLaren Vale is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions and today home to 177 wineries. Protected by mountains and the sea, the McLaren Vale wine region is a veritable smorgasbord of wine styles and just a short 45-minute road-trip from Adelaide to McLaren Vale. McLaren Vale is actually the first place in South Australia where vines were planted. Multi-generational wineries are commonplace here. Vineyards stretch from the Mount Lofty Ranges way out to the sea. "McLaren Vale has many secrets waiting to be discovered, from the folds of its ever-changing landscape, to its small restaurants and cellar doors and the spectacular d’Arenberg Cube." – James Halliday. There is a wealth of experimental winemakers here, with winemakers constantly pushing the boundaries and setting new benchmarks. Having said that, McLaren Vale is renowned for Rhone red varieties such as Shiraz and Grenache. Another hotbed for delicious wine is Fleurieu surrounded by beautiful beaches and temperate weather.
McLaren Vale is demarcated by its various elevations and soils into several distinctive sub-regions. They include Blewitt Springs, where the wines “have a unique structure, texture, flavour and style, elegant yet highly aromatic and effortlessly flavoured” - James Halliday. Other sub-regions include Willunga, Sellicks, Seaview and McLaren Flat. “Grenache is McLaren Vale’s secret weapon – not merely Australia’s best, but every bit as good as that of the Rhône Valley.” – James Halliday.
