In the glass: Deep red. On the nose: Lifted aromas of tar, espresso and black plum. On the palate: Full-bodied, round and smooth with a rich, dense core of dark fruit and a warm mouth-feel. Quite deluxe with lovely structure and depth of flavour with ripe tannins and well judged oak providing support.

The Hewett and Colton families sailed from England to Adelaide in 1839. Charles Hewitt moved to the Oxenberry farm site in 1840. The fruit for this appealing Shiraz is from the site where Hewet and William Colton planted McLaren Vale’s first vines, fed by a local freshwater spring. The Shiraz is beautifully crafted by McLaren Vale stalwarts, the Scarpantoni brothers, who back in 2007 won the highly prized Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show. Blackberries, plum, a chocolatey texture, with smooth tannins and a touch of savoury spice, means this suits many dishes from herby lamb to tomato pasta.

This sensational Shiraz is made by the “exceptionally gifted” Elena Brooks (Halliday). Her medal cabinet bulges with Trophies and Golds won all over the world, and she regularly earns seriously high scores from acclaimed wine critics. Just recently, Elena’s Dandelion Vineyards also won the Southern Hemisphere Winery of the Year Trophy in the US. How does she do it? With a lot of skill, and a lot of passion, like the kind that went into the Lioness. The 2016 has already won TWO Gold medals and a rare Platinum - plus a stellar 96 points from the San Diego Wine Competition. You can look foward to cherry liqueur and chocolate aromas, while on the palate, lush, red fruits jostle with black cherries, plums, dark chocolate, vanilla and sweet spice. Enjoy in big glasses for full effect.

Colour Purple Black.Aroma A beautiful array of complex ripe fruits combined with subtle oak aromas. Aromas of boysenberry, mulberry, currants, cinnamon and nutmeg.Palate Sweet, generous, rich and spicy. Very soft and rounded with balanced tannin and acidity. A lovely complex integrated wine that will drink well for 15 years.The berry was from premium vineyards with sandy loam soil profiles that consistently deliver wines of richness and finesse. Picked at perfect flavour maturity, gently crushed, then fermented at low temperatures to harness the fruit flavours. After 10 days fermenting on skins for colour and flavour extraction the wines were then pressed to French oak for ageing. Time in the oak barrel was 18 months.

This wine is made from the best grapes from the Maxwell estate, sourced from low yielding, old vines, the result is a wine that offers pure, rich dark fruit, cocoa and peppery spice for which McLaren Vale Shiraz is famous for.

Joe and Dina Grilli masterfully blend their Italian heritage with their McLaren Vale fruit to produce wines that are food friendly and utterly glugable! This delicious blend of Shiraz and Sangiovese is made in a drink now style. Elegant savoury supple and refined with a long smooth finish. Thoroughly enjoyable!

The 2017 Estate Shiraz beautifully demonstrates the mixture of fruitfulness and savory elements that our 50-year-old vineyards provide. The nose shows cherry, bitter chocolate, and aniseed spice. The palate is bright and full-bodied with succulent tannins and great concentration of fruit. A classic example from a superb vintage.