Hickinbotham The Nest Cabernet Franc 6 Pk
A pure Cabernet Franc, it expresses true varietal characteristics of red currant, red berry and leafy, bracken notes. The palate has a compact style with finely compressed tannins that create a smooth, almost polished texture. The enduring freshness, intensity and elegance of this wine are the defining characters.
Woodstock The Stocks McLaren Vale Shiraz
Haselgrove Wines Col Cross Single Vineyard Shiraz
McLaren Vale III Associates Squid Ink Shiraz
This cult winery continues to impress with yet another award, this time with the 2009 Squid Ink Shiraz. So why not pick-up a bottle and see why this winery is creating monster waves. McLaren Vale III Associates bring together 3 passionate people together to produce amazingly concentrated and regional McLaren Vale wines. Here we have a classic McLaren Vale Shiraz that is almost black in the colour. Ripe blackberry fruit, spice and a touch of vanilla. Winner of multiple awards across the globe, don't be the one to miss out!
Thistledown Fool on the Hills Grenache
The signature Thistledown lifted aromatics are present but the palate offers more sinew and spice than those from McLaren Vale. Textural, almost chewy but polished dark cherry, mineral and warm spices carry through to a finish of incredible length.
Yangarra Old Vine Grenache
While certainly lighter, more elegant, and a different style to that of some of previous years, the 2011 vintage is one of the greatest Grenache vintages Yangarra has ever produced. The white pepper spice is telling of such a cool year, and is married with bright cherries and raspberry alongside complex hints of liquorice, chicory and cured meats. The tannins are fine and delicate, and the acidity alike.
Grenache
This wine is a fantastic example of the diversity in style that can be achieved with McLaren Vale Grenache by focusing on single vineyard wines from some of the region's finest sub-zones of Clarendon.
Ivyburn Aldersey Shiraz
This is a smart wine. It feels very harmonious, there's fruit intensity but it's not *too* fruity, there's present oak but it's not *too* overpowering, there's spice and tannin but they're not *too* drying. Everything has been worked into this classy number in thoughtful moderation and the result is a wine greater than the sum of its parts. From the well known, hand-tended, vineyards of the Willunga sub-region of McLaren Vale, picked in the (widely lorded) year of 2021 - it's safe to say we were holding this one to a pretty high standard. Well, this wine exceeded even our lofty expectations. Juicy dark mulberry and black cherry, vibrant spiced plum and chocolate characters are expressed with both intensity and complexity. Subtle, but ever present, oak characters manifest themselves in slight chocolate and vanilla notes along with fine grained tannins and build to a silky, spice driven finish. Happy to sit in the cellar for 15+ years, but why delay happiness right?
Wirra Wirra Angelus Cabernet Sauvignon
A ¾ tonne bell with the name of 'Angelus' sits proudly atop the cellars at Wirra Wirra and heralds the beginning and end of vintage every year on the famous McLaren Vale estate. Previously the bell rang out from the Jesuit Church in Norwood thrice daily and due to this tradition, Wirra Wirra continue to name the bell and their very best Cabernet Sauvignon every year, The Angelus. Always a pungent and concentrated Cabernet with notes of cassis, cedar and trademark bitter chocolate bound with fine tannins. A propensity to age in the bottle for over a decade as well as its approachability early in life will appeal to all.
Smidge S Smitch Shiraz
In the glass the 2010 S has a black core with a deep red rim. There are elegant aromas of red black fruits, and spicy earthy notes with a hint of grilled meats, graphite and controlled oak. On the palate the fruit continues with rich plums, and blueberries and delicate spice and chocolate which all roll on to a juicy palate with fine tannins that go on ... and on. Smidge recommends drinking this wine betwen 2014 and 2030.