"Powerful and delectable, the wine shows rich fruit notes of black/blueberry and dark cherry combined with cedar, chocolate tart and cake spice nuances. The palate is concentrated and plush, delivering layers of delicious flavours backed by velvety texture and silky tannins. An impressive offering. At its best: now to 2028" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jun 2018

Gorgeous deep purple red in the glass. Primary aromas of blackberry and mulberry are enhanced with hints of spice, chocolate and roasted nuts. The full-bodied palate is filled with ripe blackberry fruit and defined by chewy fruit tannins. Elements of roasted game and fennel bulb temper the sweet fruit adding intricate layers to this complex McLaren Vale Shiraz.

The Davey Estate Vineyard is located in Whites Valley, at the southern end of the acclaimed McLaren Vale wine region in South Australia. Kym and John Davey planted & nurture their family-owned and sustainably managed estate vineyard on land their grandfather purchased in the 1950’s. Their goal is to produce high-quality, single vineyard wines. Modern viticultural practices that minimise work to the soil & encourage a balanced environment are used. Superior fruit is grown by managing canopies, handpruning, precise deficit irrigation & integrated pest management.

Winter in 2015 was relatively dry and although totals ended up near normal, there were few heavy soaking rains. Spring was exceptionally dry, resulting in low disease pressure but requiring early irrigation to ensure balanced canopies. October and December were hot and November warm and ideal for flowering and fruit set. Crop levels were the best for several years but generally just a return to more balanced and sustainable levels. An early bud burst and the dry warm conditions always meant vintage was going to be early. Even with bigger crops vintage started around the same time as 2015’s record early start. We picked Semillon from the Davey Estate Vineyard on January 29 and had completed our McLaren Vale Chardonnay by February 8 and Pinot Noir and Shiraz for Rosé on February 10. Timely rain events in early February refreshed the vines, greatly reducing the stresses of the dry season, with no adverse disease effects except for in some tighter bunch Grenache blocks. February days were mild and the nights cool, slowing down sugar accumulation and extending the ripening period greatly, enhancing flavour, structure and colour development. Reds started with Shiraz on February 11 and the last of the Davey Estate Shiraz was picked on March 11. The last of the Cabernet and the Mataro were picked on March 24. The early picked wines show bright and fragrant fruit at balanced alcohol levels. Intensity, weight and depth of colour just kept increasing as the harvest progressed, without any over ripe characters, resulting in simply spectacular wines across all varieties.

Only select parcels of Shiraz grown on both red & black soils over limestone on the Davey Estate vineyard are chosen for this wine. The wine is handcrafted in small open & static fermenters to maximise the potential of each small parcel of fruit. Maturation for an average of 15 months in new – 5 year old fine-grained American and French oak hogsheads softens, enhances & integrates the fruit & structural components of the wine.