The site which was destined to become South Australia's first winemaking estate was planted to vines just south of the Onkaparinga River, at the northwest corner of Panalatinga and Reynell Roads. Within ten years, John Reynell became the first to export South Australian red wine. His business grew, as Chateau Reynella won over palates throughout the Empire. As his operations flourished and local businesses started up, more workers were attracted to the area and settled down, the beginnings of McLaren Vale. Significantly, one of Reynell's star employees was Thomas Hardy of Hardy Wines.

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Chateau Reynella is the birthplace of McLaren Vale Shiraz, today it is headquarters of Australia's most eminent winemaker. The original site, established by John Reynell in 1838, was the first commercial vineyard in South Australia. It remains productive to this day, yielding fruit which is processed at the original wineworks. The most exceptional parcels available to the Hardy winemaking team, those which can best represent the Chateau Reynella style, are vinified and assembled into a rich bold Shiraz of profound intensity, exquisite balance and refined silky tannins.

$6699each $803DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Deep magenta colour. A complex array of primary fruit aromas, brambles and plum, chocolates and dried herbs, seasoned by scents of spicy, lifted oak. The palate is dense and creamy, blueberries and spiced plum intermingle with festive pudding and chocolate oak, texture and sweetness build structure, supported by ripe, mouth coating tannins. An experience in McLaren Vale Shiraz delivering tremendous satisfaction.

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The Chrismont property once supported one of Australia's largest tobacco growing operations. Chrismont have since become synonymous with the production of high quality Alpine and King Valley wines, the Barbera grape being a standout performer. With mesoclimes and aspects that are so similar to the premiere growing Asti hillsides of Piedmont, the long summer days of high Victorian country enable grapes to achieve full ripeness, the finished wine exhibits richness of varietal character, the cool local nights contribute elegance and poise.

$2499each $299DOZEN EACH DOZEN Barbera is harvested from vines up to thirty years of age, throughout the cool of night to ensure a slow start to fermentation. As vinification ensues, temperatures are allowed to rise, maintained at a range between 25C and 30C. Depending on the season and quality of fruit, batches are treated to a week or more on skins for the extraction of fine, medium bodied tannins. The active batches are drained and pressed to a selection of seasoned French oak barriques for completion of ferments and a spell of malolactic. After a year of maturation, components are assembled into the final wine and rested for at least six months in bottle prior to release.

Dark, cherry red colour. A showcase of cool climate red fruit characters, fragrances of red currant interplay with suggestions of leather and spice. A ripe palate of currants and plum, cherry flavours are integrated with cedar and vanilla oak, warming varietal spice, dark chocolates and leaf. The structure is tight with fine tannins in support through the length of palate. A good choice with duck, terriyaki beef and lamb.

Such a substantial wine is Sangiovese, so named for it's kinship to the blood of ancient Gods, mythically speaking of course. La Zona engages you with its deep, vibrant red colour, redolence of black cherries and spice on the bouquet, followed by a brazen savouryness which makes it perfect with robust cuisine. The acidity balances well with the generous round, fleshy front palate and velvety tannin structure which carries through to a dry, firm finish. A perfect food match for La Zona would be a slowly cooked Tuscan recipe such as Stufato alla Fiorentina.

$2499each $299DOZEN EACH DOZEN La Zona intimates style and place. The Chrismont team are proud of their unique combination of grape varietals, their bounty of vineyards and fortuitous location on the beautiful King Valley, all of which combine to form that sense of place known as terroir. Chrismont is the showcase for King Valley varietal wines, La Zona represents the perfect accompaniement to good food, celebrating the rich history of the region and the traditions of an Italian heritage steeped in winemaking. King Valley has a similar climate and landscape to Piedmont and Tuscany, the long summer days enable the Sangiovese grape to achieve genuine ripeness, accrue mouthfilling flavours and develop brisk tannins.

Deep red colour. The nose is rich with dark baked cherry and blackberry aromas, enhanced by toasted oak influence. Fruit filled and generous on the front palate, the finish is full of preserved plum/ berry characters and dry savoury tannins. Medium bodied with moderate acidity, La Zona is a perfect match for slow cooked pork belly, lamb shanks or cotechino.

Just like a scene out of the old world, you can see happy families amongst the picturesque landscape of King Valley, tending vines and sampling grapes. The annual Spring festival in November brings everyone together for a fantastic jubilee of events. Tempranillo grows magnificently here, yielding fine wines as fleshy and structured as the classics from Rioja and Ribero de Duero. Harvests of fruit, brimming with rich bramble favours and lined with gentle tannins are crafted into a delicious new world style, just perfect to match with flavoursome Mediterranean fare.

$2499each $299DOZEN EACH DOZEN Parcels are harvested throughout the cool of night from Chrismont's splendid King Valley vineyards and treated to a pre-ferment cold soak maceration. The crushed musts are inoculated with choice yeasts and vinified in controlled fermenters at temperatures peaking to 25C. Components are given a fortnight on skins for optimal extraction of good colour and tannin. The wines are aged in a selection of seasoned oak barriques for up to a year before assembling into the finished wine.

Deep red black colour, crimson hues. A touch of soft chocolate, dark plum and violets with a hint of confectionary and background cedar. Dark fruit richness of blackcurrant and mulberry, supported by velvety, plumy textures. A rich, ripe weighty palate in excellent balance over fine grain, dry tannins and an intense, rounded and persistent finish. Enjoy with duck breast, rissoles or lamb.

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Circe is a metaphor for the challenges presented by Pinot Noir, a capricious grape to grow and often fickle as a wine. Very like the temptress of ancient myth, Pinot Noir remains irresistible to contemplative winemakers for its rare mutability, as no other grape can capture and articulate the uniqueness of provenance.

$3399each $407DOZEN EACH DOZEN The proprietorship at Circe are never focused on targets and deadlines, biodynamic viticulture and a love of all things natural, means that the only requirements are a healthy soil and respect for the vine. Providing a clean, ecologically balanced environment for local flora and fauna, inevitably leads to better wine.

Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond are Mornington born and bred. They work at the illustrious Mt Langi Ghiran but find time to share the husbandry on a precious three acre vineyard on an elevated northeast ridge at Red Hill South. The Messrs Drummond and Buckle take a decidedly Burgundian approach to processing their Pinot Noir, ferments of exclusively whole bunches are foot stomped over the course of a week before filling to small oak casks. Structured and eloquent, pastoral and intense, small batch, superior vineyard Mornington Pinot at its finest.

$5199each $623DOZEN EACH DOZEN Vines were established on a chilly slope of deep red basalt volcanic soils along Hillcrest Road in 1993. Closely cropped at a little over one tonne per acre, the property yields a frugal harvest of awesome Pinot Noir. The tight, small bunches, physiological ripeness and immaculate skins are ideal for traditional whole bunch winemaking. The fully stemmed fruit is treated to a course of maceration, as ambient yeasts initiate a week of ferment, followed by several days of boots on pigeage. Batches are pressed into a selection of French oak barriques for completion of malolactic and a year's maturation on full gross lees without any racking, to preserve the integrity and eloquence of a tremendous site.

Purple scarlet red. Fragrant cherry ripe aromas, red apples and rhubarb notes, sasafras and anise spice. A multi layered palate of wild piquant raspberries, red licorice wick and frais de bois, dark anise tannins and sasafras oak in support of the textural, weight of fruit. Structured, dimensional and refined, its lifted finish resolves on a length of mineral and pebble pastoral complexity.