SA Wine Guide 2025

Oliver’s Taranga Fiano Fiano 2024

S.C. Pannell Diavola Nero d’Avola 2023

G 95

Alphonso mango skin, cantaloupe and lemon balm. Yellow peach and honeysuckle. A wealth of fruit weight with a tread of natural, elegant acidity. There is a creaminess of custard apple and lemon curd with a dry finish and salted peanut brittle note. The meaty nature of Fiano is captured here with the cascade of refreshing citrus pulp. It makes for enjoyable drinking on its own or could easily sit beside almost any entree or main course dish. This will get you obsessed with Fiano. Drink now–2028 Oliver’s Taranga Falanghina Falanghina 2024 G 95 The edible delights of Falanghina can be found here. A buffet fit for Pooh Bear. Blush peaches, apricot, Meyer lemon and jars of oozing honey. Cashew praline, honeysuckle blossoms and nectar. The palate rounds the corner with its U-turn of dryness and then explodes with candied pear, peach and dried mango. Swiftly followed by halva, roast almond butter and cumin. Excellent example of the variety grown by the sea and sun of McLaren Vale. Drink now–2027 Ox Hardy 1891 Ancestor Vine Shiraz 2015 G 95 Selected from a few special rows in the Ancestor vines planted in 1891 by Andrew’s great-grandfather. Matured for two years in seasoned barriques before release. Copper penny, dried goji and stewed figs. Adzuki bean, sumac spice and raspberry leaf. The wine feels as though it has been poured into its slinky dress of fine acidity and powdery tannins. A crunch still left in the redcurrants and cherry skin. There is cumin and grated nutmeg oak spice and a mellow, almost treacle-like bitterness. Flavour for days, reminiscing of years of yonder. This is what great age-worthy wine is all about. Drink now–2028 Paxton Quandong Farm Shiraz 2022 G 95 100% Single Vineyard Shiraz. Matured for 12 months in French oak. Top-of-the- tree mulberries and Bing cherries. Blood plums, lilac and mocha spice. The wine captures a sweet roasted beetroot note that lingers past its fresh acidity and pillowy tannins. A subtle touch of cassia bark and cedar. The fullness of middle palate is striking and charged. A wine with both richness and dexterity. Drink now–2028 Penny’s Hill Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 G 95 Matured for 16 months in French barriques. Small compact cabernet berries can be detected here. There is a hint of lilac and underbrush, Christmas cherries and plum skin. Kampot peppers, shiso and sage leaf. A wealth of fresh redcurrant acidity and fine lace of tannins. It’s dialled up in its rigour with a spice trail of sumac, paprika and poppy seed. Here, we see the McLaren Vale ardour with the cellar potential of a decade or so. Impressive stuff. Drink now–2032

Steeped hibiscus, shiso mint, boysenberry swirls. A subtle hint of Maynard’s blackcurrant wine gums with grated liquorice root and ginger hanging out in the backseat. Oolong tea tannins that gravitate to the side of the palate with lingering acidity. This is hold-your-breath good Nero (a bit like that moment when Neo stops the bullets in The Matrix ). It’s seductive in its fruit plushness but with a mighty nervous system of texture. Totally beguiling, there is no spoon. Drink now–2026 S.C. Pannell Merrivale Shiraz 2021 G 95 A heady wine with elevated intensity of blackcurrants, juniper and olive tapenade. Assam tea leaf, dried pine needle and wood ear mushroom. It’s stonkingly youthful for its age and only just beginning to hit its stride. Red cherries and mulberry open on the palate and a touch of coconut cream pie surprises. It’s a bit of an enigma this wine, unique for its boldness and supple palate. Tannins are powdery and acidity drives the wine but doesn’t shrill. This is all about site and the character of the block. If you haven’t tasted it, you should; you won’t forget it easily. Drink now–2030 S.C. Pannell Little Branch Grenache Grenache 2022 G 95 The first single vineyard release from the estate-owned 9-ha site in Blewitt Springs. Vine age is 30 years old. Attention here is key because the fragrance of this wine is ethereal and delicate. Almost like the bouquet you get from a tea rose right before you bring it to your face. Lingonberry compote, cranberry and blush nectarines. Powdered sumac and strawberry icing. Tannins are a filigree of interwoven silk and acidity hums along. Fine, lithe and linear. One to watch. Drink now–2030 Thistledown Wines Distant Light Grenache Shiraz 2022 G 95 A harmonious blend of McLaren Vale’s Blewitt Springs and Clarendon Grenache, and Shiraz from Barossa’s Ebenezer and Mengler Hill. A reminder of why these two varieties sit so well together. Raspberries, fig hearts and mulberries meet a Moroccan souk spice house. Woodsy herbs intertwine with rosemary and bay leaf. Succulent with Grenache’s elevated acidity and a delightfully plump middle palate density. Tannins are woven into the wine and you’re left with a sultry smooth drink. Unhindered by new oak, this wine is heavenly in its purity and form. Drink now–2034 Varney Wines Limited Release Grenache 2023 G 95 Old bush vine stock 70-plus-year vine age. Sourced from Blewitt Springs, Seaview and Whites Valley. Matured for eight months in seasoned French oak. A mauve garden of lilac and lavender. Fresh picked mulberry and lingonberry. Dried autumn leaves and cassia bark. A crunch from fresh acidity gives way to a torrent of powdery fine tannins; these spread out across your palate like a fernery. It’s agile, but the staying power of those tannins makes for a long, extended palate. Gala apple skin and a touch of clove. The love of Grenache is felt right here in the glass. Blissful. Drink now–2030

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The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus

South Australia 2024

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