Everything made at the Kay Brother wineworks gets a passage through the estate's famous eighty year old basket press, a gentle treatment which achieves exquisite palate softness. The unique expression of vintage is preserved each year by a delicate balance in the mix of new and prior use oak barrels. One of McLaren Vale's first vineyards, the Amery property was initially sown to seven acres of vine in the 1860s. The brothers Kay acquired the land in 1891, introducing plantings from Hardy's Tintara, four precious acres which remain productive to this day.

$3199each $383DOZEN EACH DOZEN The winemaking practices at Kay Brothers have remained largely unchanged since establishment in the nineteenth century. An ancient basket press, painted bright red in colour, takes pride of place. Arriving somewhat late in the history of Amery Vineyards, the earliest vintages were passed through a hand crusher and then by a horse which traversed round a capstan. A collation of Shiraz parcels are harvested off Kay Brother's estate, much of it very old vine material. Fruit is vinified in good old fashioned open fermenters, hand plunged and transferred via traditional, 1928 vintage basket press, into a selection of seasoned and new, American and European oak barrels for fourteen months maturation.

Dark purple in colour. Rich plum and roast beetroot, blackberries and tobacco leaf dominate the nose with savoury dried spices adding complexity. Medium to full bodied, the lively fruits continue on the palate with briary berries upfront and fuller flavours of roast gravy on the finish. Supported by a tight acidity and grainy tannins, all underscored by a hint of wood smoke that sees the palate finishing focused and long.

Outstanding Langtons Classification. In 1891 Herbert and Frederick Kay ordered 30,000 cuttings of Shiraz from the Thomas Hardy Tintara Vineyard. The original plantings were dry grown and pruned to bush vines, neglected over time they grew into something of a tangled mess, fondly referred to as the pumpkin patch. Today, Kay Brothers have returned to the precious Block 6 and take aim at a timeless representation of Australian Shiraz, rich, impenetrable and packed with flavour, fashioned from the fuit of vines with a provenance that's second to none.

$12599each $1511DOZEN EACH DOZEN After decades of love and care, Block 6 has been redeveloped and nursed back to health. The present four acres comprise a corner of red loam, some rather heavy clay in the middle and gravelly alluvial soils on the lower side. After some rufurbishments, drip irrigation was installed and water is now used to maintain vine health and optimise fruit quality. Grapes are hand picked and filled to the original open top fermenters, the musts are macerated before being treated to plunges with traditional head boards. Upon completion of ferments and passage through the 1930s basket press, Block 6 Shiraz is matured in a selection of European and American oak casks for eighteen months prior to bottling.

Deep cherry black/ purple in colour. Sweet fruit perfume of black cherries and blackberry, white pepper and spice over subtle toasty oak. A rich and round, soft and voluptuous, fruit driven Shiraz with a hint of confectionery sweetness in the background. A very approachable full bodied combination of blueberries and plum, ribena and mocha chocolate, spice box, vanilla and pepper fill the palate with decadently delicious flavours.

A vineyard of great historical import, Hillside was initially planted in 1892 with stock acquired from sites owned by the Thomas Hardy Wine Company. A redevelopment of the eastern slope at Hillside commenced on the centenary, transferring cuttings across from the hundred year old Kay Brothers Block 6. Hillside Shiraz is about as old fashioned in the Australian claret style of wine as you can get, crafted from intensely flavoured berries, hand picked off seminal vines, treated to a traditional, open fermentation and manual basket press.

$5099each $611DOZEN EACH DOZEN The Kay Brothers McLaren Vale Amery Vineyards grace the rolling foothills of southern Mt.Lofty Ranges. Established in 1890 by Herbert and Frederick Kay, the heritage listed Kays Amery wineworks celebrated their first crush in 1895 and are the oldest McLaren Vale winery still in founding family hands. The view from the homestead, over the sprawling vineyards towards Tintara is breathtaking, the valley and hillsides are literally covered in vines. Grapes are picked throughout the cool of early morning, vinified in open fermenters and treated to a still functional, antique basket press. The finished wine is matured twenty months in a selection of seasoned and new, large format American and European oak.

Deep inky purple colour. Initially the nose is dominated by bright rich black mulberries, satsuma plum and dark chocolate. A swirl of the glass reveals cinnamon, charred sage and roast prunes, white pepper and a trace of mint. Rich, juicy, generous flavours of blackberries and mocha, bacon and a hint of eucalypt. The finish is soft yet supple and the aftertaste just goes on and on. Decanting is essential.

Koltz, winner of the Small Vignerons Award, is a small fifty tonne winery located within the elite Blewitt Springs appellation of McLaren Vale. All wines are estate grown and crafted, the operation is very much hands on. Shiraz was the estate's first effort, produced in small volumes, from fruit grown to a small but very special block of vine. Characterized by blueberry and earth characters, elegant with velvety tannins and superb length. Extended maceration contributes to the complexity, the aim being to construct a Shiraz which reflects the excellence of site.

$2799each $335DOZEN EACH DOZEN Koltz is a very small producer of hand crafted wines, made to traditional methods, fermented in open vats, basket pressed and matured under finely grained oaks. Koltz try to make wines that are individual and reflect the estate's philosophy that wines should be a pleasure to drink at every stage of their evolution. Vintage at Blewitt Springs is generally two to four weeks later than most of McLaren Vale. The sandy soils over ironstone make distinctive wines. Shiraz is open fermented and basket pressed, portions are treated to an extended maceration for up to fifty days, depending on season and ripeness. The finished wine is matured in a selection of seasoned and new French oak barrels for up to twenty months.

Deep vibrant dark purple colour. Lovely berry fruit pastille characters with a touch of spice supported by subtle cedary oak. A middle weight wine with a soft generous mid palate finishing over nice firm tannins. Mouthfilling, a lift of spicey fruit carries through from the nose. Excellent value for the Koltz entry point wine, there's plenty to appreciate in this pure and ripe, well crafted, concentrated Shiraz.

Leconfield occupies some of the Coonawarra's richest Terra rosa over limestone soils, a composition that's idyllic for vintages of superior new world Shiraz. The aim is to craft a wine endowed with great palate depth and weight of fruit whilst retaining elegance, where oak complexes and enhances the fruit but is not allowed to dominate. Several components of Leconfield complete their fermentations in barrel while the balance is treated to extra time on skins before pressing and filling into the highest quality French oak for an extravagant, extended maturation.

$2499each $299DOZEN EACH DOZEN The signature style of Leconfield, from mature adult vines grown to rich Terra rossa soils, the bunches are treated to a detailed hand clean following the initial pruning and harvest. Much of the wine completes fermentation in French oak, assembled with a component that's been treated to extended contact on grape skins for several weeks. Leconfield is matured nineteen months in a selection of seasoned and new French oak hogsheads with several workings to soften the tannins and fill out the flavour, followed by a light egg fining and gentle filtration.

Rich red colour. Ripe plum and cassis nose, red cedar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Palate displays an excellent depth of rich dark peppery plum fruit flavours supported by ripe, long tannins, full of flavour while retaining elegance and finesse. Leconfield will develop cedary characters as the lovely primary fruit evolves. A wine to be savoured in a large glass to the accompaniment of the best beef and gourmandise game.

Just between the southern estate boundary of Ellen Street and the Maxwell wineworks, a small vineyard of craggy, gnarled Shiraz vines planted 1953 yields a tiny harvest of the most concentrated Shiraz. Matured twenty months in a high proportion of new French and American oak hogsheads, Ellen Street's redolent nose of ripe blood plum, aniseed and vanilla presages a refined palate brimming with the trade spice complexities of old vine McLaren Vale, cinnamon and chocolates, blueberries and clove, all resolving on an expansive, elegant finish.

$4099each $491DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Single block Shiraz from a parcel of Shiraz clone 1654, planted near the intersection of Olivers and Chalk Hill Roads at the very north of Maxwell vineyards. Deeply influenced by the unique alluvial grey brown loam soils over Tortachilla limestone, Eocene is treated to the luxury of two years age in a selection of the finest French oak hogsheads. Vibrant and animate, highly articulate of its single site provenance, generous with intense weight of fruit, the syrup blackberry, raspberry and plum flavours cascade over the length of opaque, bittersweet chocolate tannins.

$5299each $635DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Named for the labyrinthine conifer maze along old Ellen Street adjacent to the Maxwell wineworks, Minotaur is a McLaren Vale icon, treated to a minimalist old world vinification and two years repose in a selection of the finest French oak puncheons. Exquisitely perfumed with dark tarry fruit bouquets, cherries, cigar box and caravan spice, its voluminous palate continues to unravel layers of complexity as the wine breathes and evolves. Fewer than 200 dozen are ever vintaged, an immense Shiraz of power, purity and persistence.

$9799each $1175DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Since 1979 Maxwell have built a reputation for producing hand made, rich and robust red wines that combine exquisite fruit quality with structure and finesse. Shiraz is a specialty and their superlative efforts have brought Maxwell much acclaim for their definitive McLaren Vale regionality and purity of expression. The shared sentiment around the Maxwell wineworks, is that life's too short to drink bad wine. A generously proportioned Shiraz with excellent depth of flavour, long, velvety tannins and splendid palate length.

$2299each $275DOZEN EACH DOZEN Situated right at the original heart of McLaren Vale, just north of main street on gently rolling hills, Maxwell's is the perfect place to make wine. There are five unique open fermenters, the idea being to recreate the gentle hand plunging methods of years gone by. Vinified over the course of several days to dryness, these fermenters provide a soft method of extraction, colour, flavour and tannin, from the skins and seeds into the juices. Holding only two tonnes each, they afford the team an opportunity to focus on premium small batch vinification techniques and to treat each parcel of fruit individually. The finished wine is matured sixteen months in a mix of seasoned and new French and American oak hogsheads.

Deep dark red with crimson hues. The bouquet is abundant with dark plum and blackberry fruits, coupled by hints of mocha, spice and a dash of liquorice. Delivers all the virtues of the finest McLaren Vale Shiraz, a plush palate showing rich dark berry fruits, mulberry and dark chocolates with underlying notes of freshly ground black pepper, matched by subtle oak.

From a single parcel of vine at the southern end of McLaren Vale near the seaside town of Willunga, paradoxically known to the vignerons as Sandra. Fruit is gently crushed and pumped over for ten days of ferment, followed by eighteen months in a selection of mostly seasoned French oak, aimed at preserving the feminity of a distinctly supple block of Shiraz. Prettily perfumed of ripe backcurrants, mintyness, espresso and plum, her moreish chocolate box flavours are beautifully balanced by crisp morello acidity and supported by grippy, savoury tannins.

$3299each $395DOZEN EACH DOZEN

From fruit grown to the Chinese Block on Lopresti vineyard in Willunga district at the southern end of McLaren Vale. Soils are heavy grey loam over sandstone intermixed with black Biscay clay, a hungry earth which naturally controls yield. The climate mirrors that of the Mediterranean, warm days and cool nights ensure even ripening and development of rich fruit flavours. GAM is opulent and robust, a Shiraz of great richness that's multilayered with complexity, it nevertheless retains a measure of finesse and the characteristic Mitolo softness.

$5699each $683DOZEN EACH DOZEN The quality of Shiraz grown to Mitolo vineyards is the achievement of uncompromising standards in viticulture and the serendipitous confluence of growing conditions. A magnificent maritime climate yields 2â…“ tonnes of grapes per acre from vines aged an average of twenty years. Each parcel of Shiraz is fermented on skins for ten days at cool temperatures to preserve bright fruit characters without extracting hard or bitter tannins from seeds and skins. Upon completion the wines are gently pressed and filled to an extravagantly high proportion of new French and American oak hogsheads for eighteen months, before being considered for inclusion into the final assemblage. Alcohol 14.5%

Deep, vibrant crimson red colour. Lifted pure aromatics of darker berry fruits and spice, blackberries and plum, mocha and toasty vanilla oak. The palate is powerful and finely focused with great depth of fruit character, well framed by fine grain tannins and drawn toward a long finish supported by naturally balanced acidity. Decant, breathe and serve alongside good beef with red wine jus and roast root vegetable.

Whether it's the care taken by Frank Mitolo in the vineyard, or the excellence of Ben Glaezter's skill at making icon wines, each edition of Mitolo is nurtured and developed with a zeal and passion that spares no effort to ensure that the best of everything is brought together to formulate wines of elegance, purity and power. Jester is matured in the same barrels that have been used for prior vintages of Mitolo's most auspicious editions of Shiraz. Jester is upfront and personable for early enjoyment, it over delivers in terms of quality and style.

$2299each $275DOZEN EACH DOZEN The Jester comes from the Willunga district at the southern end of McLaren Vale. Heavy grey loam soils over sandstone, intermixed by black Biscay clay, combine with a maritime climate, contributing to an even ripening period and the development of rich fruit flavours and ripe tannins. Shiraz grapes show excellent quality. Vines are husbanded to yield around four tonnes to the acre. Grapes are immediately crushed and fermented on skins at cooler temperatures to capture and enhance the bright, pure berry fruit. Components are pressed and treated to partial barrel ferments followed by a natural malolactic, matured eighteen months in a selection of seasoned and new French oak barrels.

Opaque dark crimson, deep dark hues. Dark chocolate, anise and all spice dominate the nose, fragrances of bright, vibrant, rich fruit. A revelation of blue and black berries, mocha and a hint of spice on the bouquet. Flavours of plum and liquorice with hints of blackberry and espresso. Exceptional balance, refinement and generousity of flavour, the palate exhibits focused, genuine fruit and subtle, yet structured, tannins in support of an elongated, velvety finish.