McLaren Vale, SA Shiraz Wine Packs

Here’s a dozen Shiraz from the Barossa, the Clare Valley and McLaren Vale, with a 95-point Clare Shiraz, 95 pointers from McLaren Vale and a trio of Shiraz made by former Penfolds winemaker Oliver Crawford.

We’ve also included a bonus bottle of Yaldara’s Grand Cuvée, which Sam Kim has just rated at 96 points, saying ‘This is superbly ripe and perfumed with black/blueberry, vanillin oak, warm spice and mocha notes on the nose. The powerfully concentrated palate delivers outstanding weight and opulence, together with velvety texture and fine-grained tannins, making it gratifying and immensely appealing.’ At its best: now to 2039.

There are not too many better value packs floating around! For just $260 you are getting a spectacular selection of Shiraz and a $200 bonus.

Mitchell’s perfectly cellared 96 point, 2015 Peppertree Shiraz

3x Curtis $100 a bottle, intense, black ink, Mclaren Vale beauty

3x Yaldara’s $65 a bottle Barossa Shiraz which is one of the best wines we’ve seen this year

3x Red Deer’s juicy and delicious Langhorne Creek Shiraz

1x Yaldara Grand Cuvee Cab Shiraz, which Sam Kim gave 96 points and said, ‘The powerfully concentrated palate delivers outstanding weight and opulence, together with a velvety texture and fine-grained tannins, making it gratifying and immensely appealing

It’s not every day we can squeeze in a $200 bonus into a pack at an asking price of just $199 but let’s not get ahead of ourselves! First, the pack. You’ll be getting 4 bottles of Karl’s Scepter Barossa Shiraz, a stunner made by a former senior Penfolds winemaker. Next up, old vine glory from Metala, a very special bottling made primarily from the original 1891 plantings. Not to be outdone, a magical McLaren Vale Shiraz from Brickfielder, with exceptional length and depth of fruit. This pack is already a ripper. All 3 wines are brilliant. That said, you are a subscriber... so the following bonus will also be yours.

The bonus, a bottle of Yaldara’s Grand Cab Shiraz 2018. Twice given 96 points, this is a rich, dense and sonorous siren song written in wondrous fruit, on the best quality oak, giving voice to feelings of fealty to the best of the Barossa. It’s that good!

Here’s a pack which pits powerful Barossa Shiraz against multifaceted McLaren Vale Shiraz... We’re hesitant to call it a fight to the death, more of an opportunity for you to compare and contrast the many and varied charms of exceptional Shiraz from what are arguably Australia’s 2 finest regions for full bodied Shiraz.

From the Barossa, we have the Brickfielder Shiraz, made by former Penfolds head Winemaker Oliver Crawford. This is a rich and well oaked Barossan; it is a massive wine, loaded with black fruits, vanilla and cedary oak. From the same winemaker, we have the Karl’s Scepter Barossa Shiraz, again with excellent depth of fruit and even more cedar, having spent a year in high quality French oak. There’re black fruits, chocolate, vanilla. cherries plum and spice.

From the McLaren Vale, we present Martins Limited Shiraz, reviewed at 97 points by Sam Kim and 96 by both Ken Gargett and Kim Brebach. Year in, year out, this is our bestselling super premium Shiraz. Fruits are blacks and blues, with blueberries, blackberries, olive tapenade, cedar and vanilla populating a powerful and long palate. The tannins are polished, waxy and plentiful. Also from McLaren Vale, the Pasha Shiraz, which was voted higher than Penfolds Grange in a recent Grange challenge we conducted. This is packed with uber ripe and gorgeously generous black fruits, dark cherry, compote, notes of furniture polish, spice, black pepper, chocolate, tobacco, and leather...

These are big wines but rather than being a clash of the titans, perhaps this represents an opportunity to compare excellent examples of Shiraz from both the Barossa Valley and the McLaren Vale, and we’ve no doubt that while you will identify a winner, it’ll be a close run thing.

Fair chance this is the best $199 Shiraz doz we’ve ever cobbled together. Each of these has scored 95 points or more and all of these are old vine wines too, with the average vine age across the three sitting at 60!

The Curtis Small Batch might just be the best wine they have ever made – with fabulous black fruit intensity with judicious acidity and plenty of tannins driving through to an epic conclusion.

The Lone Palm, off 60-year-old Barossa Vines is packed with deep black and blue fruits, graphite, gun smoke and cedar. This is handpicked, hand plunged and basket pressed belligerence!

The Red Deer is exceptionally brightly and intensely fruited, with long black and red fruits finished with spindles of oak and fine tannins.

Old vine reds from legends Mitchell in the Clare Valley, Metala (1891 plantings!) Langhorne Creek and up and comer Curtis, who work with a stunning patch of 80 year old McLaren Vale vines when producing this particular elixir. All cracking wines and a great value pack this!