Home > Wines We Love > 2025 Dune ‘Maspalomas’ Clarete

The Spanish tradition of making ‘clarete’ wines – red and white co-ferments that land somewhere between chilled reds, rosés, and skin-contact whites – has only recently come back from the brink of extinction. And Australia has already joined the party with this, our country’s first clarete – a quaffable, rose-scented delight of a wine that colours outside of the lines.

Producer
Dune
Region

McLaren Vale
RRP

$32
Vintage

2025
Variety/Varieties

Grenache Grenache blanc
Alc./Vol.

13%

Spain’s traditional ‘clarete’ wines might be pink in hue, but they are not rosés. The colour in rosé comes from taking red grapes and giving their skins only brief contact with the juice before whisking them away; the colour in clarete comes from mixing red and white grapes in the ferment, and giving both components equal amounts of skin-contact time. The resulting wines land at the centre of the Venn diagram of a lot of the current moment’s drinking trends – they look like rosé, drink like a chilled red, and have some of the texture of skin-contact whites. They were also practically extinct in Spain – made only for local consumption – until 2016, when Scott Wasley, an Australian importer of Spanish wine, collaborated with Rioja producer Alegre y Valgañón to reintroduce the style commercially. Not long afterwards, in 2022, brothers Duncan and Peter Lloyd made Australia’s first take on the style, ‘Maspalomas’, co-fermenting whole bunches of grenache with crushed grenache blanc from Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale. This, the fourth vintage of ‘Maspalomas’, shows why they’re onto a winner with the style.

Tasting Note

Deep pink in the glass, with a slight tinge of burnt orange tone – pitched somewhere between ‘dark rosé’ and ‘ultra-light red’. The nose of this wine opens with delicate and slightly unusual aromatics – dried rose petals, freshly-grated mace, the high-toned boozy funk of kirschwasser. On the palate, the fruit character becomes clearer – juicy tart cranberries, crunchy pomegranate arils, the white tops of just-ripe strawberries. There’s an appealing vibrancy to the wine, despite the fact that it doesn’t have high acidity, with lightly grippy tannins (reminiscent of a good skin-contact white), a touch of phenolic bitterness, and a pop of salinity to keep everything fresh. The texture is juicy and generous, with glossy fruit that doesn’t veer into the realms of ‘overripe’ or ‘slick’. An interesting hint of watermelon rind character emerges on the finish – and draws you back for another sip. Serve lightly chilled.

Themes of this wine

McLaren Vale

While it couldn’t feel any more removed from city life, the McLaren Vale wine region is actually inside Adelaide’s metropolitan area. And although the township itself is only forty minutes by car from central Adelaide and vineyards brush up against ever-encroaching housing, McLaren Vale remains unaffected by the urban sprawl. With deeply etched history, the Vale has a slow-paced sense of calm and an extraordinary wealth of untrammelled beauty. It is home to some of this country’s most beautifully pristine beaches, as well as some of the world’s most forward-thinking grape-growers and winemakers. And with over eighty cellar doors, it is an essential destination for wine lovers – and anyone else, for that matter.

Grenache

The great variety of the Southern Rhône, grenache actually hails from Spain, where it’s called garnacha – but it has found many other homes around the world, from Italy to California. Australia has its own special relationship with the variety – we’re home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the variety championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

Grenache blanc

As its name suggests, grenache blanc is a colour mutation of grenache – the raspberry-scented red variety from Spain that is more famous in its Southern French guise. As with the dark-skinned original, grenache blanc likely originated in Spain, with the colour mutation probably occurring in the Terra Alta region of Catalunya, not far from Barcelona. While there isn’t much grenache blanc currently in the ground in Australia, it’s a variety that has attracted some attention as a climate-apt variety for warmer regions, particularly in South Australia, given its natural tolerance to both drought and heat. It produces rich, unctuous white wines that, while not overly high in acid, can age well if carefully made.

Home > Wines We Love > 2024 Yangarra Field Blend

Fresh, vibrant and light, yet layered with intricate detail, this wine is a joyous and approachable example of the genius of the late Peter Fraser – a champion of not only grenache, but also of lesser-known climate-apt varieties.

Producer
Yangarra
Region

McLaren Vale
RRP

$27
Vintage

2024
Variety/Varieties

Carignan Cinsault Grenache Mourvèdre
Alc./Vol.

13.5%

The recent passing of Yangarra’s winemaker and general manager Peter Fraser has sent shockwaves through the Australian wine community – we continue to mourn the loss of a man who was not only a brilliant winemaker, but was also, in his own quiet way, a true thought leader. While much of the focus since his passing has been on his groundbreaking (and now relatively pricy) single-vineyard ‘High Sands’ Grenache, this much more affordably priced wine is equally a testament to Fraser’s forward-thinking approach. A climate-apt tweak of the established ‘GSM’ blend template, this wine – mostly made from grenache, accompanied by small portions of carignan, counoise, cinsault, and mourvèdre (aka mataro) – is an ode to the freshness and vibrancy that is possible in warm-climate wines when varieties are chosen for their suitability to the region, not the dictates of the market.

Tasting note

A beautiful translucent ruby colour in the glass, with equally seductive and bright aromas of fresh raspberries, sour Morello cherries, and freshly crushed pomegranate arils, alongside a whiff of rooibos tea. It’s fresh and silky on the palate, with bright, crunchy acidity, some pleasing mid-palate weight (more than the bright fruit character would lead you to believe), and very fine, black tea–like tannins providing just the right amount of grip. There’s a sneaky depth of flavour towards the back of the palate – possibly from the dash of mourvèdre – that shows up as mulberry fruit and brambly spice notes. There’s plenty of layered flavour and nuance to be unpicked here if you care to look for it – hints of Australian bush herbs, the savoury edge of those tea-like tannins, a floral lift to the aromas – but, like its maker, this isn’t a wine that forces you to acknowledge its brilliance. Instead it’s charming, unfussy, and joyous – a beautiful everyday red from a master of grenache.

Themes of this wine

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

McLaren Vale

While it couldn’t feel any more removed from city life, the McLaren Vale wine region is inside Adelaide’s metropolitan area. And although the township itself is only 40 minutes by car from central Adelaide and vineyards brush up against ever-encroaching housing, McLaren Vale remains unaffected by the urban sprawl. With deeply etched history, the Vale has a slow-paced sense of calm and an extraordinary wealth of untrammelled beauty. It is home to some of this country’s most beautifully pristine beaches, as well as some of the world’s most forward-thinking grape-growers and winemakers. And with over 80 cellar doors, it is an essential destination for wine lovers – and anyone else, for that matter.

Climate-apt viticulture

Most wine consumers are familiar with only a small handful of the 1300+ grape varieties currently turned into wine. These well-known varieties are often called ‘international’ varieties because, thanks to consumer demand, they’re now grown across a wide range of climatic conditions worldwide (even if they nearly all have French origins). But not all of these well-known varieties are suited to the conditions in which they’re grown – leading to resource-consuming viticultural practices (such as intensive irrigation) to successfully grow fruit, and extra interventions in the winery (such as acid additions) to turn that fruit into marketable wine. Climate-apt viticulture flips that script by starting with a match of grape variety to climate, then letting winemaking and marketing follow suit. In warm-climate regions that might mean planting obscure varieties – with names like arinto, cinsault, and tinta cao – that ripen later and retain their acidity in the heat, leading to wines that require far less work and additions in the cellar. It’s a win-win for both flavour and environmental sustainability – but the hardest part is usually getting consumers to bring home a bottle that has an unfamiliar variety on the label.

Home > Wines We Love > 2023 Yelland & Papps ‘Vin de Soif’

A Barossa red with a French name that drinks like a pinot noir? Mais oui. This bright, crunchy blend of three Mediterranean varieties is a dangerously drinkable departure from the Barossa norm.

Producer
Yelland & Papps
Region

Barossa Valley
RRP

$32
Vintage

2023
Variety/Varieties

Cinsault Grenache Mourvèdre
Alc./Vol.

13%

The French have a lovely phrase for light-bodied, easy-going wines that are meant for drinking, not thinking: vin de soif, literally ‘wine for thirst’. New-wave Barossa pioneers Susan and Michael Papps buck the region’s reputation for big, brooding reds with this wine, which cleverly combines three varieties that happily retain freshness in Barossa’s heat with lo-fi winemaking to deliver a vibrant, crunchy red wine that looks great with or without a little chill.

Tasting note

This wine brings a riot of red fruit to its aroma: a tangle of pithy red apple skin, raspberry, cranberry, and sour morello cherry. There’s a tasteful herbal note reminiscent of rooibos tea or melaleuca scrub that adds complexity to the fruit, possibly coming from the wine’s cinsault component. As the name suggests, this is frighteningly easy to drink, with the fruit flavours carried along the palate by its fresh, crunchy acidity, and its light body leaving the palate wanting another sip. There’s a judicious little touch of bitterness at the close, and some very light and fine tannins – enough complexity to reward careful tasting, but not so much complexity that analysis gets in the way of fun.

Themes of this wine

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

Cinsault

Cinsault has been grown in Australia since pioneering days, but it has typically been swallowed by blends. However, its ability to shrug off hot and dry conditions and still make elegant wines with plenty of acidity is seeing its star rise in warmer zones like the Barossa Valley. Fragrant and quite pretty, cinsault can have very lifted aromas of red berry fruits, like raspberry, strawberry and cherry, while some blue floral notes, like violet also typically feature. It rarely achieves much more than midweight, with gentle tannins and decent acidity.

Mataro

Mourvèdre – or mataro if you’re from South Australia – is a grape that is typically blended, usually with grenache and shiraz. Bottled solo, it often makes dark-fruited wines with gruffly earthy/herbal notes and plenty of tannin, but it makes some of the world’s best rosés, too.

Blending

Most wines are a blend of some sort. It may be a blend of the same variety from the same vineyard, but with different blocks, clones, aspects, picking dates, ferments and then barrels (if barrel aged), each batch is a little different. Sometimes everything goes back in, and sometimes a winemaker will select the parcels to make a particular style of finished wine or just the best wine they can. This principle is used across varieties, too, with many traditional regions in the Old World blending across varieties to make a complete whole, with some grapes adding fragrance or fruit depth, some tannin, some acid … the art of the blender is to get the balance right. Increasingly, winemakers are breaking the established rules of these classic blends, making surprisingly new expressions from varieties that have rarely shared a bottle prior.

Barossa Valley

The Barossa is arguably Australia’s most revered wine region. It dwarfs many other fine wine regions for scale, while firmly maintaining a quality profile, with its distinctive style and character recognised worldwide. It is dripping in history, has far and away the largest resource of old and ancient vines in the country, and fifth- and sixth-generation growers and makers proliferate. It is fair to call it the cornerstone of Australian wine. It is the home of powerful red wines, established names making established styles, but there are also makers finding new meaning in the territory.

Home > Wines We Love > 2022 Koerner ‘Le Korse’ Red Wine

A midweight, digestibly bright and savoury Mediterranean-style red, this shows the Koerner artistry of making subtly nuanced blending components then merging them seamlessly.

Producer
Koerner
Region

Clare Valley
RRP

$38
Vintage

2022
Variety/Varieties

Carignan Grenache Malbec Sangiovese Sciacarello
Alc./Vol.

12.7%

Korse means Corsica, and this is a tribute to the wines of the island, or rather the Koerner’s take on them, employing two of the island’s key varieties: sangiovese (there called nieuluccio, though not all believe they are identical) and sciacarello.

Tasting note

This is beautifully midweight, savoury expression, with a taut play of tart red and dark cherries, subtle florals and subtle dark spice, with a subtle touch of star anise and brown cardamom, lavender and violets. Aged in steel, and with no whole bunch, but some whole berries, the purity of expression and the smart picking dates stand out here, with a briskness and vigour paired with engaging flavour, totally skipping the common sweet spot of many reds of the region, and surrounds.

Themes of this wine

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is Italy’s most important grape, by both volume and reputation, and it has travelled the world, establishing serious outposts across the New World. In Australia, sangiovese didn’t really start making inroads until the late 1980s, but with improved genetic material, it is now making quite an impression. The key flavour component mentioned when people talk about sangiovese is cherry, generally red, but sometimes black, with that primary profile generally accented with savoury notes of dried berries, hardy herbs, dried earth, leather and cedary notes.

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

Sciacarello

Sciacarello is a Corsican red variety that is closely related to the Tuscan variety mammolo, if not identical to, with both characterised by freshness and floral aromatics (mammolo means violet).

Carignan

Hailing from Spain, carignan may yet find a more significant home in Australia, with retaining acidity very well and thriving in hot and dry conditions – a combination that we don’t lack for. Carignan can be a decidedly rugged grape, with dark fruit and spices often allied with gruff and very assertive tannins. The wines can also have wild herbal almost animal notes, but carignan is mostly used in blends, so this adds complexity to the best wines.

Malbec

Malbec is a French grape that has become much more synonymous with Argentina, where it dominates the country’s vineyards. In Australia, malbec is typically blended as a minor component, but with better vine material and new thinking, malbec’s personality is emerging from the shadows. With a generally dark fruit profile of plums, dark cherries and blackberries, malbec can range from the deeply fruited and ruggedly tannic to more supple and silky expressions.

Clare Valley

A couple of hours north of Adelaide, the Clare Valley is home to some of Australia’s most famous riesling vineyards, with the grape accounting for almost 40 per cent of the plantings, with shiraz a close second, though cabernet sauvignon is also made to good acclaim. The soils vary across the five subregions, from terra rossa over limestone, to grey loams over slate, to fertile alluvial soils in the north. With a continental climate, the warm conditions benefit from the cool nights, retaining acidity in the grapes while the ample sunlight pushes the fruit to ripeness during the day.

Home > Wines We Love > 2020 Yangarra ‘High Sands’ Grenache

The Yangarra flagship from deepest sandy soils and oldest vines, this is regal but rugged expression, red and dark fruits, earthy, mineral, utterly individual.

Producer
Yangarra
Region

McLaren Vale
RRP

$300
Vintage

2020
Variety/Varieties

Grenache
Alc./Vol.

14.5%

The Yangarra flagship from deepest sandy soils and oldest vines, this is regal but rugged expression, red and dark fruits, earthy, mineral, utterly individual.

Yangarra Estate possesses over 25 per cent of the old vine grenache in McLaren Vale. This wine is sourced from a special block of the original 1946 vines in the highest and coolest part of the estate, with the sand layer over a metre deep. Certified organic and biodynamic, the ‘High Sands’ vineyard was recently recognised as Australia’s ‘Old Vineyard of the Year’.

Tasting note

From the deeply sandy and most elevated section of old vines on the Yangarra Estate – the ‘High Sands’ block – this is always an utterly individual expression. Fragrant, sandy soils do that, but it’s also so very savoury, like an expression of a hard-won existence, eking out a living. Notes of cacao nibs, currants, dried orange peel, tar, dried cranberry and a sanguine, rusty nail character all feature. Sinewy, dry toned, with dates and muscatel grape notes, this feels like the earth it comes from.

Themes of this wine

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

McLaren Vale

While it couldn’t feel any more removed from city life, the McLaren Vale wine region is inside Adelaide’s metropolitan area. And although the township itself is only 40 minutes by car from central Adelaide and vineyards brush up against ever-encroaching housing, McLaren Vale remains unaffected by the urban sprawl. With deeply etched history, the Vale has a slow-paced sense of calm and an extraordinary wealth of untrammelled beauty. It is home to some of this country’s most beautifully pristine beaches, as well as some of the world’s most forward-thinking grape-growers and winemakers. And with over 80 cellar doors, it is an essential destination for wine lovers – and anyone else, for that matter.

Biodynamic

An organic farming method created by Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, biodynamics is a slightly mystical approach, employing elaborate organic ‘preparations’ to restore the natural balance of the soil and encourage microorganisms. It also observes the lunar cycle to prescribe actions in the vineyard and winery. Why some of it works is not clearly understood, but it is used by some of the world’s greatest producers.

Home > Wines We Love > 2023 Bondar Rosé

In any year, this is a sure candidate for Australia’s top rosé – for both quality and value – and the 2023 is stellar. Red fruits and watermelon are features, as is the typically textural play on the palate that is swiftly refreshed with perfectly balanced acidity.

Producer
Bondar
Region

McLaren Vale
RRP

$30.80
Vintage

2023
Variety/Varieties

Grenache
Alc./Vol.

13%

In any year, this is a sure candidate for Australia’s top rosé – for both quality and value – and the 2023 is stellar. Red fruits and watermelon are features, as is the typically textural play on the palate that is swiftly refreshed with perfectly balanced acidity.

Tasting note

A prettily pale but nonetheless insistent colour, this nails the Pantone swatch Platonic ideal of rosé hues. It goes a step further, too, embracing all the elements that one finds so intoxicating about rosé while never dipping into confection or frivolity. Watermelon, strawberry, redcurrant and peach fuzz feature on the nose and palate, while just enough flex in the mid-palate eases you in but doesn’t linger, keeping refreshment value high. A benchmark mod-Oz rosé

Themes of this wine

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

Cinsault

Cinsault has been grown in Australia since pioneering days, but it has typically been swallowed by blends. However, its ability to shrug off hot and dry conditions and still make elegant wines with plenty of acidity is seeing its star rise in warmer zones like the Barossa Valley. Fragrant and quite pretty, cinsault can have very lifted aromas of red berry fruits, like raspberry, strawberry and cherry, while some blue floral notes, like violet also typically feature. It rarely achieves much more than midweight, with gentle tannins and decent acidity.

Counoise

A minor red grape from the Southern Rhône, counoise is used sparingly in blends, most notably in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It contributes spice notes and holds its acidity well, so can be used to add freshness, too.

McLaren Vale

While it couldn’t feel any more removed from city life, the McLaren Vale wine region is inside Adelaide’s metropolitan area. And although the township itself is only 40 minutes by car from central Adelaide and vineyards brush up against ever-encroaching housing, McLaren Vale remains unaffected by the urban sprawl. With deeply etched history, the Vale has a slow-paced sense of calm and an extraordinary wealth of untrammelled beauty. It is home to some of this country’s most beautifully pristine beaches, as well as some of the world’s most forward-thinking grape-growers and winemakers. And with over 80 cellar doors, it is an essential destination for wine lovers – and anyone else, for that matter.

Home > Wines We Love > 2021 Dune ‘Empty Quarter’

A blend of Vale hero varieties with a dash of climate-apt touriga, this melds wild berries, spice and earthy scents in a bright, midweight wine with fine but grippy tannins.

Producer
Dune
Region

McLaren Vale
RRP

$26
Vintage

2021
Variety/Varieties

Grenache Mourvèdre Shiraz (Syrah) Touriga nacional
Alc./Vol.

14.1%

Dune is Duncan and Peter Lloyd’s project outside of their family’s Coriole label, exploring the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs. A blend of Vale hero varieties with a dash of climate-apt touriga, this melds wild berries, spice and earthy scents in a bright, midweight wine with fine but grippy tannins.

Tasting note

Common companions, shiraz, grenache and mataro are joined here by a splash of touriga nacional. This sits more towards the midweight camp, with bright and crunchy red fruit notes with some blueberry, boysenberry and red florals accented by cracked earth, ferrous notes, white pepper and brown cardamom. It’s a terrifically bright but flavoursome wine, with a sneakily grippy line of fine tannin adding savoury interest and making it a brilliant foil for food.

Themes of this wine

Syrah/Shiraz

Shiraz dominates the Australian wine industry, accounting for nearly a third of this country’s vines. The grape’s traditional home is in France’s Northern Rhône, with wines that combine elegance and power, while Australia is perhaps best known for the muscular styles from warmer areas. Today, drinkers of Australian shiraz are spoilt for choice with expressions ranging from the elegant and spicy to the monumental.

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

Mourvèdre/mataro

Mourvèdre has been in this country as long as any variety, but it has often been sunk into blends, playing a vital role but rarely grabbing the mic. And while that remains the destination for most of this darkly fruited and tannic grape, it can play a pivotal role in those wines, and gets the occasional outing solo in both red and rosé wines. As with many grapes typically used for blending, mourvèdre has a distinct personality. It is a variety that is often strong in tannic structure, quite dark fruited and spicy, often with an almost animal and wild herb aroma. This will naturally depend a little on site and winemaking, with the grape commonly made into rosé that shows none of that wildness, instead typically displaying red berry notes, though the wines are often still blends.

Touriga Nacional

Touriga nacional is best known as a Port variety, but it can play a compelling role in table wines, too. Although the grape has been planted in this country for a long time, it typically slipped into blends – mostly fortified –unacknowledged. With intense fruit in a blueberry and dark berry spectrum, touriga nacional typically also shows a lifted fragrance of violets in a wine’s youth, and it can have both leathery and minty notes. Tannins are a big feature of the variety, so expect a drying and grippy palate on most wines.

McLaren Vale

While it couldn’t feel any more removed from city life, the McLaren Vale wine region is actually inside Adelaide’s metropolitan area. And although the township itself is only 40 minutes by car from central Adelaide and vineyards brush up against ever-encroaching housing, McLaren Vale remains unaffected by the urban sprawl. With deeply etched history, the Vale has a slow-paced sense of calm and an extraordinary wealth of untrammelled beauty. It is home to some of this country’s most beautifully pristine beaches, as well as some of the world’s most forward-thinking grape-growers and winemakers. And with over 80 cellar doors, it is an essential destination for wine lovers – and anyone else, for that matter.

Home > Wines We Love > 2022 Thistledown ‘The Vagabond’ Grenache

The devotion of Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW to grenache is on display here with the full gamut of grenache flavours from wild red fruits and florals to an earthy growl of old vine fruit, with a natural tannic spine supporting.

Producer
Thistledown
Region

McLaren Vale
RRP

$60
Vintage

2022
Variety/Varieties

Grenache
Alc./Vol.

14.5%

Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW do many things, but their devotion to elevating the status of grenache is a significant part of their mission. And this is evidence of how important that mission is, displaying the full gamut of grenache flavours from wild red fruits and florals to an earthy growl of old vine fruit, with a natural tannic spine supporting.

Tasting note

This is grenache in a serious vein, with an old vine intensity and structural heft, but it does all that with a lightness of touch and sense of elegance. Raspberry, wild strawberry, red cherry and red floral notes feature on the nose, with a dusty accent of warm spices and woodsy dried herbs, a puff of Turkish delight closing out. The tannic grip is impactful but it’s from the grapes, and not oak, and so plays in a harmonious and moreishly engaging way, with a lingering sense of minerality, of place.

Themes of this wine

Grenache

The great grape of the Southern Rhône, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the world’s oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.

McLaren Vale

While it couldn’t feel any more removed from city life, the McLaren Vale wine region is actually inside Adelaide’s metropolitan area. And although the township itself is only 40 minutes by car from central Adelaide and vineyards brush up against ever-encroaching housing, McLaren Vale remains unaffected by the urban sprawl. With deeply etched history, the Vale has a slow-paced sense of calm and an extraordinary wealth of untrammelled beauty. It is home to some of this country’s most beautifully pristine beaches, as well as some of the world’s most forward-thinking grape-growers and winemakers. And with over 80 cellar doors, it is an essential destination for wine lovers – and anyone else, for that matter.

2025 Dune ‘Maspalomas’ Clarete McLaren Vale

Tasting Note

Themes of this wine

McLaren Vale

Grenache

Grenache blanc

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Grenache

McLaren Vale

Climate-apt viticulture

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Grenache

Cinsault

Mataro

Blending

Barossa Valley

Korse means Corsica, and this is a tribute to the wines of the island, or rather the Koerner’s take on them, employing two of the island’s key varieties: sangiovese (there called nieuluccio, though not all believe they are identical) and sciacarello.

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Sangiovese

Grenache

Sciacarello

Carignan

Malbec

Clare Valley

The Yangarra flagship from deepest sandy soils and oldest vines, this is regal but rugged expression, red and dark fruits, earthy, mineral, utterly individual.

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Grenache

McLaren Vale

Biodynamic

In any year, this is a sure candidate for Australia’s top rosé – for both quality and value – and the 2023 is stellar. Red fruits and watermelon are features, as is the typically textural play on the palate that is swiftly refreshed with perfectly balanced acidity.

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Grenache

Cinsault

Counoise

McLaren Vale

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Syrah/Shiraz

Grenache

Mourvèdre/mataro

Touriga Nacional

McLaren Vale

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Grenache

McLaren Vale

Bookmark this job

Save this search

Create Resume