The ‘Best In Show’ pack

I’ve called this pack ‘The Marvelous 3 pack’ because these varieties and blends are so amazingly well suited to McLaren Vale you’ll start to question why Shiraz gets all the kudos!

Viognier is a close genetic relative of Shiraz, so it makes sense that McLaren Vale should grow good Viognier! It has been made in a fresh, fruity style with no oak. Viognier has abundant aromatics, such as peach, lime and floral notes. The palate has good acidity with great flavours and texture.

Winemakers have loved Grenache from McLaren Vale for a very long time but shaking the Tawny Port and light bodied red stigma took some effort. Now it’s fast becoming the hero of McLaren Vale reds. This Grenache / Shiraz / Mataro blend is a simplified version of the French Cotes Du Rhone wines. These varieties complement each other extremely well adding further depth and complexity.

Tempranillo is a variety widely grown in Spain, and incidentally blends very well with Grenache. There are many climate similarities with Spain, and as our Summer temperatures are increasing, varieties that can handle heat are becoming much more important. Tempranillo needs good temperatures in the growing season to ripen well. The added bonus is that the fruit flavours become ripe at a lower sugar level, leading to a lower alcohol percentage in the finished wine. Typically it’s 1% less than other reds such as Shiraz and Cabernet.