Dense sweet black berry fruits on the nose, has a lovely savoury almost meaty character with hints of black pepper, meat and oak. Bright, juicy and fresh on the palate - really typical of the vintage. Black cherry and plum with a meaty savouriness, the long aging in oak means it's really well integrated and allows the fruit to shine. Long and rich with good acidity, and toasty oak on the finish. Drinking well now, beneath the ripe fruit is good structure and should you wish this will age really well for a decade.

We are very proud to be associated with Smalltown Vineyards (formerly known as Magpie Estate) of the Barossa Valley - for our first proper foray into the Barossa we could not have been associated with a more compelling producer.

Smalltown Vineyards is based on 42 hectares of prime sandy loam in the Barossa Valley’s premium Ebenezer District, specifically the highly sought-after Kalimna blocks producing world class reds. Working with other vineyard sites in the Barossa and Eden Valleys to express this uniquely magical corner of the world. Winemakers Rolf Binder and Christa Deans craft superb expressions of the region in their small, hands-on winery in Tanunda. We have a lot of fun with labels because, well because we can. It’s only wine after all…

This Shiraz is sourced from the finest available vineyard sites across the premium Northern Barossa Valley.

Coming from 5 different growers, including a small amount of Eden Valley Shiraz and 2% Grenache. Aged in a variety of French and American oak barrels different ages and sizes, such a good vintage that the new oak percentage is a little higher than normal, around 30%. It spends the usual 22 months in oak with the barrels swapped around.

As the name implies, black is the key - anything chargrilled would be superb here so think griddle pans and barbecues!