I mentioned in my review of the Hastwell & Lightfoot Fiano (review here in case you missed it) how my wife and I had ventured to McLaren Vale a number of times without calling into their cellar door. At the end of that review I said, “I’m feeling the disappointment now after tasting this wine”. Well, I decided to look at their website more closely and the disappointment is more real now. The place looks amazing, the platters look bloody amazing, and after trying this, my second wine from these guys, the wines are (or at the very least) also bloody amazing with a plus sign after it.
Sorry, I hate saying this sort of thing, but it is so very McLaren Vale in a delightful and individual way though. By this I mean it has the typical characters of the region but I think it has its own idiosyncrasies and personality.
It smells earthy but with some terrific dark fruit notes and clean too.
High percentage cocoa dark chocolate, dark berries, a ripe juicy plummy medium weight palate that sits for a moment on the taste buds before trailing off. The tannins are evident but by no means intrusive.
There is a sense of elegance about this wine thanks to some very well executed oak that seems to be creamy/vanilla in character. This is where I think its own idiosyncrasies and personality come into their own. Elegance is not always something you relate to McLaren Vale shiraz.
Even though it is nicely balanced and so approachable now, this has cellarability for sure and at the price, you can have the best of both worlds!
Region: McLaren Vale, SA Price: $30 Source: Sample courtesy of Hastwell & Lightfoot and Define Wine
Words from a Wine Glass 
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