
McLaren Vale, Clare Valley
The McLaren Vale wine region is located less than an hours drive south of Adelaide, straight down the picturesque coastline.
Shiraz is by far the most widely planted variety, and the most important variety for the region, accounting for about 50% of the total crush. Every winery in the region will likely be producing at least one or more Shiraz wines, and with the wide range of unique terroirs available, each influenced by the maritime climate in unique ways, each Shiraz will have its own regional nuances.
Shiraz produced in McLaren Vale will often exhibit chocolate and coffee notes, with a little less pepper than those from Barossa Valley, and are often blended with Grenache. Other red varieties grown include Cabernet Sauvignon (and Merlot blends) Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Zinfandel. The main white variety would be Chardonnay, however Sémillon and it's common blending partner Sauvignon Blanc are made, alongside lesser amounts of Riesling, Pronto Bianco, Vermentino and Fiano.
If you plan to visit McLaren Vale there are over 65 cellar doors so you'll be spoiled for choice, ranging from the small-boutique wineries to very large wineries. The drive from McLaren Vale up to the Barossa Valley is very scenic, passing over the rolling Adelaide Hills, and though the quaint German-settled town of Hahndorf.
Located 120km north of Adelaide, Clare Valley is one of the oldest wine regions in Australia. The region is set on softly undulating hills covering a length of some 35km and ranges from 5 to 10km in width. In fact, Clare Valley is also one of mainland Australia's coolest wine growing regions.
The five subregions of Clare Valley are - Sevenhill, Clare, Watervale, Polish Hill and Auburn, each influenced by the interweaving creeks and valleys and each with its unique soil types, climate and altitude. Throughout the region, the moderately continental climate, with its cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days are ideal for producing its most important white, Riesling.
Whilst Riesling is no doubt the king white grape for the region, very elegant Shiraz with soft palates and Cabernet Sauvignons are produced there too. Lesser amounts of Sémillon are grown, though Grenache and blends like Shiraz/Cabernet or Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec can also be deliciously smooth and textural.
Grosset produces arguably Australia's finest Rieslings from his Clare Valley Winery. Atlas and Leo Buring too create nice Rieslings.
Shiraz is by far the most widely planted variety, and the most important variety for the region, accounting for about 50% of the total crush. Every winery in the region will likely be producing at least one or more Shiraz wines, and with the wide range of unique terroirs available, each influenced by the maritime climate in unique ways, each Shiraz will have its own regional nuances.
Shiraz produced in McLaren Vale will often exhibit chocolate and coffee notes, with a little less pepper than those from Barossa Valley, and are often blended with Grenache. Other red varieties grown include Cabernet Sauvignon (and Merlot blends) Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Zinfandel. The main white variety would be Chardonnay, however Sémillon and it's common blending partner Sauvignon Blanc are made, alongside lesser amounts of Riesling, Pronto Bianco, Vermentino and Fiano.
If you plan to visit McLaren Vale there are over 65 cellar doors so you'll be spoiled for choice, ranging from the small-boutique wineries to very large wineries. The drive from McLaren Vale up to the Barossa Valley is very scenic, passing over the rolling Adelaide Hills, and though the quaint German-settled town of Hahndorf.
Located 120km north of Adelaide, Clare Valley is one of the oldest wine regions in Australia. The region is set on softly undulating hills covering a length of some 35km and ranges from 5 to 10km in width. In fact, Clare Valley is also one of mainland Australia's coolest wine growing regions.
The five subregions of Clare Valley are - Sevenhill, Clare, Watervale, Polish Hill and Auburn, each influenced by the interweaving creeks and valleys and each with its unique soil types, climate and altitude. Throughout the region, the moderately continental climate, with its cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days are ideal for producing its most important white, Riesling.
Whilst Riesling is no doubt the king white grape for the region, very elegant Shiraz with soft palates and Cabernet Sauvignons are produced there too. Lesser amounts of Sémillon are grown, though Grenache and blends like Shiraz/Cabernet or Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec can also be deliciously smooth and textural.
Grosset produces arguably Australia's finest Rieslings from his Clare Valley Winery. Atlas and Leo Buring too create nice Rieslings.
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- Road to Enlightenment Riesling is regional and varietally expressive - full of character and exceptionally drinkable. Sourced from a combination of older and younger vines in the heart of the Clare Valley, just off the Horrocks Highway to the north ... Learn MoreROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT RIESLING 2020$14.99 Per item
- Road to Enlightenment Riesling is regional and varietally expressive - full of character and exceptionally drinkable. Sourced from a combination of older and younger vines in the heart of the Clare Valley, just off the Horrocks Highway to the north ... Learn MoreROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT RIESLING 2019$14.99 Per itemOut of stock
- WINNER; James Halliday's Wine Companion 2020 WINERY OF THE YEAR! The Watervale Riesling is picked from a special part of the Florita vineyard in Watervale. This famous Riesling vineyard usually achieves full ripeness, with high natural acid levels. The nose displays ... Learn MoreJIM BARRY WATERVALE RIESLING 2020$18.90 Per itemOut of stock
- The southern hairy-nose wombat is small than other wombat but is stocky, robust and the proud state emblem of South Australia. Like the might of the little wombat, Little Giant iis crafted from premium regional fruit from established vineyards that ... Learn MoreLITTLE GIANTS GRENACHE 2020$18.99 Per item
- The fruit is sourced from 2 distinguished vineyard sites in the Clare Valley. The main part is sourced from a premium vineyard owned by the famous Koerner family which also sells fruit to wineries such as Vickery, Adelina and Leo Buring. ... Learn MoreAtlas Watervale Riesling 2019$19.99 Per itemOut of stock
- ** 93 POINTS JAMES HALLIDAY ** "Shows delicate aromas of lime, guava and green apple with balanced acidity. Flavours of lime and orange peel on the palate with some underlying sweetness and a crisp, dry, finish. Careful cellaring should lead to secondary characters ... Learn More
- WINNER; James Halliday's Wine Companion 2020 WINERY OF THE YEAR! A wonderful Shiraz made exclusively. Sourced from their home block of Shiraz, called the Lodge Hill, one of the centrepieces of the Clare Valley. Blueberry and pepper on the nose with ... Learn MoreJIM BARRY 'LODGE HILL' SHIRAZ 2017$20.99 Per item
- WINNER; James Halliday's Wine Companion 2020 WINERY OF THE YEAR! Made in partnership with the Jim Barry family wine company - one of Australia's best producers - from a Single Vineyard next to their home estate in the Clare Valley. Beautiful ... Learn More
- Made exclusively for United Cellars by Yangarra Estate using barrel selected fruit. Aromas of dark fruit aromas, along with blueberries, dark chocolate and some floral notes. A medium-full bodied palate packed with juicy black fruit, hints of licorice and dark ... Learn More
- WINNER; James Halliday's Wine Companion 2020 WINERY OF THE YEAR! A wonderful Shiraz made exclusively for United Cellars by 3rd generation winemaker, Tom Barry. Sourced from their home block of Shiraz, called the Lodge Hill, one of the centrepieces of the ... Learn More
- The fruit is sourced from 2 distinguished vineyard sites in the Clare Valley. The main part is sourced from a premium vineyard owned by the famous Koerner family which also sells fruit to wineries such as Vickery, Adelina and Leo Buring. ... Learn MoreAtlas Watervale Riesling 2020$21.99 Per itemOut of stock
- WINNER; James Halliday's Wine Companion 2020 WINERY OF THE YEAR! Sourced from both the prestigious Watervale sub region and the Barry’s own 40 yr old Lodge Hill vineyard in the Clare Valley. The palate shows lime citrus peel and ginger. There ... Learn More
- With a history dating back to 1878, the Pike family has a past rich in brewing and winemaking. Current custodians, Neil & Andrew form a formidable partnership creating wines that express terroir magnificently. One of their icon wines, the 'Traditionale' Riesling manages ... Learn MorePIKES 'TRADITIONALE' RIESLING 2019$21.99 Per itemOut of stock
- It makes perfect sense that Primo make a superb Sangiovese, as Joe Grilli has spent many vintages making wine in Italy, the home of the variety. Very lifted aromas of vibrant cherries, Turkish delight and a lovely chocolate undertone. Complex ... Learn MoreUNITED CELLARS SELECTION 'SANGIOVESE BY PRIMO ESTATE' 2017$21.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Made exclusively for United Cellars by Yangarra Estate using barrel selected fruit. Aromas of dark fruit aromas, along with blueberries, dark chocolate and some floral notes. A medium-full bodied palate packed with juicy black fruit, hints of licorice and dark ... Learn MoreUNITED CELLARS SELECTION 'SHIRAZ BY YANGARRA ESTATE' 2018$21.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Rieslingfreak No.5, like No.3 is made from the family vineyard, but with the grapes harvested from a vineyard with lighter soils therefore providing a lighter style of wine. The grapes are harvested earlier in the season, to provide a wine ... Learn More
- Made from the family vineyard, White Hutt, Clare Valley. The heavy red clay soils contribute to the fruit intensity of this wine. No.3 is a fruit driven style of Riesling. Classic flavours of this vineyard include ripe lemon and limes ... Learn MoreRIESLINGFREAK NO 3 CLARE VALLEY RIESLING 2020$22.00 Per item
- RockBare is a great example of the region’s signature wine. This bright and crunchy number presents a savoury touch with an intense concentration of flavour that makes this wine stand out from the pack with fine walnut–like tannins. ... Learn MoreROCKBARE TIDEWAY GRENACHE 2017$22.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Grenache is Australia’s signature grape variety and we’re slightly obsessed with it. Our first Rosé is sourced from an old, single vineyard in Berri. Beautifully pale, salmon pink with delicate aromatics and lovely texture, it lives up to ... Learn MoreTHISTLEDOWN GORGEOUS GRENACHE ROSE 2019$22.99 Per item
- The base wines are predominately French oak matured Shiraz from McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. Rounding out the blend are small percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional of up to ten years of age. The inclusion of older ... Learn MoreCOATES LA PETITE CUVEE SPARKLING SHIRAZ NV$22.99 Per item
- Affectionately known as ‘Truffle Hound’ - is our early-released, approachable and jovial expression of Barbera & Nebbiolo - we aim to retain the higher aromatics, herbal savouriness for its amaro-like refreshment. For those that favour meaty, gaminess over bright plum-fruit. An ... Learn MoreUNICO ZELO NEBBIOLO 'TRUFFLE HOUND' 2020$23.00 Per item
- VineMind Clare Valley Riesling 2018 is a classic Clare Riesling from a great vineyard. It is chalky, lemon, citrus, floral. Lean and dry with great lean. ... Learn MoreVINEMIND RIESLING 2018$23.89 Per item
- This wine brings together traditional friends Grenache (50%), Shiraz (45%) and Mataro (5%). Picked by hand, the fruit was gently handled in the winery and aged in old French oak. The Grenache comes from our 50-year old vines, the Shiraz from our 65+ year ... Learn MoreBONDAR ‘JUNTO’ GSM 2019$23.99 Per item
- "The PF Shiraz is made from grapes grown on our certified biodynamic single-estate vineyard, grown without herbicides, fungicides or synthetic chemicals. It is made without additions of any kind: sulphur (preservative), acid, tannin or finings. It's intense, dark and perhaps ... Learn MoreYANGARRA 'PF' SHIRAZ 2019$23.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Chapel Hill Winemaker’s Selection Shiraz gives exciting aromas of blueberries and plums. ... Learn MoreCHAPEL HILL WINEMAKERS SELECT SHIRAZ 2012$24.99 Per item
- Sourced from a number of old vineyards in the Riverland and McLaren Vale, some of which are dry grown bush vines. All vineyards are vinified in small batches, separately. Wild ferments, whole bunch inclusion, larger oak and no filtration or ... Learn MoreTHISTLEDOWN GORGEOUS GRENACHE 2020$24.99 Per item
- This top value red is just the latest step on winemaker Peter Fraser's march towards recreating his own McLaren Vale examples of the famous bends of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here old vine Grenache combines with Mourvèdre, Shiraz, Cinsaut, Carignan, and ... Learn MoreYANGARRA 'NOIR' 2019$24.99 Per item
- Blanc is the result of years of research and quarantine of the best white varieties we can find amongst the ancient north-west Mediterranean vine types. The fact that these Châteauneuf varieties have been successfully blended for so many years ... Learn MoreYANGARRA 'BLANC' 2020$24.99 Per item
- A native of Italy, Vermentino is generating a lot of interest in the wine community due to its heat tolerance and ability to produce beautiful crisp and fresh wines, perfect for the Australian palate. This minimal intervention Vermentino is made ... Learn MoreOLIVER'S TARANGA VERMENTINO 2020$24.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Showing a light straw colour, this Clare Valley Riesling gives off lifted fragrances of balm, lemon blossom and white florals from the nose. The intense and attractive palate is full of freshly squeezed lemon juice, orange blossom honey, ‘Bickfords’ lime ... Learn More
- "The PF Shiraz is made from grapes grown on our certified biodynamic single-estate vineyard, grown without herbicides, fungicides or synthetic chemicals. It is made without additions of any kind: sulphur (preservative), acid, tannin or finings. It's intense, dark and perhaps ... Learn MoreYANGARRA 'PF' SHIRAZ 2020$24.99 Per item
- “I love this wine and I love drinking it. It’s been stripped back from the artifice of winemaking to express the purity and breadth of McLaren Vale Shiraz” - Steve Pannell Field St Shiraz is made from the vineyard ... Learn MoreSC PANNELL 'FIELD ST' SHIRAZ 2018$24.99 Per item
- WINNER; James Halliday's Wine Companion 2020 WINERY OF THE YEAR! The Watervale Riesling is picked from a special part of the Florita vineyard in Watervale. This famous Riesling vineyard usually achieves full ripeness, with high natural acid levels. The nose displays ... Learn MoreJIM BARRY WATERVALE RIESLING 2017$24.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Sourced from the home of great Australian Riesling, this trademark Clare Valley aromatic white is wonderful when opened upon release and like all great Rieslings, will develop brilliant toasty characters over a 10 year period in the bottle. Pale straw in ... Learn MorePETALUMA HANLIN HILL RIESLING 2017$24.99 Per itemOut of stock
- Named after the original owners' Spartan origins, this is the only Coriole site facing due north. A vivid dark ruby, this is a richer expression and yet still relatively light on its feet. Floral and lifted upon entry. A dense ... Learn MoreCORIOLE SPARTA SHIRAZ 2018$25.00 Per item
- So well suited to the McLaren Vale region and over 40 years of experimenting with the sites, clones and rootstocks has led to this sangiovese being an Australian benchmark. Harvested from our 12 blocks across our 4 McLaren Vale vineyards it is interesting ... Learn MoreCORIOLE SANGIOVESE 2019$25.00 Per item
- After a vintage in Puglia, Italy, Broomhead left Coriole in 2008 and did another vintage at Châteauneuf-du-Pape in France’s Rhône Valley in ’09 before returning to McLaren Vale. “I put the idea of our own label to Dad and ... Learn More3 DARK HORSES MATARO 2016$26.99 Per item
- VINEYARD The fruit for this wine was grown at the Hill Smith Vineyard at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills. The vines at this east-facing vineyard grow in alluvial loam, limestone, shale and quartz, at an altitude of around 400m. WINEMAKING ... Learn MoreAtlas Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2019$26.99 Per item
- WHO IS THE BOXER? 'Mollydooker' is old Aussie slang for a left handed boxer and our Boxer always punches well above its Fruit Weight™. Did you notice he has two left-handed gloves? TASTING NOTES: This alluring and unashamedly bold Shiraz ... Learn MoreMOLLYDOOKER THE BOXER SHIRAZ 2019$26.99 Per item
- Awarded a Gold medal from the Australian Wine Showcase, and also given a 93 point score from Huon Hooke. Emerald Isle is Steve Wiblin's second label Riesling. Sourced from Sevenhill, this is a wine that will probably outlive us all. Wet ... Learn MoreERIN EYES 'EMERALD ISLE' RIESLING 2019$26.99 Per itemOut of stock