2013 Andrew Hardy Little Ox Shiraz McLaren Vale 750 ml

Bargain Shiraz off 120-Year-Old Vines!

Vines that are 120 years old produce great grapes — they just don’t produce many of them. The ancient block of Shiraz at Nottage Hill in McLaren Vale, planted in 1891 by Sir Thomas Hardy, produces less than a half-ton per acre. Andrew Hardy, best known as the man hand-picked to succeed legend Brian Croser at famed Australian winery Petaluma, squeezes just one or two barrels of “The Ox” Shiraz from his great-great-grandfather’s priceless fruit. This scarce wine has been a critical darling, earning 97 points from Robert Parker, who calls it “one of the greatest Shiraz produced in South Australia.”

Sir Thomas Hardy’s original plantings are now down to just nine rows. As they have produced less and less, the 300-acre amphitheater of Nottage Hill has been replanted with their cuttings, essentially regrowing the original vines on the same historic site. For years, fruit from this farsighted project went into the excellent and long-lived Eileen Hardy wines. Finally, in 2007, those who clamor for “The Ox” were overjoyed: That was when Andrew Hardy began producing “Little Ox” from his family’s Nottage Hill fruit.

Since that first vintage, Hardy has taken the fruit of his ancestral vineyard and established “Little Ox” as one of the Southern Hemisphere’s greatest wine buys, with his impeccable winemaking pedigree on full display with fruit from Nottage Hill, a national monument and one of the most prized locations in Australia. Robert Parker declares that “Little Ox is one of the finest values” in South Australia.

The 2013 Andrew Hardy “Little Ox” Shiraz is opaque ruby-purple in the glass. Dark cherry, chocolate, and red-berry liqueur burst forth, with potpourri and white pepper notes emerging. The palate is smooth and broad, and finishes with impressive length and round tannins. Mellowed by 24 months in older French barriques, the wine is rich and harmonious right now, and will drink well for the next 6-8 years.

Wine Spectator praises the 2013 “Little Ox” with words like “effusive” and “dense,” and Antonio Galloni’s Vinous called it a “remarkable value.”

Bafflingly underpriced at $28 — at $16.99 it’s a STEAL. Our 125 cases will disappear quickly. Shipping included on 6.