2015 Shottesbrooke Estate Series Shiraz McLaren Vale 750 ml

When It Feels Right To Be Wrong...

We were led to believe that all 16 bottles of Shiraz on the table were over $50 at a recent blind tasting in Chicago. But after the first pass of tasting, our host revealed with a smile that he’d snuck in one value bottle that regularly goes for $25. Could we guess which one it was?

Nobody in the room picked out the 94-point, “elegant” Shottesbrooke Shiraz, which James Halliday, Australia’s top critic, honored by calling a “crystal clear” testament to the variety and its terroir. Perhaps that’s because this value stunner, a bold, juicy, black-fruited Shiraz bursting with herbs, floral undertones, and just a hint of smoke decidedly does not taste like $20. 

In other words, snap this one up: It won’t be here for long.

Shottesbrooke’s first vines were planted back in the early 1980s, and since then, they’ve been quietly crafting some of the most exciting wines in Australia. The success of their early efforts led them to expand in the McLaren Vale, aiming to produce Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon that were true expressions of the terroir. The results are already evident, producing a class of wines of grand proportions but with balance and precision—and an incredible price.

Ask any winemaker what the 2015 vintage in McClaren Vale was all about and they’ll tell you “intensity.” This wine demonstrates 2015’s primary characteristic in spades, showing rich black fruit coated in chocolate, dripping with crushed blackberry and plum, buttressed by warm tannins.