It’s never easy to describe the assault of aromas and flavours from the JC block Shiraz, for Stephen it’s the true indication of a great wine. The aromas seem to be everywhere all at once. Fleeting moments of red cherry, then iodine, a moment of dried Australian native flowers, is that vanilla bavois? Now to Red gum honey and mahogany; Captivating, intense and delightful. Powerful tannins supported by the ferruginous flavours typical of Upper Tintara: Cocoa, bitumen, terracotta, the Aussie bush, dark red fruits - Elemental – Australian flavours but distinctly European texture with a drive and precision that continues to surprise and delight. These wines have strength, intensity, and glorious grape tannins, which wind the palate together, almost like a double helix. The complex structure pulls you straight through. They illustrate what I’m hoping modern McLaren Vale wine will be, which harks back to a tradition of what it looked like in the 1960s, without all the artifice of winemaking. Above all, these wines look and taste, Koomilya.