McLaren Vale: spicy Shiraz and old-vine Grenache
0 bottles, from spicy Shiraz to old-vine GrenacheA red from southern Australia that keeps a light touch, that is what people come here for. Between Gulf St Vincent and the first slopes of Mount Lofty, the sea breeze rises every afternoon and stretches ripening out by several weeks. The fruit stays clean, the spice comes ahead of the jam, the palate finishes fresh.
The range follows three houses in the valley. D'Arenberg, settled there since 1912, for the table cuvées. Bondar for the slopes of the Rayner vineyard. MMAD for the sands of Blewitt Springs, where Chenin and Syrah were planted around 1940.
Collection McLaren Vale wines is empty
Back to homepageWhat the valley makes of each grape
The same grape changes face as soon as it leaves the neighbouring valley. Here the sea is a few kilometres away, the nights cool down, and the skin of the berry thickens slowly. These are the grape varieties the selection runs through, each with the bottle that represents it.
| The grape variety | Its profile here | What sets it apart from elsewhere | A bottle from the section |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShirazSyrah under its Australian name | Fresh blackberry, blackcurrant, pepper and violet, silky tannin | Suppler and spicier than Barossa Shiraz, the breeze preserves its acidity | Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz€24.90 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| GrenacheOld vines on sand and limestone | Raspberry, blueberry, garrigue, a juicy, saline palate | Grown on sand rather than rounded pebbles, it gains in perfume what it loses in power | Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache€31.50 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| Mourvèdre | Red fruit, structure, firm tannin | It serves as the backbone of the local blend, whereas the French South gives it the leading role | D'Arenberg The Stump Jump Red€13.50 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| Chenin Blanc | Kumquat, citron, wet stone, a chiselled palate | Raised on fine sand and sea spray, it finishes more saline than its Loire cousins | MMAD Chenin Blanc€38 per bottle, sold individually |
| ChardonnayBlended with the Adelaide Hills | Nectarine, green apple, toasted hazelnut, seven months in barrel | Grapes from the neighbouring heights bring it the tension the valley alone would have left broad | D'Arenberg The Olive Grove€17.90 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| The white blend Riesling, Sauvignon, Marsanne, Roussanne | White flowers, pear, grapefruit, richness and minerality | Four grape varieties gathered in a single glass, a rare formula outside the French South | D'Arenberg The Stump Jump White Blend€12.90 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
Shiraz can also be tasted in its most direct version with D'Arenberg's The Footbolt, an unfiltered wine aged twelve to eighteen months in barrel, at €18.50 a bottle, by the case of 6. To follow the grape variety from one country to the next, the Syrah page gathers it together, and Grenache has one of its own.
The soils, sector by sector
White sands, marine limestone, red clays, ancient schists: few wine regions change subsoil so quickly. Twenty minutes by car is enough to go from one formation to another, and the glass tells you before the map does.
| The sector | Terrain and distance from the sea | The dominant soil | The imprint in the glass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blewitt Springs | North-eastern plateau, 150 to 200 m, away from the direct sea spray | Deep sands lying on a layer of ironstone pebbles | Floral perfume, loose-knit tannin, a saline thread beneath the fruit |
| Seaview and Tatachilla | Rises facing the gulf, three kilometres from the shore | Wind-blown sands over red clays | Ripe, supple fruit, acidity held by the afternoon breeze |
| McLaren Flat | Alluvial terraces in the centre of the valley | Deep gravels and silts | Fleshy reds, generous black fruit, a broad palate |
| Willunga and the Sellicks foothills | Foot of the Willunga Fault, backed against the hills | Red clays over ancient limestone | Firm structure, straight tannin, mineral finish |
| Clarendon and the foothills of Mount Lofty | Eastern slope, 250 to 350 m, the latest-ripening sector | Weathered schists and sandstones | Black pepper, tension, slow ripening and restrained alcohol |
| The historic heart, around the town | Gentle slopes along the creek, in the centre | Outcropping limestone and sandy clays | Clean fruit, a full palate that keeps its freshness |
| Aldinga and the coastal strip | The edge of Gulf St Vincent, facing due west | Marine sands and soft sandstones | Lively, saline whites, light seaside reds |
At Blewitt Springs, MMAD works vines planted in 1939 for Grenache and in 1941 for Syrah: MMAD Grenache and MMAD Syrah share the same sand, at €49.90 a bottle, in packs of 2. For the warm reading of the same grape variety, the Barossa takes over north of Adelaide, and the Australia pillar gives the complete picture.
A bottle for every mood
Ways into the valley, from the everyday white to a bottle from old vines.
Start the valley with a white
Four white grape varieties blended: white flowers, pear, grapefruit and a lively finish. The white for aperitifs and grilled fish.
D'Arenberg The Stump Jump White Blend 2025 · €12.90 per bottle, by the case of 6A southern red for the week
Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre in unequal proportions: plum, raspberry and liquorice, round tannin. The red for slow-cooked dishes.
D'Arenberg The Stump Jump Red 2018 · €13.50 per bottle, by the case of 6Taste the region's Shiraz
Black cherry, plum, cocoa and pepper, aged up to eighteen months in barrel and bottled unfiltered. Local typicity, full frame.
D'Arenberg The Footbolt 2020 · €18.50 per bottle, by the case of 6Move on to single-plot Shiraz
Grapes from the Rayner vineyard planted between 1947 and 1950, hand-harvested, twenty per cent whole bunches. Silky, perfumed, remarkably easy to drink.
Bondar Violet Hour Shiraz 2021 · €24.90 per bottle, by the case of 6Discover maritime Grenache
Hillsides close to the gulf, sandy and clay-limestone soils, fermentation in open vats. Fragrant, juicy, structured, it keeps five to ten years.
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2022 · €31.50 per bottle, by the case of 6A saline white, sold individually
Old vines from 1939 on fine sand, fermented in concrete and old foudres. Kumquat, citron and sea spray, a chiselled, precise palate.
MMAD Chenin Blanc 2023 · €38 per bottle, sold individuallyThe section's bottle for ageing
Vines from 1941 in Blewitt Springs, native yeasts, twelve months' ageing, bottled unfiltered. Blueberry, graphite, generous tannin and a saline thread.
MMAD Syrah 2022 · €49.90 per bottle, in a set of 2Follow the grape elsewhere
Grenache in the sand here, garnacha in Spain, grenache on the Rhône pebbles: the same grape from one vineyard to the next.
Section page · Grenache
A soil map drawn plot by plot
In 2010, the valley's growers published what remains the most detailed geological map of any Australian wine region: some thirty formations identified across a territory you can cross in twenty minutes, from Cambrian rocks 550 million years old to marine sands laid down yesterday on a geological scale. Every estate can read the bedrock beneath its plot and put it on the label.
That map changed the way people plant. Old-vine Grenache, long sold by weight to feed blends, has come back to the front by finding its sands again. Mediterranean grape varieties, Fiano, Vermentino and Nero d'Avola, have followed on the warm sectors, and trial cuvées keep multiplying.
How do you choose
We taste every cuvée before it joins the catalogue, and two things matter on this range. Freshness first: a red from the valley has to finish straight despite the alcohol, otherwise it does not make the cut. Clarity second: we follow the houses that harvest by hand, age in barrels already broken in and keep the fruit up front.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked about McLaren Vale
Why are these bottles often sold by the case or in sets?
The valley's estates ship in full cases from the other side of the world, and keeping that packaging holds the price per bottle down. The price shown is always the bottle price, with the format right beside it. The MMAD Chenin Blanc can be bought singly, at €38 a bottle, or at €37 in a pack of 3.
Are Shiraz and Syrah the same grape variety?
Yes, one grape under two names. Australia kept the spelling shiraz it received in the 19th century, while France and most other countries write syrah. Both words live side by side in the valley, MMAD even choosing the French spelling for its sand-grown cuvée. The whole grape variety can be explored on the Syrah page.
How does this Shiraz differ from that of the Barossa?
Through freshness, and it comes from the sea. Gulf St Vincent sends its breeze in every afternoon, the temperature drops and ripening stretches out. The wine then keeps fresh blackberry, pepper and violet where the neighbouring valley, warmer and more continental, gives candied fruit and a broader palate. Compare with the Barossa.
What is the Blewitt Springs sector?
A sandy plateau in the north-east of the valley, famous for its old Grenache and Shiraz vines. Beneath the fine sand runs a layer of ironstone pebbles that brings the structure, while the sand gives the perfume. The wines come out floral, supple and saline, with a tannin of lace rather than of framework.
Why is there more talk of geology here than elsewhere?
Because the valley funded the survey of its own bedrock and published the most precise map in the country. Across a tiny territory, Cambrian sandstones, marine limestones, red clays, schists and recent sands follow one another. A grower can say which formation each vat comes from, and that information appears more and more often on the labels.
Is the local Grenache worth a detour?
It has been the valley's great story for the past fifteen years. Old plots planted on sand, long destined for inexpensive blends, are now vinified on their own, with partial whole bunches and in open vats. The result has more of Pinot about it than of a sun-baked red: raspberry, garrigue, fine tannin and a saline finish. The Rayner Vineyard Grenache gives the measure of it at €31.50 a bottle.
Which whites will you find in this range?
Three readings. Old-vine Chenin Blanc, saline and chiselled, from MMAD. Chardonnay blended with the Adelaide Hills and aged seven months in barrique, with The Olive Grove at €17.90 a bottle. And the four-variety white blend, Riesling, Sauvignon, Marsanne and Roussanne, which opens the list at €12.90.
How long do these wines keep?
The white blend is for drinking within its first five years, on its vivacity. The Grenache from the Rayner vineyard holds five to ten years and gains garrigue and sweet spice. The single-plot Shiraz, aged in barrels already broken in and bottled without filtration, will happily pass the decade and then develop leather and cocoa.
At what temperature should these bottles be served?
Count on 16 °C for the reds, a little less than for a warm-climate Shiraz: any higher and the alcohol takes over and masks the spice. Sand-grown Grenache even takes 15 °C, which heightens its perfume. For the whites, 10 to 12 °C in a fairly wide glass, so the citrus can breathe.
Which bottle should I start with?
Start with the Stump Jump Red at €13.50 a bottle: it sets the southern accent, Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre together. Then add The Footbolt at €18.50 a bottle for Shiraz on its own, and you have the valley's two faces on the same table.