2019 Koomilya GT Block Shiraz

Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia

Grape: Shiraz

Culinary Suggestions: Grilled Red Meats, Hard Cheeses, Roast Lamb

Vineyard Practice: Organic, Vegan

About

When Stephen Pannell was a boy of 15 he found an old ship’s bell while diving off the end of Busselton jetty in Western Australia. It was the bell for the SS Koomilya, a ship carrying hardwood from Western Australia to Adelaide. This wine is about the curiosity that’s driven Steve from boy to man; about his journey to modern-day McLaren Vale and this vineyard, the muse that enchants him among ancient soils, bush and ocean. You’ll find it at the end of Amery Road, on a beautiful 80-acre property established in the late 1800s. There are 30 acres under vine, and the vineyards are surrounded by native bush land, almost nestled amid the forest.

This mesoclimate, allied to three distinct soil types and geology dating back 520 million years, gives this place a unique geological and viticultural footprint. Steve fell in love with this heavenly spot as a young winemaker, and a couple of decades later purchased his piece of viticultural paradise. These great wines of place are the realisation of a long-cherished dream. - Distributor Note

Tasting Notes

The old property is serviced with bio-char and layers in a lot of regenerative agriculture that aims to reintroduce lots of native species into the farm. The GT block is 31 year old vines grafted from gewurztraminer to shiraz, ‘GT stands for grafted or gewurztraminer’, says Steve Pannell in his press release, but I go to famed mid-to-late 90s DJ and music producer, GrooveTerminator, when I see the initials. Almost a third is whole bunch fermented here, and 20% new oak used. Also, this is beautiful drinking right now.

There’s a freshness and lift to the wine despite the concentration and layering of dark fruit, woody spice and general inkiness. The character of gewurz seems omnipresent despite no gewurz here – it’s floral and pretty shiraz, flirty and quite notably silky, more soft in the shiraz spectrum and red fruited inflections chime in with plum and dark, forest berry fruits. A lick of cola and char here but the wine floats and swishes on velvety tannins and finishes extremely long and fine.

96 points - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front September 2022

Drink: 2022 - 2030+