IT STARTED WITH A BELL
At only 15-years-old, Stephen Pannell had wandered off from his family and found himself meandering across the diving end of the Busselton Jetty, standing on the tipping point of the rolling Margaret River. It was there where Steve, full of youth and wonder, plucked an old blemished bell from the sea whilst scuba diving; instantly drawn to it’s curiosity as if it called to him. In a different time, the bell would reveal itself as an object belonging to a ship from the early 1900’s, the SS Koomilya. A wood-lugger that journeyed regularly between Western Australian and South Australia, and was put to good use in the dark times of World War II. Steve liked that bell, took it home, and cleaned it up.
For Steve, time and his attention to detail was the essence that solidified his winemaking journey; a well-documented origin story spanning across his own family history from the Margaret River. During his time as Chief Winemaker at Hardys, Steve was exposed to many and varied vineyards from across the country, applying his craft to thousands of wines. There, a particular vineyard captured his palate; an 80 acre property (30 acres under vine) on Amery Rd, established in the late 1800s. Nurturing this plot, Steve won his first Jimmy Watson with an Eileen Hardy Shiraz from that vineyard, and Steve was determined to own that property.
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.
On the nose they have a unique characteristic, which can't be clearly identified, but can only be described as Koomilya.
They illustrate what I'm hoping modern McLaren Vale Shiraz will be, which harps back to a tradition of what it looked like in the 1960s, without all the artifice of winemaking." - Steve Pannell
2019 SHIRAZ
Tasting Notes
Very old school aromas that are more about earth (wet earth), leather, rust, dried herb, charcuterie, and old furniture. The fruit is complex and shows pomegranate, cherry, prunes, and some black berries.Intense, dense, complex, with great attack and precision. Long, even, and integrated. The most profound thing about this wine is its finish. The tannins are majestic, ripe, and moreish. A beautiful wine that screams of McLaren Vale.
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