Red Wine - Shiraz

One ancient site of Eden Valley Shiraz is Dandelion's Red Queen.

Our Winemaker Elena Brooks crowned Colin Kroehn's Eden Valley Shiraz vineyard as our Red Queen. Its age, altitude, aspect and slopes are the key. Colin tended his beloved Shiraz vines for most of his life's 90 years and our Red Queen is made entirely of his vineyard. Planted in 1912, on a south facing slope of limestone bed rock covered with loamy sands absolutely laden with quartzite, the vineyard survives to this day. The rocky outcrops of quartz are spectacularly coloured with ironstone streaks, and sit over a c.1600 million year old Barossa Complex basement of gneiss and schist.

Elena's 14th vintage of Red Queen was hand harvested and sorted on April 20th, partially crushed gently to ferment ambiently and openly for 10 days, thrice plunged by hand, before basket pressing into half new and half one year old French Oak Barriques to finish fermentation.

After two and a half years maturation and a racking in the same oak, we bottled this vintage of Red Queen without filtration or fining, to capture the essence of the vineyard. Dandelion Vineyard’s Red Queen will reward cellaring and decanting. Thank you Mr. Kroehn for this legacy.

Awards: • Global Syrah Masters 2023 Masters Medal • The Real Review, Stuart Knox (28th Dec 2023) – 98 Points, Gold Medal, #1 of 17 2021 Shiraz from Eden Valley • 2023 Sommelier Challenge IWSC San Diego – Gold 90 Points • 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards – Gold 95 Points • Melbourne International Wine Competition 2023 – Gold Medal 94 Pts • Woman Wine & Spirit Awards 2024- Gold Medal • Sakura Japan Woman’s Wine Awards 2024- Gold • China Wine & Spirit Awards 2023 - Silver • International Wine Challenge UK 2023 – Silver • Critics Challenge IWSC 2023 – Silver • Royal Sydney Wine Show 2023- Silver 90 Points • St Martins Great Australian Shiraz Challenge 2023- Silver 92 Pts.

Tasting Notes

Colour

Brooding, dark, purple and black. Intense and indefatigable in its depth of colour.

Nose

Aromatics of determined blackberry, then a whiff - just - of oakspice; then bay leaf and peppercorns freshly crushed, such as green, pink, and Schezuan. The nose swirls, almost uncontrollably. Graphite, pen ink, quartz, and earth and moss. Deft, understated barrel use underscores the purity of the fruit in a way that entices and applauds.

Palate

Richly textured but yet neatly hemmed, more tailored than strewn. Dark and black berry fruits are intense, and they unfold and embrace as the wine travels from sip to sipped. Indeed, this is a red wine that is more a verb in transition than a noun stuck fast. With further attention the deep dark fruit flavours become divingbell like. The result is the pure essence of Eden Valley’s shiraz. The fruit flavours agree with the emerging and fine tannins; there’s plushness, no doubt, but a tannic length to counterbalance the argument. Acidity keeps the fruit fresh, too.

Drink

Roast Leg of Goat, or a slow-wet-roasted Shank of Wallaby - Australia’s most underrated meat. Decant this wine twice before serving, and keep a glass over to try the next day, as if you were conducting a scientific experiment.

Winemaker

Elena Brooks, BSc (Oenology) Adelaide.

Specifics

Composition: 100% Shiraz, Latitude 34°38’10” South, Longitude 139°05’30” East, Altitude 1441 Feet = 440 Meters.

Product Details

Region : Eden Valley, South Australia

Vintage : 2021

Variety : Shiraz

Volume : 750ml

Alcohol Volume : 14.5%

Closure : ScrewCap