St Mary's 2012 Shiraz

The Mulligan family has been farming in the Penola region for over a century and Barry and Glenys Mulligan planted grapes on their St Mary's property, 15 kilometres out of town, in 1986. Unfortunately when the boundaries for Coonawarra were re-defined a few years back, their land was ruled to be outside the Coonawarra appellation despite being on a limestone ridge covered in the classic terra rossa soil. The wines are thus labelled Limestone Coast but are quintessentially Coonawarra in character. An old style, but delicious, wine made using open vat ferments, hand plunging and a basket press, this is a wonderfully atmospheric red that has a real sense of place. You'll find both power and finesse here - along with immediate drinkability. Lovely stuff. $30. www.stmaryswines.com.