Ironstone Pressings is named after the decomposed laterite granite known as ironstone found throughout the vineyards of McLaren Vale. This soil has a unique and rich red-brown colour from the iron oxide in the stone. Ironstone pressings is comprised of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre and each parcel is vinified separately. The wine is vinified in a traditional style, with foot treading employed on selected parcels during fermentation. The wine is basket pressed and transferred to new and used French and old American oak barriques to finish primary and secondary fermentation. Final assembly of the blend occurs after ten months maturation in oak. Ironstone Pressings is not fined or filtered prior to bottling. typically shows intense red berry fruit and spice aromas leading into a well-structured palate with great fruit concentration and savoury undertones.

The Vicar is one of Chapel Hill’s flagship wines and is an annual vineyard selection of Chapel Hill’s most outstanding and expressive parcels of McLaren Vale Shiraz. The vineyard blocks were harvested and fermented separately in small batch open fermenters. Gentle plunging was utilised for cap management and all of the ferments were left on skins for a range of 13 days to 22 days. Following gentle basket pressing, the free run and pressing fractions were combined. During the subsequent 21-month oak maturation period, the barrels were periodically racked and returned to ensure the integration of the tannins back into the structure of the wine. To preserve purity and character the wine is made with minimal additions and is allowed to clarify naturally without the use of fining or filtration. This is wonderfully opulent Vicar. Inky black and packed with blackberries, plums and dark chocolate with a twist of aniseed. The nose brims with a complex mix of wild herbs, violets, black liquorice and a sprinkle of wild fennel. A powerful wine that flows across your palate unveiling layers of delicious flavours and succulent tannins with an impossibly long finish. Purity in a glass.

Very dark, vibrant, purple with a dense crimson hue. Pepper/spice on the nose with macerated berries and a hint of pink grapefruit. Plum pudding and Christmas spices. Rich and soft entry with fragrant red fruits, some fresh tarragon and clear cedar characters complemented by dark cacao. Juicy macerated blackberries, tempered with the soft idiosyncratic milky McLaren Vale Shiraz sweetness and roundness and spike of red citrus and cranberry notes. Lush mouth filling after palate with rolling soft,

The tannins are energetic, fine grained, slightly puckering in their youth and are held up with layers of tobocca and cedar coming through from the french oak. The wine is powerful, youthful at release and has imposing character yet behind that a vale of delicacy and grace persist on the finish. Should cellar easily 10 years, possibly much longer.

This wine forms part of Clarendon Hills 'Grand Cru' classification and is the ultimate expression of Grenache for the winery. Something to keep an eye on over the next 20 years.

Deep and meaty in its expression, a fleshy and red cedar-like undertone lines the typically velvety texture. Sandown Cabernet Sauvignon by Clarendon Hills.