From fruit grown at Blewitt Springs where the vineyard is deep sand with ironstone and a clay layer. The Serafino website still has the 2013 vintage available for the same price. The winemaker is Charles Whish.

Serafino, Reserve, Grenache, McLaren Vale, 2016

Smells exactly like an old school, ancient underground barrel hall that holds huge oak foudres that have held many vintages: the sharp tang of fermentation mixed with the ripe smell of sweet red fruits. Bright and lifted cherry aromas with nutty brown spice, milk chocolate and rosewater. A heady, silky mixture on the palate with cherries, purple flowers, Orange Bitters and decadent choc-nut oak like Hershey’s Kisses. Persistent, yet stays relatively light and only hinting at the lifted alcohol. Classy and will cellar wonderfully.

RRP: $40
Alc: 14.5%
Rating: 17.50/20

Wine sample courtesy of Serafino