McLaren Vale: Pushing the Envelope of Refinement

BY ANGUS HUGHSON | APRIL 22, 2025

There are few better places in Australia to discover cutting-edge wines than McLaren Vale. Formerly a key home for large-scale commercial winemaking, McLaren Vale has transformed into a base for artisanal, terroir-driven winemakers with an increasing focus on single-vineyard wines of distinction. The 2022 vintage in particular offers insights into an exciting future.

It has been two years since my last extended trip to McLaren Vale. Thanks to December timing, winemakers had broad smiles on their faces and a spring in their step, with dry, warm, clement weather a very promising early sign for the 2025 vintage. This comes as a welcome relief from the relative challenges of recent years.

As a quick refresher, McLaren Vale is an incredibly historic Australian wine region, located only an hour’s drive south of Adelaide and situated between the Southern Ocean and the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges. McLaren Vale’s proximity to Adelaide led to it being one of the first South Australian wine regions planted, beginning in the late 1830s. The region has remained a winemaking centre for nearly two hundred years. The first vintage of Penfolds Grange included fruit from the northern quarter of McLaren Vale (which is now located under the expanding suburbs of Adelaide), and to this day, McLaren Vale fruit remains a key component of many highly regarded South Australian blends, including Grange.

While some other Australian regions may have greater fame, McLaren Vale has often done the heavy lifting. As such, despite some star wineries, it has not frequently received the kudos and recognition it has been due, nor have its various unofficial sub-regions been adequately covered. For the larger producers that used to rule, sub-regionality was also an unnecessary distraction that drew attention away from their brands. That may have been sound reasoning at the time, but today, in a world where many consumers are increasingly interested in the minute details of their favourite wines and regions, an increasing focus on sub-regionality can only help to tell this region’s story. Those large, generic brands have now almost disappeared, leaving behind a vacuum and an opportunity that the best local vignerons have embraced.

The vineyards of Blewitt Springs.

The Rise of the Artisans

There is something genuinely exciting happening in pockets of McLaren Vale, and that is the growing band of small artisanal winemakers and winemaking. In the past, larger wineries would hoover up much of the available fruit, blending individual components away. While the prices growers could command for their fruit could be good, these large operations did not exactly encourage growers to maximise quality, in particular through yield and canopy management. The exit of these wineries from the region, while initially painful, left some prized vineyards without a home for their fruit. It also offered enterprising winemakers an opportunity to seize an undervalued resource, either working with growers or purchasing vineyards outright. Take the low-yielding Smart Vineyard, for example, which has become one of the most highly sought-after fruit sources in McLaren Vale. Back in the 1990s, the fruit was sold relatively cheaply and used to make a commercial Rosé, while now, some of the wines off this site fetch close to $100 a bottle and are well worth it.

Visiting the region and tasting the local wines, it has become increasingly clear that there are two dominant schools of thought with regard to winemaking. First, there are the traditionalists focused on broad regional expressions and crafting dependable wines. For these producers, single vineyards and nuanced winemaking are less important, thereby continuing the theme of McLaren Vale offering generous, open-knit wines with broad market appeal. As with any generic approach, the finer details are lost in a quest to create wines that tick all the boxes for a mass market, even at a premium price point. If it was not already obvious, McLaren Vale does “upfront appeal” very well, which is why the region was so popular as a source of blending material for wines from other regions in South Australia.

At the other end of the spectrum are the artisans and the dreamers, generally tied to a clutch of small, hand-tended vineyards, with viticulture and winemaking overseen by small teams. Production size for these entities is naturally limited by the number of hours in the day and the number of vineyards that can be managed at the requisite high level of quality. That micro-management in the vineyard can also help to cope with more challenging vintage conditions. There are plenty of regions that can turn out simple, generous, dependable red wines, so this artisanal movement, with its focus on finely nuanced wines, has the potential to be a key part of McLaren Vale’s future. Importantly, large-scale production and artisanal methods are not mutually exclusive. Some larger wineries are playing well in this space thanks to investment and focus on improving the quality of their offerings. Paradoxically, while it is generally easy to make good wine in McLaren Vale, this is a region that does require an uncommonly focused approach to vineyard choice, management and winemaking in order to showcase the finest terroirs.

Skye Salter and Charlie Seppelt in the Paralian Springs Hill Vineyard.

Husband-and-wife team Charlie Seppelt and Skye Salter, of Paralian Wines, embody the artisanal mindset. While working as winemakers at some larger wineries, the couple launched Paralian as a side project, hand-selecting parcels of fruit for a small range of wines. In mid-2024, Seppelt and Salter bit the bullet and purchased the Springs Hill Vineyard, from which they had been sourcing fruit since 2018. Springs Hill sits in northern McLaren Vale, close to a number of iconic vineyards. What is most attractive about the Paralian project is the wine style they are pursuing—mid-weight, cerebral and energetic wines with purity and subtlety, where the vineyard does the talking. These are wines that are the polar opposite of old-fashioned McLaren Vale. Modern interpretations of McLaren Vale Grenache garner much attention, but Paralian puts their own stamp on a number of grape varieties, particularly a charming and understated Cabernet Sauvignon. It is early days, but Paralian’s trajectory is clear. Others, such as Rob Mack of Aphelion Wine Co, Toby and Emmanuelle Bekkers of Bekkers, Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood’s Ministry of Clouds, and MMAD Vineyard, are moving in a similar direction. These producers work a small number of single-vineyard, generally old-vine plots with a singular vision, avoiding the trap of trying to be all things to all people. They are grape farmers more than anything else, and the results are plain to see. Luckily, there is a significant base of vineyards here that have the potential to produce fine and ageworthy wines.

The Smart Vineyard

As outlined above, the Smart Vineyard is a highly regarded and in-demand source of old-bush-vine Grenache fruit, which for many years was largely ignored and thrown into cheaper blends. The Smart family has played an important role in the region’s history, having also planted Yangarra’s High Sands Vineyard. The Smart Vineyard is located in Clarendon, situated on an uneven, south-facing, steep plot at an elevation of 230 meters on red clay/loam soils with ironstone.  Across the road from the Hickinbotham Vineyard, the first block of the Smart Vineyard was planted in 1922, with subsequent blocks added in the 1950s, 1971 and 1999. The site first came to prominence with Clarendon Hills’ wines, but in more recent times, the Smart Vineyard has attracted a number of Grenache specialists, such as S.C. Pannell and Thistledown. The wild, windswept vineyard remains dry-farmed to this day.

The vineyard was originally part of a general farm that raised sheep and grew apples, apricots and currants. Management is distinctly low-intervention, without any bunch-thinning. “These old vines know what they are doing. I just let them do their own thing,” according to third-generation grapegrower Wayne Smart, who farms the site. Vignerons have their pick of fruit and take what best suits their winemaking, with older, more established customers having the right of way. As a part of my recent tastings, I asked key producers to submit multiple vintages of their wines from the Smart Vineyard stretching back to 2010. This yielded notable results. Firstly, Grenache off this site has evolved over the years, as the wines move from densely flavoured styles into more ethereal and vibrant expressions. The best wines combine an impressive volume of flavour with finesse and subtlety, the key to which is the combination of old vines and the site’s cooler microclimate. It’s clear that the rising stocks of McLaren Vale Grenache are on a solid base, as illustrated by the ageability of these wines, which will undoubtedly improve even more as winemakers hone their styles.

North-Maslin-Sand-based soils with ironstone pebble and clays, formed between two and 40 million years ago.

Rethinking Sub-Regionality

A curious quirk of the Australian wine industry is an almost complete lack of sub-regions. There are certainly some, with Eden Valley in the Barossa and various areas of Great Southern in Western Australia identified as unique terroirs that are worth separating from their surroundings. From the outside, it must appear that there is a lack of differentiation worth describing and accounting for. While true for some regions, it is not so for many others. The Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Tasmania, Yarra Valley and McLaren Vale all have significant variation within their boundaries and potential for sub-regions to be identified. However, there is some recent history that explains why there is not a greater push to promote sub-regionality. Around the turn of the 21st century, the boundaries of Coonawarra were redrawn, which led to considerable acrimony among locals and long-running legal appeals against the boundary changes. The general fallout has, unfortunately, made the introduction of sub-regions challenging. This is a shame, as McLaren Vale is far from a simple terroir. If anything, it is one of the country's most diverse winegrowing regions, and it is only in recent years that its various personalities have begun to see adequate exploration.

McLaren Vale is already unique in that it is a warm region that also has a significant maritime influence from the Gulf St Vincent, which helps retain vibrancy in the wines. The sizable terroir differences across the region’s 7,400 hectares of vineyard are driven by altitude, soil profile, and proximity to the cooling winds that are drawn off the Mount Lofty Ranges. Up to 19 distinctive areas have been identified, although these can be grouped together into a handful of key zones. The wines that come from McLaren Flat are most closely aligned with what most people think of as classic McLaren Vale. Here, the lower altitude and alluvial soils combine to yield bold, full-flavoured wines with density and richness. This directly contrasts with the wines from Clarendon, which shares a border with the Adelaide Hills. The combination of undulating vineyards with altitudes ranging from 150 to 300 meters, various microclimates depending on aspects, and cooling winds provides a very different McLaren Vale expression and presents opportunities for some less popular grape varieties to shine. Terrain here is complex, ranging from red and brown loamy soils to sandy and stony outcrops with occasional ironstone. To the southeast is the highly sought-after area of Blewitt Springs, where there is a more even climate and viticultural landscape, at an altitude of 150 to 220 meters. Again, with a climate tempered by cooling breezes off the Mount Lofty Ranges, Blewitt Springs’ unique calling card is its deep sandy soils, which add a marked fragrance and structure to the wines and have a particular resonance with Grenache. The historic area of Seaview has some of the oldest vines in McLaren Vale and is particularly well suited to powerful yet nuanced Shiraz, while the rocky outcrops of  the Willunga Foothills give rise to more unctuous and densely packed styles. All of this diversity exists in an area close to the size of Chianti Classico, a region with well-understood sub-regional variation. While politically challenging, there is a strong argument for McLaren Vale to better delineate and promote its sub-regional jewels, which could lead to an increase in global recognition. There has, thankfully, already been a move in this direction that will hopefully bear fruit sooner rather than later.

Toby and Emanuelle Bekkers.

A Note on Grape Varieties

To many, the varietal diversity and creative flair of McLaren Vale may come as a surprise, as this region quite literally offers a smorgasbord of grapes to choose from. Most wineries offer something outside the norm of mainstream French varieties, from Aglianico to Vermentino and beyond with seemingly little pattern. Some grapes such as Barbera, Mencia and Chenin Blanc were planted due to their ability to retain acidity in warm climates, while others such as Nero d’Avola and Vermentino were chosen due to their tolerance of dry conditions. There is much admirable effort being put into experimentation with these grape varieties, but so far, there are few remarkable examples with the strength of typicity found in the leading wines from these varieties’ home regions. That is not to say experimentation is unwelcome or should be discontinued as there are some exceptional and delicious wines already made from the likes of Chenin Blanc, Fiano, Touriga Nacional, Roussanne and Sangiovese, while others like Grenache Blanc show potential. These experiments require wineries to fully commit to the correct choice of site, microclimate and clone in combination with sensitive winemaking in tune with the individual needs of each variety.

On the other hand, the success of Shiraz in my recent tastings, particularly from 2022, comes as no surprise, and it is impressive to see that McLaren Vale continues to refine its style. There are still decadent and rich wines to be found, but also an increasing number of detailed, nuanced expressions of the variety. These are the wines that will increasingly define the region. Across the board, winemakers—particularly for Shiraz and Grenache—are taking a less formulaic, more bespoke approach, with increased use of large-format oak for maturation, more application of concrete and amphora, the inclusion of whole-bunch fruit, and also dialing back ripeness. This is helping the region’s underlying terroir to shine and for local Shiraz to put its best foot forward. This report also sees increasing confidence and self-assuredness in Grenache and showcases the increasing knowledge of viticulturists and winemakers as to how to maximise quality in the finest vineyards. McLaren Vale has 55 hectares of Grenache vines over 50 years old, and these mature vines no doubt play their part in many of the finest wines. Grenache from the exceptional 2022 vintage had the highest average score in this report, which reflects overall quality as well as the fact that the variety is a leading focus for some of the top winemakers in the region. Another bright spot is the strong varietal typicity evident in a small number of Cabernet Sauvignons tasted here. The combination of a climate that is a touch warmer than Napa Valley and the region’s maritime influences sets up quite a bit of potential for Cabernet in McLaren Vale. While it has forever been the bridesmaid to Shiraz in the region, perhaps this also needs a rethink, particularly in relation to Cabernet’s global popularity.

Grenache vines in the San Remo Vineyard, planted in the 1950s at the top of the Onkaparinga Gorge.

Recent Vintages

Vintage 2023 was a challenge in McLaren Vale, as it was across much of Eastern Australia, with the La Niña at its peak bringing a cool and wet season and yields down approximately 24% from 2022. Significant spring rainfall under cool conditions led to a slow start for the season, with poor fruit-set and some disease pressure. After a warm summer without heat spikes, significant rainfall came as a welcome relief, although late-season ripening occurred under cool and wet conditions. Overall, the 2023s are delicately flavoured with significant acidity, and they generally lack long cellaring potential. However, some producers were able to somewhat buck the trend with judicious vineyard management.

Two thousand twenty-two was an outstanding vintage in McLaren Vale and the best in recent memory, with a more temperate year helping producers to craft stylish and composed wines. The best 2022s are truly exceptional. The strong 2021 vintage and good winter rainfall set the vines up well. However, unsettled, cold and wet weather at flowering led to a reduced berry-set, particularly in comparison to 2021. But the weather turned, and the rest of the season was uneventful. Temperate conditions without heat spikes or significant rainfall made for a dry, even vintage overall. Some vineyards were picked two weeks later than usual. All grape varieties benefited from extended ripening in cool conditions, providing the resulting wines with complexity, focus and energising acidity. The slight reduction in yields from the challenging weather at flowering was likely key for the fruit to reach optimal ripeness in a season that was cooler than average, and in turn responsible for the high quality and finesse of the vintage.

I discussed the 2021 in my last report. With the recent release of more premium labels from this vintage, it remains clear that 2021 is an excellent, although not outstanding, year. The wines are delicious yet a little muted in comparison to 2022.

I tasted the wines for this report in McLaren Vale in December 2024, with follow-up tastings at my office in Sydney.

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