Produced with selected small parcels of old, dry grown Barossa Shiraz from nearly 30 of the Barossa’s finest grape growing families. The vineyards are situated in different sub regions throughout the Barossa, which adds to the complexity and depth of flavours. The wine is hand made using equipment from the turn of the last century, then aged in American and French oak for two years. All this contributes to the objective to make the very highest quality, traditional, soft, deep coloured, earthy Australian red wine which will bottle age.

Winery Notes: 

This Shiraz which comes from the Paisley estate vineyard, is deep red with purple hues. The nose has wonderful lift of raspberry fruits, floral notes, choc mint and a herbal, menthol note. The medium to full bodied palate has juicy red fruits, blackcurrant, earthy, savoury notes and black olives. The oak has introduced a cedary, roasted meat character. Soft silky tannins define the mid palate and complement the vibrant and juicy fruit. It finishes long with berry fruit, fine tannins and cedary oak. Drink young while it is vibrant and fresh but will age in the medium term for up to ten years.

The vines from this Shiraz are believed to have been planted in 1843. The original plantings still survive and are some of the oldest and rarest vines in the world. This is a rich and complex wine worthy of extended ageing. The nose is intense with notes of plum, coffee and oaky spice. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and sweet spices. Freedom Shiraz is full-bodied with a long and fruity finish.

Savitar is one of the great Shirazes from McLaren Vale, made with grapes grown on the Lopresti Vineyard's Chinese Block, located at the south end of McLaren Vale, about four kilometres east of the coastal town of Port Willunga. The vines struggle here, producing low yields of fruit with tiny berries which are full of black fruit flavours with dried herb, black olives and an earthy structure of dark smokiness, making this a power packed wine. 

It's named after a mythological dragon like creature, in homage to this wine's bold flavours and powerful length. It's an impressive wine for now and will undoubtedly age for the long haul - think a decade at least. 

The winemaking

Grapes for Savitar Shiraz are selected by hand from the Lopresti Vineyard in McLaren Vale, a site where they struggle and deliver in small volumes. This is regarded as outstanding raw material. They are fermented and the wine pressed before being transferred to oak barrels where it remains on light lees for 18 months before blending. 

The older Barossa Valley vineyards typically yield fruit of concentrated flavour and soft, supple and velvety tannins that set them apart from the younger stuff. The Ebenezer block gives this wine its dark core and its muscle, with the fruit from Williamstown providing elegance, fragrance and spice. There’s plenty of blackberry, black satsuma plum, black cherry and cassis with great intensity and length.

Four Pillars x Yarra Yering BLOODY UNDERHILL SHIRAZ GIN is back and dare we say, even better. This single vineyard release is the combination of two of the best known Shiraz products from the Yarra Valley: one the region’s finest Shiraz vineyard, Yarra Yering’s Underhill and the other, our Bloody Shiraz Gin. Intense, dark and slightly bitter it is truly a gin drink like no other.

Lovely mid-depth colour with purple tints. Lifted red fruit and earthy notes on the nose. Ripe fruit and low oak impact on the palate, with the new oak providing a slight vanillin sweetness that compliments the berry fruit. The ripe fruit tannins are complemented by the natural fruit acidity, resulting in a very long finish for the wine. A stylistically typical medium-bodied Hunter Valley Shiraz from a very good year.

Concentrated mulberries, boynesberries and black pastille fruits dominate the nose with subtle fennel frond nuances. Subtle oak complexities of black cardamom, nutmeg and lifted violets are well positioned in the background.

The palate is rich and layered with dark cherries, plums and raspberries. Integrated structural dark chocolate tannins scroll to the back palate with subtle hints of anise, which is balanced with an elegant and buoyant acid line.

Vineyards and vines: small parcels of selected fruit are sourced from various vineyards on our farm Kalmoesfontein, the Swartland area and the greater Paardeberg mountain.

Grapes: Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Verdelho, Grenache Gris, Clairette Blanche, Semillon and Palomino.

Vinification: The vinification is quite straight-forward when you are working with fantastic grapes from old vineyards – whole-bunch pressing of cool grapes, this juice is then transferred to old casks; very old casks for fermentation and maturation. Some of the juices are blended during this time which what we like as the components really integrate then. A small percentage of the grapes are picked a bit earlier for some acidity but the rest are picked at what we reckon is a good ripeness and flavour.

Maturation: We only use old 1200l foudres and one 3000l foudre for the fermentation and maturation of 15 months. After this the wines are racked and blended in a single concrete tank with all their unsulfured lees and left for another 6 – 8 months before bottling.

Analysis: Alcohol 13.4 vol% Residual Sugar 2.6 g/l pH 3.45 Total Acidity (Tartaric) 5.56 g/l Total sulphur 80 ppm

The final makeup of the blend varies slightly each year. This is because of the vagaries of the vintage. We feel that Chenin Blanc is best suited to be the heart of the blend and that is why it forms the biggest portion of the blend. The aromas are very complex and change considerably in the glass. Perfume, spice, tea, stone fruit and citrus blossoms are some of the notes that can be detected. In the mouth the texture and ripeness and gentle tannins result in a wine that has incredible length and complex flavour profile. The wine also has wonderful fruit volume characterised by stone fruit and mineral flavours.

The finish is long and has slight phenolic edges supporting the fruit through the entire length of the wine.

Only 6400 bottles produced

"The 2021 Paulmara Estates Marananga Shiraz is a powerful and opulent expression of Barossa Valley’s renowned Marananga subregion. Deep and concentrated, this Shiraz bursts with aromas of blackberry, dark plum, and blueberry, intertwined with notes of dark chocolate, spice, and well-integrated oak. The palate is rich and full-bodied, offering velvety tannins and layers of black fruit, licorice, and espresso, leading to a long, lingering finish.

Paulmara Estates, founded by Paul and Mara Georgiadis, is known for producing wines that reflect the strength and character of their vineyard sites. With a focus on small-batch winemaking and meticulous craftsmanship, they create wines that are both bold and elegant."

-Quoco Wines

Bouquet: Bright and vibrant with ripe fruits, primarily dark plums and blackcurrants, with a hint of raspberry coulis and coffee mocha oak.

Palate: Rich blackcurrant and raspberries. Crisp, clean acidity and delightful tannin structure leading to a lingering finish.

About the winery...

Six generations have nurtured some of the most historic vineyards in Australia.
In 1839 William Formby arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom and it was in 1882, after four decades pioneering South Australia, he purchased the now historic Metala estate.

In 1891 William and his son, Arthur, planted 21 rows of Shiraz, and 14 rows of
what are now the oldest family-owned Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the world.
In 1894 a further 5.4 acres of Shiraz were planted. After almost five decades making Metala wine in a purpose-built winery on the estate, the winemaking was transferred to Arthur’s Brother-in-Law, at Stonyfell Cellars. The wines continued to be made here until management shifted to various holdings beginning with Dalgety Wine Estate in the early 1970’s.

In 1981, 5th Generation Guy Adams took over the management of the mixed farm estate. With a sincere appreciation and respect of viticulture and to family legacy, Guy, together with his wife Liz, began a 20-year long battle to return Metala to its original home. In 2022 the dream became a reality and Metala came home to Langhorne Creek and the family who planted and have nurtured the vines for more than 130 years.

Grapes for this wine were carefully hand-harvested and sorted. Most of the fruit comes from Paarl, but we added a small amount of Franschhoek fruit to the final blend to give it a bit of spice and ‘edge’. Naturally fermented in stainless steel tanks, 50% of this blend then undergoes malolactic fermentation in 300 and 600 litre French oak barrels (10% of which are new).

Inviting aromas of summer pudding, ripe black cherry, vanilla, and even a touch of Framboise. On the palate, more rich black fruits, smoky notes and a suggestion of dark chocolate and star anise. Youthful acidity and ripe balanced tannins give a fresh finish with depth and complexity.

Braai (South African BBQ) is the most obvious choice but this is a really versatile wine that works well with most meats, mushrooms dishes or just on its own.