2022 Dandelion Vineyards Red Queen Shiraz, Eden Valley

Inky, dark red and opaque in the glass. Fragrant aromas of plum, mulberry, pipe tobacco, Asian spice, anise, dried herbs, pepper and pot-pourri. Wonderfully aromatic. Powerfully concentrated, dark fruit driven and structured. There's lashings of plum, mulberry and spice, along with nutty oak and really shapely, firm and drying tannins. The acidity also does its bit and keeps things in check. A wine of real concentration and sophistication. One to cellar. Drink 2025 to 2040

96 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, January 2025

Shiraz sourced from 1912 plantings on Colin Kroehn's Eden Valley shiraz vineyard matured for two and a half years in French oak. The previous vintage of this wine was a cracking release and the '22 carries on in similar style. Perfectly ripened plum, blackberry and black cherry fruits daubed with spice and hints of licorice, sage, dark chocolate, crushed rocks, bay leaf, softly spoken cedar and earth. There's a schistiness to the tannins; toothsome and savoury, matching nicely with the pureness and depth of the dark fruits and it's departure is sustained and elegant. Drink 2025 to 2045.

95 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2025

Elena Brooks founded Dandelion Vineyards with a clear intent: to make wines that speak plainly of the places they come from. Born in Bulgaria and trained in oenology in Australia, she has worked vintages across Europe and South Australia before settling in McLaren Vale. Her winemaking philosophy is built around restraint — spending time in the vineyard, then stepping back in the winery.

The Red Queen is an expression of the exceptional Kroehn vineyard in Eden Valley that Colin Kroehn tended for almost all of his 90 years. Planted in 1912 on a south-facing slope at 440 metres, the vines are deeply rooted in quartzite and ironstone-rich loamy sands over limestone bedrock, producing wine of elegance and structure.

This is the 14th vintage of the Red Queen. The fruit was hand-harvested and sorted, partially crushed and fermented openly for 10 days with three daily hand plungings before basket pressing to half new and half one-year-old French oak barriques. Two and a half years of maturation and a racking in the same oak before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

Dark plum, mulberry, blueberry and rose petal on the nose with Asian spice, pipe tobacco, liqueur chocolate and a savoury thread of fresh earth and oak spice. The palate is concentrated and structured — dark berry fruit, black cherry, pepper and mint — with schist-like, toothsome tannins and a rail-like acid structure that keeps the opulence in check and carries the wine to a sustained, elegant finish.

A wine that deserves a special occasion. Aged duck confit with lentils and a red wine reduction; a Japanese wagyu sukiyaki with soy and mirin; or slow-braised venison with juniper and dark chocolate. The wine's concentration, acidity and fine tannins handle richness and complexity in equal measure.

A wine that genuinely rewards patience. Drink now through 2045.