2022 Dune Empty Quarter Shiraz Grenache Mataro, McLaren Vale

Gold Medal 95 points and Trophy for Best Shiraz Blend 2023 Sydney Royal Wine Show
Gold Medal 95 points 2023 Royal Adelaide Wine Show

A blend of shiraz, mataro and grenache, plus a touch of touriga nacional. A beautifully detailed and handled wine that is a super-elegant version of standard GSM. The beauty of this wine and its blue/red fruits and berries demands that it be consumed forthwith.

96 points Special Value James Halliday winecompanion.com.au

Plum, blueberry, sage and aniseed, spice and dried flowers. It’s medium-bodied, something of a Dutch liquorice character, also ferrous, inky and earthy, fine silty cocoa tannin, and a satisfying finish of excellent length. I love the grip and savoury complexity. Very good.

94 points Gary Walsh winefront.com.au

The next Generation of the Lloyd family (Coriole) planting their flag in the Vale.

A new project from brothers Duncan and Peter Lloyd, Dune wines sees them step out from the shadow of Coriole wines. Sourcing fruit from a single vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of Mclaren Vale. Organic in conversion, this sandy vineyard has been completely re-imagined since being purchased by the brothers in 2009. Planting and grafting over southern Mediterranean varietals has seen them create a unique range of blends alongside some classic and so2 free shiraz.

Whilst McLaren Vale is not a large region it is geologically diverse. The Blewitt Springs sub-region is known for deep sandy soils on yellow clays. Shiraz typically ripens later here than other parts of McLaren Vale and displays different characteristics. The sandy soils typically produce shiraz of lifted dark fruit, floral and meaty notes, the tannin is fine yet chalky and the wines are often medium bodied rather than full.