Beautiful deep red in the glass. Primary aromas of blackberry and boysenberry are highlighted with elements of couverture chocolate and freshly turned soil. The fullbodied palate is brimming with ripe, black berry fruit, complemented with fine tannins, an earthy minerality and savoury notes. A perfectly balanced and seamlessly integrated wine that expresses the essence of the vine, the time, the place and the harsh, black cracking clay over limestone soils that make up this unique corner of the Davey Estate Vineyard.

The Davey Estate Vineyard is located in Whites Valley at the southern end of the acclaimed McLaren Vale wine region. Brothers Kym and John Davey planted their vineyard on land that the family has owned since 1959. This site is dedicated to producing high quality, intensely coloured and flavoured grapes, using innovative canopy management and progressive viticultural techniques.

A record number of 40˚C+ days along with high winds during the growing season challenged growers. Establishing good canopy early, along with critical timing of supplementary irrigation, was essential. This was managed to near perfection by Michael and the vineyard team. Harvest started early on Feb 5 with the McLaren Vale whites being completed before the rain on the 13th of February. McLaren Vale again proved why it is the most reliable wine grape district in the world with less than 50mm of rain falling at the Davey Estate, compared to more than 125mm north of Adelaide. Luckily the rain caused no damage and helped extend the ripening period. With the rain someone flicked the switch and turned off summer. The temperate dry autumn weather that followed was ideal allowing us to harvest as the fruit hit perfection. In the winery the longer than usual 6 week harvest window for reds allowed us to maximise the opportunities for extended ferments. Vintage 2014 has turned out well after an admittedly nervous start, giving us a very diverse and bright palette to paint the pictures that are our wines.

In a small niche of the Davey Estate Vineyard the soil, climate & Shiraz combine to create something special - the fruit that is ultimately hand crafted to become D Block Reserve Shiraz. Gentle hand working of the skins in small, 5 tonne open fermenters and traditional winemaking practices protect & nurture the unique qualities of the terroir. Very fine grained French & American oak hogsheads are used to allow a long, slow maturation of the wine & subtle oak integration. A combination of 1 - 6 year old barrels, crafted by select coopers to our requirements, are used to create nuances & diversity of flavour. When maturation & oak integration are perfect, individual barrels are selected & blended to create the fruit power, complexity & harmonious balance that is Shingleback D Block Reserve Shiraz.