The wine is vibrant crimson with violet hues. The wine is a crouching tiger with muscles coiled and senses alert about to pounce. Beautiful yet dangerous. Dark fruited, plum skins, lavender, pomegranate, ground spice and fresh juniper berries. On the palate there is incredible intensity and clarity with a true sense of purpose. Rusty, spicy, summer pudding with an energetic, clean acid line complimenting the chiselled and finely honed emery tannins.

McLaren Vale fruit has produced a more powerful wine – less flighty. Red and slightly dark berry fruits, still crunchy, still highly aromatic – amaro-like. The palate is showing some darker fruit profiles, but the texture and the weight is classic Tonic in style: flavour without ‘thickness’, high interest level, tannins lead and fruit follows. A brightness of acid that keeps the finish fresh but allows the fruit to tell the story. Or something like that...

Like their Grenache and Mataro wines, the Malbec undergoes a similar winemaking process that results in a polished, vigorous, and sophisticated final product.