The Ministry of Clouds McLaren Vale Shiraz 2024 is a lighter-framed, early-picked style of South Australian Shiraz built on cool blue and red fruit rather than heat and heft. Fruit comes from a deep sandy vineyard at Blewitt Springs alongside a younger, more structured parcel from the shallow bedrock of the producer's own Onkaparinga Rocks vineyard in McLaren Vale.

Aromatically the wine leans savoury: satsuma plum, mulberry and dark cherry, with coal dust, dried herb and a lick of black pepper sitting behind the fruit. A little air brings violet and something faintly ferrous, like wet stone. Ministry of Clouds has kept the palate bright and nervy despite genuine fruit weight, so the wine feels fleshy through the middle then narrows into a fine, mineral tannin line. Acidity runs the length of it, the texture is more silk than velvet, and the finish is long, dry and peppery rather than sweet.

Pair it with a Catalan-style fish stew and aioli, grilled lamb cutlets with salsa verde, duck ragu, or a mushroom and thyme risotto. Serving at around 16°C keeps the aromatics in focus and stops the alcohol pushing forward. Drinking well now with an hour in the decanter, and cellaring for five to eight years will be rewarded as the coal-smoke and spice notes settle into the fruit.