Aromas of black cherry, dried-herbs, incense and terracotta (how exotic!) lead onto a palate that is awash with dark plums dipped in dark chocolate alongside a whole grove of cherries. Full fruited but not full throttle, this is charming, with seductive tannins that flow onto a slightly minty, herbaceous finish.

Sometimes, you come across a wine in which you can truly taste the passion, drive and love that went into making it. More often than not, such wines come out of Australian regions such as McLaren Vale. Our favourite example at the moment? It’s got to be the wines of SC Pannell, a genuine passion project founded by husband and wife team Steve and Fiona back in 2004, and which has grown from strength to strength to become an award winning business with a global fanbase. This is a winery which has an almost unhealthy obsession with Shiraz and Grenache grapes, and genuinely goes the extra mile when it comes to ensuring sustainable methods, capable of bringing out levels of flavour and aroma that set a new benchmark for McLaren Vale as a whole. Steve Pannell’s love of wine is one which has taken him around the world multiple times. He’s trekked through the vineyards of Barolo, he’s stamped grapes in Bordeaux and blended wines in Burgundy… but no matter which prestigious appellation he found himself working in as a younger man, he knew his destiny lay in the ever-impressing Australian wine scene. His experience in the world’s leading wine regions served him well, however. It was in the Old World that he picked up the low-intervention, fruit-reliant methods that were to become Aussie standards in the years after he moved back home down under, and where he learned to truly love the land he’d left behind. Today, nothing could tear him away from his spectacular McLaren Vale winery, and we’re grateful for that: the bottles brought out by SC Pannell over the past few years have helped rocket this part of Australia to the lofty reputation it enjoys today.