Our rustic beauty, Aglianico - named Best Wine in Show for 2022!

In true Hither & Yon style, we have managed to finish off 2022 with a bang!

We are thrilled to share that our 2021 Aglianico was named ‘Best Wine in Show’ in the 2022 McLaren Vale Wine Show.

Awarded the prestigious ‘Bushing King’ title at the annual Bushing Lunch celebration held on Friday October 28, Leask brothers, Malcolm and Richard were crowned Bushing Monarchs for the second time following our Nero d’Avola taking out the top award in 2019!

The Aglianico was also awarded Best Single Vineyard Wine, Best Mediterranean Red variety and Richard took home the Best Single Vineyard Viticulturist – a huge day! See all the wine show results here.

Boasting McLaren Vale’s signature earthy tannins thanks to the region’s diverse and complex geologies, Malcolm describes this wine as a “refreshingly drying.”

We shifted the style a bit for the 2021, looking for vibrancy and juiciness, but true to its roots with the trademark rusticity. This ancient noble grape is a rising star for us and ideally suited to our growing environment.

With encouragement and support from local McLaren Vale winemaker and industry peer, Justin Lane, Richard planted 20 rows of the highly-regarded Taurasi clone on an alluvial creek bed of soil, helping to tone back its natural vigour. A further hectare of Aglianico has since been planted.

“Each year we observe, fine-tune and adjust – and these vines and wines manage to exceed expectations year-on-year,” says Malcolm.

This parcel of fruit is also included in our Aglianico Rose – a full-bodied Rose for all-year-round drinking, juicy and puckering!

Aglianico was an appealing variety to Richard, as it’s a red grape that ripens later than Syrah, but has the same structure of our more ‘traditional’ varieties like Shiraz and Cabernet. It’s well suited climatically to our region – tolerates drier conditions and holds a lot of natural acid that helps to balance the wine in production.

We can't think of a better variety for our future than this southern Italian rustic beauty, proudly carbon neutral and certified sustainable, available in cellar door and online.

Shop the 2021 Aglianico here, or the 2022 Aglianico Rose here.