Products

Reviews of 2023 Aglianico:

92 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, March 2025:
"Just over a tonne went to red production in '23, with the rest picked for rosé; 10% whole bunch, with 27 days on skins in total. Sour black cherry, dark plum, dried blackberry, sun-dried herbs, unlit cigar, spice cabinet, iron and fennel seed. This has the dark broodiness one expects, but it equally has the varietally true spike of acidity to firm things up, with the equally expected tannic line tensioning further. This needs a good six months to settle, then it should have plenty of good years ahead."

92 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review, , February 2024:
"Deep red-purple hue with a fumy aroma of ripe fruit throwing out star anise and cola aromas. Full bodied and firm, bold and bright and promising more to come if cellared. Fruit-sweet core and fresh acidity providing balance and cut. Lovely wine and has a future."

Reviews of 2021 Aglianico:

Bushing King, Best Wine of the Show, McLaren Vale Wine Show 2022
Best Single Vineyard Wine, McLaren Vale Wine Show 2022
Best Mediterranean Red Variety, McLaren Vale Wine Show 2022

17+ points, Max Allen, Jancis Robinson, October 2023: :
"Planted in the late 2000s, Hither & Yon’s Aglianico is, according to Richard Leask, the ‘most hand-pampered variety in the vineyard, with a tendency to big yields’. The pampering clearly pays off: this vintage won the trophy for best wine at the 2022 McLaren Vale Wine Show. Unlike all the other reds from H&Y, this doesn’t have immediate obvious fruit; instead, it saves its charms for when it’s safely on the tongue, where it unfurls layers and layers of deeply subtle red fruit and long, grippy, savoury tannins."

Reviews of 2019 Aglianico:

93 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit:
"It's immediately appealing on the nose with dark cherry, smoked game, olive and spicy oak characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and silky flow, wonderfully framed by fine grainy tannins, making it sturdy and robust with a persistent enticing finish. At its best: now to 2033."

87 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
"Ascendancy is incremental here, with small details improved each year. Hand picked, a longer maceration, a judicious meld of whole berries, crushed material and a dollop of whole bunches, and larger French oak, noted. A mid ruby. Notes of tobacco leaf, sour red fruits and verdant herb. Seems to have been picked on acidity, rather than ripeness. Decent drinking, but better with more weight and ripeness." 

Reviews of 2018 Aglianico:

91 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
"Plenty of spices on the nose, such as cinnamon and anise, with ripe plum and blood orange, as well as berry biscuit and brown tea. The palate has fine but assertive tannins that have been gently cut to deliver a crisp finish with bright red-cherry flavor. "

90 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
"Hand picked and fermented with 10% each whole berries and whole bunches. Brooding, compact and forceful. Reliant on a phalanx of tobacco-crusted tannins, both as homage to great Campanian expressions as much as a savoury lance, fending off excess. Damson plum, cherry pith, mint and agrodolce scents. " 

Reviews of 2017 Aglianico:

91 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front:
"Strawberry chocolate and mint bouquet. Wild! Game meat in the mix of that unusual perfume combo, flavours do the same, it feels wide and loose but tannin comes late and rumbles. Mad style this. Kind of all over the place, great to sip on, I like the mojo, but expect something different."

90 points, James Suckling:
"There's a fresh, red plum and berry nose here with an earthy, savoury edge on the palate, as well as ripe, gently sinewy tannins."

Reviews of 2016 Aglianico:

92 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion
"Kind of leathery, kind of chocolatey, kind of berried. The net effect is pleasant plus. Firm, graphite-infused tannin and an impressive push of flavour through the finish add up to a wine worthy of respect."

Reviews of 2015 Aglianico:

93 points Decanter, Sarah Ahmed:
"This is a compellingly savoury, brawnier take on another southern Italian grape. Long and textural, with blackberry, salted black olives, leather, violets, bitter chocolate and wormwood."

Reviews of 2014 Aglianico:

Decanter World Wine Awards. May 2016. www.decanter.com 93 points.
"Black plum, lots of spice and a touch of leather. Lovely structure, fresh acidity, firm tannins, raspberry notes and a long savoury finish."

Campbell Mattinson. September 2016. www.thewinefront.com.au 90 points.
"An interesting wine from an interesting producer. Volcanic rocks. It’s an odd descriptor and I cannot profess to have licked too many, but taste this wine and the volcanic rock descriptor springs to mind. Such is wine. Such perhaps is the power of suggestion. This is ferrous and cherried, has a flash of garden herbs, and while light in both colour and flavour, it makes an impression. Something different in a good way. I can’t promise that you’ll taste ‘volcanic rocks’ too, but you will see that the flavour profile here rushes outside the norm."

Stuart Robinson. December 2016. www.thevinsomniac.com 91 points.
"Savoury, of ash and bloodstock, liquorice; there's florals in the mix too, wild herbs. Light, airy, has the pumice stone lightness often seen in volcanic reds; red fruit, raspberry and cherry, juicy flowing length. Such a delicious consistency to this portfolio. Beautiful to drink."

Reviews of 2013 Aglianico:

Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, November 2015.
Gold Medal.

Sarah Ahmed. October 2015. The Wine Detective. www.thewinedetective.co.uk
"It’s a favourite grape which I sort of bunch together with Piedmont’s Nebbiolo and Portugal’s Baga – capable of wonderful aromatics and butch tannins – hopefully with enough fruit to join the dots between nose to tail. Very spicy with leather and inky florals to its plum and red berry fruit; ripe but present tannins and persistent acidity make for a well disciplined, serious finish. 12.6%"

Andrew Graham. June 2015. Australian Wine Review. www.ozwinereview.com 93 points
"Of all the new generation Mediterranean red grapes to come our way, I've got to pick Aglianico as one of my favourites. Too get this much structure and flavour at 12.6% alcohol suggests that Aglianico might like it in McLaren Vale too. Bright plum red; the nose has a soft red fruit fragrance - there's a reference on the back label to 'pink marshmallow' which I think is great. Sappy, dry palate is framed with tannins - bitter, mouth-cleansing, proper tannins. Complement that with some cherry red fruit late juiciness and you've got frankly one utterly delicious, dry and savoury red. Massive yes."

Tony Love. June 2015. The Advertiser - Taste. 4 and 1/2 Stars out of 5.
"Ripping along with its mix of earthy herbs, anise-led spices and classic trio of cherry, plum and raspberry fruits, all slammed in there with a lightness of being; and fine medium bodied flow. Speaks lucidly of its origins and its new home - a delightful drink."

Gary Walsh. May 2015. www.thewinefront.com.au 91 points
"Such a good grape Aglianico. I’m betting we’re going to see much more if it grown locally in the coming years. This is a good go at Aglianico. Cherry and juicy raspberry, liquorice, that typical, for want of better words, ‘volcanic rocks’ character that this grape often has, plus maybe some flowers. Medium bodied, well etched acidity and dry tannin almost scrapes it along the palate (in a good way), and bright juicy fruit, aromatic herbs and dusty tannin close it out. Refreshing style with a bit of complexity. In some ways, not an easy wine to rate, though it’s certainly easy to recommend."

Stuart Robinson. May 2015. www.thevinsomniac.com 90 points.
"Licorice root, amaro/bitter wood and herb - deliciously savoury with a dark undercurrent. Fruit, by way of cherry and plum, with a moreish tang and juiciness. That black edge reappears on the back palate - a little licorice root against the lighter touch of raspberry over spice."

James Halliday. July 2015. www.thewinecompanion.com.au 90 points
"Light, bright colour; a lively, indeed wild, ride: there's a lot of red fruits criss-crossed by herbs and brisk acidity."

Reviews of 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon:

*Red Star Value, 93 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
Mainly from the Hillenvale vineyard that edges from McLaren Vale into the Adelaide Hills, with about 18% off the home Sand Road vineyard. Matured in four- to five-year-old oak. Mulberry, currant, hedgerow, violet, cedar and iodine. Some classic regional cabernet things, but there’s also an ease of delivery, a sweep of texture and finely wrought tannins, with the drinkability factor high – not always the variety’s remit. It’s a calmly progressive take on the grape, and it works very well indeed.

90 points, Campbell Mattinson, September 2025:
This is a light- to medium-weight cabernet with boysenberry, blueberry and redcurrant flavours flowing attractively into mint, violet and vanilla. It feels fresh throughout and drinks easily and well as a result.

Reviews of 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon: 

90 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous, July 2023:
The modern 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale focuses on drinkability and does it well. Mulberry bush and dark cherry aromas with a solid herbal undertone provide a vibrant start. Fleshy fruits, balanced acidity and well-weighted tannins with a savory, cedary finish of good length define a juicy palate. Solid and ready to go.

92 points, James Suckling:
A bright and vivid array of blueberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants with elements of bracken, leaves and hints of chocolate, too. There’s a plush, supple feel to the palate. Medium body. Red plums and cherries throughout. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Reviews of 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon:

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:
Good-drinking cabernet at the price. Jubey, relatively soft and easygoing, without being anodyne. The extraction of 16 days seems deft in lieu of the bright attack, tannic detail and lithe, crunchy finish. Red-fruit aspersions, some garden herb and green-olive notes round out the package.

91 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
Aromas of redcurrants and cassis with black cherries, as well as leaves and forest wood. Some florals, too. The palate comes filled with fine tannins that carry plenty of red and dark-berry flavors. Fresh, mid-weight style.

Reviews of 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon:

94 points , The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
Deep red colour with a strong purple tint. The bouquet is reserved but fresh and cabernet-berry-ish, with a lovely core of fruit sweetness at the centre surrounded by abundant soft tannins. The palate is full-bodied and elegantly cast, with classic cabernet structure and firm tannins completing the picture. The finish is refreshing. This looks to have a bright future. An excellent cabernet and astounding value.

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:
Stock-standard regional cabernet for those seeking a full-bodied red with few surprises. This oozes mint, dried sage, bitter chocolate and cassis scents, all slung over a frame of French oak and fuzzy tannins.

Reviews of 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon:

91 points, James Suckling:
Aromas of graphite, cassis and mint as well as mulberries and forest leaves. The palate has a very rich, intense core of dark cherries, blackberries and cassis. Bold, drinkable style.

Reviews of 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon:

Gold Medal at the CWSA 2017

93 points & red star value, James Halliday, August 2018:
A supremely honest McLaren Vale Cabernet, with warm blackcurrant fruit and a cache of dark chocolate, alongsidey the tannins that will emerge with age.

92 points, Gary Walsh - The Wine Front, June 2017:
Dark fruit, chocolate, a sweet dried herb lift, almost a Dutch liquorice thing too, which I love. Medium bodied, good depth to the fruit, though not heavy either, with oak in the back seat, and drinking pleasure at the wheel. Finish has a Cabernet accent, in with a gentle herbal seasoning, and no shortage of length. So well done.

93 points, Mike Bennie - Wine Business Magazine. May 2017:
This release from the creative set at Hither & Yon strikes a chord. There's a generosity to the wine, it reeks of dark plums, mocha, green herbs, dried fruits and the palate takes a similar path. The distinction here is that the flavours find a brightness even with the weight of deep, dark fruit character, and oak seasons rather than smothers. Generosity reigns well here.

Reviews of 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon:

91 points, James Halliday - Wine Companion, August 2016:
Definitive cabernet aromas hold sway, regional influence playing its part and oak chiming in. Evenly flavoured on the palate, the typical firm cabernet structure in good balance with the typical McLaren Vale generosity.

91 points, Gary Walsh - The Wine Front, August 2016:
Has a pleasant, jubey sort of Throaties® perfume, blackcurrant, blackberry and the like, with subtle spiced oak. Medium bodied, again a little jubey, but nicely done with gummy grippy tannin, freshness and energy, and a cool earthy and black olive laced finish of pleasing length. Very nice.

91 points, Wine Enthusiast (USA), March 2016:
The pitch black wine has a thin dark ruby rim.The attractive and forward nose smells of cassis, sweet spices, sugarcoated walnuts and dates. The palate layers on baked blackberries, pencil lead and dried figs. Moderately long on the finish, this wine is feisty, and youthful. Its strucutre of lightly strappy tannins, brisk acidity and its wealth of well proportioned aromas and flavours point to ageing potential. Drink now through to 2020.

90 points, Stuart Robinson, www.thevinsomniac.com, August 2015:
There's just something about the Hither & Yon wines, be it visual appeal, relative ease on the pocket, approachability without sacrificing varietal character. Consistent. That too. Cherry ripe-esque: mass of fruit over chocolate, without eschewing varietal character. Per the Hither & Yon style, a wine of easy going nature; medium-bodied elegance, suggestion of blueberry and bright fruit in general. So easy - and pleasurable - to drink, not an easy feat to achieve.

Reviews of the 2022 Carignan:

91 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous.com, April 2025:
The relatively rare 2022 Carignan has a delicious approachability bursting with blackberry, mulberry and sweet red cherry aromas, with a touch of musky plum skin. The good times continue with fleshy flavors, zippy acidity and just enough tannins to keep its streamlined shape over a generous finish. The 2022 is a fun Carignan that is hard to put down. Drinking window: 2024-2027.

16.5, Max Allen, Jancis Robinson, October 2023:
Vines planted in 2013, last red variety to be harvested in 2022, made in two batches– one free-run juice, lighter, fruitier; the other whole-berry, crushed, pressings added back, more structural – then blended for 6 months’ maturation in older puncheons. Enticing, black fruit, good vinosity, fine and focused. Keeps Carignan’s earthiness, growly tannins and gaminess as background notes, brings the delicious fruitiness into the foreground.

91 points, James Halliday Companion, Ned Goodwin MW:
This is good. Perhaps the most convincing red of the suite, particularly in light of a variety endowed with astringent mettle and inherently high acidity. Placated, toned and let loose with what feels like gentle extraction and the right sort of oak treatment. Red pastille, kirsch, bergamot and a herbal tannic twine directing the fray. Mid-weighted, fresh, intense of flavour and yet light on its feet. Immensely versatile at the table. Easy drinking.

92 points, The Wine Front:
I do enjoy Carignan, especially from creaking old vines, though this offering from a vineyard planted in 2014 shows a fresher face, but still has excellent varietal character. Red and blue fruits, a little ironstone and scrub herb perfume, even some choc-liquorice. It’s medium-bodied, gently saline and savoury, light grip of tannin, good freshness and perfume, and offers a chewy finish of solid length, with a bit of amaro/orange peel trailing. Lots of character, and good to drink. Like it.

Reviews of the 2021 Carignan:

90 points, MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator, December 2023:
This has a wonderful energy to the core of red fruit flavors, including wild strawberry, cranberry and maraschino cherry. Reveals hints of clove-heavy chai tea that are supple, juicy and plush on the long finish. Drink now.

92 points, James Halliday Companion, Ned Goodwin MW:
Grapes like this excite me. They are torrid and equipped with natural astringency and bright acidity, something that most traditional grapes in these parts lack. And? The wines have tension, detail and the savoury sort of lattice between fruit and finish that is required for a second glass. This is handled orchestrally. Red fruits, thyme, rosemary and scrub. A deft approach to gentle extraction that renders character without carignan's facility for hardness. Simple. Perhaps. But a tattoo of crushable drinkability reads 'thrills with a chill'.

Reviews of the 2020 Carignan:

92 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
Such attractive, brambly raspberry and blackberry aromas here with a flurry of wild herbs, too. So fresh. The palate has vibrant red-berry flavors that sit lively, framed in bright, easy tannins. Very drinkable now.

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
I can't think of many varieties better suited to the dry Mediterranean climate of McLaren Vale. Able to withstand torrid conditions while embedding its wines with a wiry cage of tannin and bright acidity, carignan is one of many tickets into the future. This producer champions plenty of others. A partial wild fermentation and short élevage in older French wood intuits promise: cherry pith, thyme, mint, liquorice. The tannins, as expected. Thrills with a chill.

Reviews of the 2019 Carignan:

91 points, The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
Bright, medium to deep red/purple colour. The nose is savoury, earthy as well as plummy, dark fruits driving the wine. A hint of pepper. Medium to full-bodied, abundant tannins which are powdery and supple. Some chocolate. Good drinking already and will take some age.

91 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front:
Vibrant, forest berry fruitiness, sprigs of green herb, minty notes, peppery stuff. Palate is light and lithe, sizzles with tart acidity in a good way, shows a feathery lick of earthy tannin. Spice, cranberry, kind of transparent, exotic things, it’s interesting and good. I like it. A bit amaro?

91 points, James Suckling:
This has red-flower and leafy aromas, as well as some earthy nuances. Vibrant raspberries and tart red cherries. Succulent appealingly fresh raspberries and redcurrants on the palate with fine, crisp tannins.

Reviews of the 2025 Falanghina

 92 points, Silver Medal, 2025 McLaren Vale Wine Show.

Reviews of the 2025 Fiano:

 *Red Star Value. 93 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
From the Oakley Road vineyard. This the third release from vines planted in 2020. A warmer year than the one prior, and significantly warmer than the one before, but this maintains its line of citric race and lightly saline tang, further underlining the variety’s adaptability to vintage vagaries. Texture’s a thing here. On the quiet, but its moreishly chewy, chalkily grippy, but subtly so. Lime pith and lemon balm, wild flowers and crisp golden apple.

 92 points, Campbell Mattinson, September 2025:
This is a fresh and fruity white wine, for starters, which makes it easy to like. But it’s also a white wine with a slip of satin to its texture, and with subtle hits of grapefruit rind, wax and brine, which give it a bit of extra, and elevate its quality. It’s very good. It’s tasty, it’s crisp, it’s fruity and it’s more.

Reviews of the 2023 Fiano:

15.5+, Max Allen, Jancis Robinson, October 2023:
First crop of Fiano at H&Y, made very simply: ambient-yeast cool ferment, ageing in stainless steel, bottled after nine weeks. That lovely varietal Fiano fragrance – a touch of green apple, citrus and handcream – then a little lean and cool, with a gentle rain of acidity on the tongue. Will fill out in bottle over the next couple of years.

Reviews of the 2024 Fiano:

*Red Star Value. 93 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, December 2024:
From vines planted in 2020, this is the second release of fiano at this address. Picked early and wild fermented cool and slow, it spent seven weeks on lees in steel before bottling. Though picked at a frisky point, there’s no greenness, just a citric urgency that is quite compelling. There’s some complexity, too, with dried wild grasses and a hint of spice. The palate is moreishly refreshing, with lemon barley water texture and brisk but not tart acidity. It’s a very fine drink.

Reviews of the 2023 Fiano:

15.5+, Max Allen, Jancis Robinson, October 2023:
First crop of Fiano at H&Y, made very simply: ambient-yeast cool ferment, ageing in stainless steel, bottled after nine weeks. That lovely varietal Fiano fragrance – a touch of green apple, citrus and handcream – then a little lean and cool, with a gentle rain of acidity on the tongue. Will fill out in bottle over the next couple of years.

Reviews of the 2024 Greco:

91 points, James Suckling, June 2025:
Oxidative in style, with aromas of salted nuts, lemons, oyster shells and tea leaves. The palate is medium-bodied with a textural mouthfeel and bright acidity that leads to a phenolic and creamy texture. A really well-constructed and unique Greco. Drink now. Screw cap.

92 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous.com, April 2025:
This golden-hued 2024 Greco is a surprise packet bursting with fruit salad aromas and a strong core of ripe melon and subtle, spicy oak. It’s full-bodied and flavorful, with more exotic tropical fruit tones, waxy, lanolin complexity and classy older oak providing an impressive, extended finish. Drinking window: 2025-2028.

91 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review, January 2025:
Straw-gold hue, almost amber at the core. Honey, sourdough toast and candied ginger aromas. Full and weighty, beeswax, warm honey, ginger and mandarin notes all fill through the core. Glides with a softness and deep weight then a line of tannin brings tension and ensures the finish is dry. A unique expression that works well.

91 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, December 2024:
As with last year, this saw a couple of hours in the press before the free run was drained to tank for a cool ferment; maturation was in old French oak. The deeply golden colour presages a deeply flavoured and textural – slightly oily perhaps, but not overly – wine on a foundation of pithy, pear-like granular tannins and taut acidity. Baked apple and quince, ripe Bosc pear, mustard fruits, ground ginger and mace. It’s juicy and fruitful, but kind of savoury, too.

92 points, SA Wine Guide 2025, Shanteh Wale:
How exciting it is to see a Greco grown on the alluvial sandy site of Hither & Yon’s home vineyard in the Vale. On fine lees for 30 days, transferred to puncheons and 10% through malolactic fermentation. A garden of yellow stone fruits, chamomile, beeswax and honeysuckle. A sweep of kumquat citrus acidity followed by ground cumin, dukkah and white pepper. A touch of brûlée bitters. Such a wine of intrigue and interest, and a great fit for the white wine spectrum of the Vale. Drink now.

Reviews of the 2023 Greco:

*Red Star Value. 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2024:
This, saw two hours in the press to ‘enhance’ the mid-palate while also picking up plenty of golden colour. Cool fermentation in tank followed by six months’ maturation in old chardonnay barrels with 10% mlf. Russet apple, Bosc pear skin, raw quince, dried ginger and tangelo pair with a briny and waxy savouriness. There’s ample grip here, making it feel more skin influenced than it is, but the pithy pitch is spot on, working with spirited acidity to add savoury food-friendly intent to the characterful flavour arc.

Reviews of the 2022 Greco:

16.5++, Max Allen, Jancis Robinson, October 2023:
This, the first proper crop of Greco for Hither & Yon, was the last variety they picked in McLaren Vale in 2022 – and still had such high acid that they put the wine through malo and lees-stirred in old barrels for six months to build richness. Looks a little developed, quite golden in the glass (typical of Greco), with textural savoury layers, some mandarin-peel-like waxiness, a delicious combination of richness and underlying citrus cut that should develop in a really interesting way in bottle.

Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, March 2023:
A new wine for H&Y, from vines planted in 2019, but gee, they are doing well. A few hours on skins and then into old wood for malo and lees stirring. Brassy colour. Nutty, saline, floral, tangerine and nashi pear. It’s spicy and offers dusty white pepper tannin, a little nutty/pastry richness, but plenty of juicy tangerine acidity, and a saline finish that’s refreshing and gently grippy. What a great debut. Highly recommended.

Tony Love, InDaily, February 2023:
This wine comes specifically from Sand Road, the southern Italian variety clearly loving its new home. It’s gold to light orange toned, bright and shiny – not cloudy – and is all toast and butter, roasted nuts as well with a slice in there of mandarin peel. The standout here is the textural palate, minerally and tangy with fabulous mouth-watering pithy, peppery tannins. Virtually impossible to describe the finish as it’s impossible to resist a second glass. A wonderful surprise, and will change the white wine game for trad sauvignon or chardonnay drinkers.

Reviews of the 2023 Grenache Carignan:

92 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
Off grenache (60%) vines planted in 2009 and carignan (40%) in 2014 from the Sand Road vineyard. This, the first release, is very much in a bistro weight. The buoyant red-berried grenache is lively and juicy, with carignan adding scrubby herb and spice notes, the enthusiasm of the former balanced but not quelled by the latter. It’s an appealing wine, with a zippiness to the finish that will see it work nicely with so many foods, from lighter vegetable plates to fattier meat dishes.

Reviews of 2023 Grenache Mataro:

91 points, SA Wine Guide 2025, Shanteh Wale:
Matured for 14 months in old French puncheons. 70% Grenache and 30% Mataro. A real mix of blackberries, red cherry and pomegranate. The wine has a stirring ripe herbal nuance, like creeping ivy over a wild rose bush. Acidity has kept crunchy and vibrant with understated oak rounding out the closure, Mataro giving the wine that little speed hump of flesh on the middle palate. A clever wine that would please a Pinot drinker all the way to a Shiraz drinker. Drink now–2027.

Reviews of 2021 Grenache Mataro:

92 points, James Sucking, April 2023:
Bright, youthful and crunchy with aromas of red cherries, raspberries, pink peppercorns and white pepper. Medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and fine tannins. Peppery and wild finish. 70% Grenache and 30% Mataro. Delicious now.

92 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous, February 2023:
The 2021 Grenache and Mataro blend really delivers thanks to an expressive and generously fruited style radiating with black cherry, baked earth, red currants and older oak with a classic touch of McLaren Vale old iron. The palate is beautifully pitched - mouth-filling flavors and al dente tannins are superbly balanced to deliver genuine power and length.

93 points,  Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal, December 2022:
Medium deep crimson. Strawberry, red cherry, blueberry, bubble gum hint aromas. Sweetly fruited wine wine with ample red fruits, supply velvety textures and fresh indelible acidity before finishing crunchy and long. Very good viscosity and mineral length. Drink now to 2026.

91 points, Wine Advocate 2022, Erin Larkin:
The 2021 Grenache Mataro is composed of 70% Grenache from the Hunt Road vineyard and 30% Mataro from the Sand Road vineyard. This is great! It is vibrant, nervy and fresh, with a skein of tannin that courses through the fruit. The acidity is briny and makes for juicy drinking. Well played.

Reviews of 2020 Grenache Mataro:

93 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
Strikingly bright and fresh raspberry aromas here with wild herbs and bracken, as well as leafy tones. Lively red and blue fruit sits concentrated on the palate. A fresh blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Mataro.

90 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
Hand picked, with a smidgeon of whole bunches (10%) in the 70% grenache. The oak, all used barriques. Sweet floral aromas segue to Turkish delight and kirsch. White pepper, Seville orange zest and clove lace the long finish. Sappy, crunchy and yet, a bit sweet.

Reviews of 2019 Grenache Mataro:

92 points, Winefront by Mike Bennie:
From good folks comes a good wine of good grapes from two good vineyards. Tension is the first thing that came to mind. This ain’t no blousy red. No, indeed, it sits on train tracks of tannin and acidity, a good bite of amaro tang and amongst all that some jubey, blackcurrant fruitiness. Perfume is mild but floral-leaning with dashes of peppery spice. It’s a wine that has you sit up straight and pay attention. It’s a bit serious, but good in that way. Medium weight, svelte, tense. Good stuff.

Reviews of 2018 Grenache Mataro:

James Halliday, Wine Companion, January 2020, 95 points and top value wine:
Classic southern Rhône Valley style, with the wild herbs and spices of the garrigue giving pleasure in the rims of aromas and flavours alike. It will be hard to keep your hands of it, but it could be a knockout with more time in bottle. 14.5% alc.

92 Points, James Suckling:
Bright, red-fruit fragrance here with some darker berries in the mix, too. The palate is crisp, succulent and juicy, as a good young grenache should be.

Mike Bennie - WBM March/April 2020, 93 points:
There's a really lovely marriage of sweeter fruit gamey, earthy characters in this wine. I like the general sense of detail in the wine too - sheets of fruit character layered on spice, savouriness and a fresh pool of acidity. It feels quietly complex but wildly drinkable.

Reviews of 2017 Grenache Mataro:

James Halliday, Wine Companion, August 2018, 94 points and red value star:
Superb colour; at maximum turbocharged revolutions, but the power is smoothly delivered across the palate. Because the balance is very good, this richly endowed wine will repay cellaring particularly well.

Mike Bennie, WBM July 2018, 93 points:
Lovely stuff. Fragrant with musky-spice, raspberry and cranberry scents. The palate does a similar turn and sits squarely in a medium wieght wine zone. Some heft to the flavours but the finish is a bell ring of clean acidity. Appealing as. 14.5%, $27.

Decanter World Wine Awards (2018). Silver Medal. 93 points. www.decanter.com 

Reviews of 2016 Grenache Mataro:

Andrew Graham, Oz Wine Review, June 2017, www.ozwinereview.com:
The Leask Brothers are switched on growers and these wines typically show plenty of sunny generosity (if sometimes a little heat). The blend here is 60/40 Grenache Mataro; a good mix. Lots of juicy black and red berry fruit. Lovely. The tannins have a real sandy Grenachey shape to them (but with a licoricey oomph). Palate is silky smooth, slightly syrupy but really quite satisfying in its curranty flow, a big luscious wines that is very young, but exuberantly so. It could do with another year in bottle to integrate the bold flavours a little, but the flow of red fruit is undeniably attractive. Very well priced too. Best drinking: 2018-2028. 17.7/20, 92/100+. 14.5%, $25.

Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, May 2017, www.winefront.com.au:
60% Grenache, 40% Mataro. I don’t have a feel for 2016 in McLaren Vale, as yet, but so far, I like what I see. A hearty red, but one that’s not too heavy. Red fruits, some floral perfume, slight confectionary notes, but tapered in with dried herb. It’s medium bodied, juicy and savoury at once, with a rub of sandy tannin, fresh red fruits, and a gently bitter amaro herb and earthy aftertaste. This goes all right. Good drinking here. 91 points.

Huon Hooke, April 2017, www.huonhooke.com
Deep red/purple colour, the bouquet black cherry, spices, firm tannins and good body weight. A nicely judged kiss of oak. Balanced and complete. 90 points.

Stuart Robinson, May 2017, www.thevinsomniac.com:
Nigh on pitch-perfect 60/40 blend of two listed players. There's just something so wickedly, consistently, deliciously moreish about H&Y reds. This no exception, it extracts a juicy, jubey aromatic without straying too far towards confection. Call it an allure, call it what you will, inviting is what it is. Slipping around the palate with ease in its easy going, red fruited nature. There's more juicy red fruit, a slip of tannin providing an edge, a framework to carry. Mataro brings up the rear, it's bassy foundations adding length, substance, spice. 91 points.

Reviews of 2015 Grenache Mataro: 

August 2016. 90 Points. Huon Hooke. www.huonhooke.com
Spicy, sweet cherry, confectionery aromas. The palate is tight and lean with firm, fine tannins and a pleasant after-grip. A good, clean, bright wine of some depth. Very smart wine.

August 2016. James Halliday, Wine Companion. 92 Points:
Aromas and flavours are both savoury and sweet-fruited with raspberry, chocolate, and mulchy notes in the mix. Well integrated tannin and acid keeps things fresh and in order.

May 2016. Max Allen, Australian Gourmet Traveller:
Top Drops of the Month, No 1. "heaps of juicy red berry-fruit flavours, but there is also a delicious gutsy earthiness-like sweet black composting leaf litter-that sets it apart.

March 2016. Stuart Robinson, www.the vinsomniac.com.au, 91 points:
A 60/40 blend of Grenache and Mataro respectively, and 100% McLaren Vale. Raspberry, red fruit, some wild herb/garrigue thing with a choc-raspberry-fudge milkshake. Trust me, it works. Juicy, a little dark fruit, chocolate, fine tannin; palate enlivening acidity that brings back the wine full circle. There's fruit in abundance, a little savoury tickle, good length. Another stellar wine.

February 2016. Winsor Dobbin. www.winsorschoice.blogspot.com.au:
This is a fabulously accessible blend of 60% grenache and 40% mataro – the ripe, sweet grenache fruit melding with the earthy funkiness of the mataro to produce a beautifully balanced red that is designed for immediate enjoyment. No need to cellar this one; just put some gourmet sausages on the barbeque and you have a wine/food match made in heaven.

February 2016. 90 points. Gary Walsh. www.winefront.com.au:
Good stuff. It’s crisp and perky, almost Italianate. Raspberry rope, strawberry, dried herb perfume. Medium bodied, crunchy and fresh, red fruits, light sandy tannin, more red fruits on the finish. Almost a ‘volcanic rock’ kind of thing going on. Nice to see a McLaren Vale wine that so bright and ‘food friendly’.

Reviews of the 2021 Grenache Touriga:

16.5/20, Jancis Robinson, September 2023: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/tastings/268754

"Beautifully fragrant, the natural spicy, floral qualities of both varieties complementing and enhancing each other; crunchy red berries on the tongue, more spice, vibrant and savoury, with a touch of sour dark-cherry pip on the finish." (MA)

92 points, Wine Advocate 2022, Erin Larkin:
"The Touriga imbues this 2021 Grenache Touriga blend with a backbone, a deep well of concentrated fruit and layers of firm tannins. The Grenache swims through all of it, leaving a trail of raspberries and peppercorns in its wake. Lovely wine. Great stuff here.Vibrant."

90 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:

"The touch here, more refined with this vintage. Nice drinking. Grenache's pinosité playing rhythm to T aromatic and peppery vibrato. The wine just needs a juicier chord across the mid-palate. Rose petal, lilac, smattered Mediterranean herb and cherry soda. Energetic and effusive of flavour. A prosaic, eminently drinkable wine destined for the fridge."

92 points, James Suckling 2022; Nick Stock:
"This blend sees the sheen of touriga elevate grenache and also twist it a shade darker. More blue and purple fruit than red seen here, and there's a very handy sense of concentration and purity. Gentle layer of liquorice to close. Drink now. Screw cap."

Reviews of the 2020 Grenache Touriga:

92 points, Halliday Companion 2022; Ned Goodwin MW:
"A vibrant, floral and full-weighted red with a skein of peppery freshness and frisky tannins that belie the weight; more savoury and mid weighted as a result. Black cherry, cinnamon, violet, purple gummy bears and sassafras. There's a smoky riff across the back end, but it fails to detract from the freshness, drinkability and imminent appeal."

91 points, James Suckling 2020, Nick Stock:
"A complex and youthful blend, this shows aromas of blue fruit and flowers with red berries and cassis, too. Seamless. The palate is bright and dynamic, with a smooth build. Layered, with supportive, crunchy acidity."

91 points, The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
"Medium-depth of purple/red colour, fresh and bright. The aromas are fresh and fruit driven: red cherry and raspberry, while the palate is medium-bodied at most and pleasantly intense with good drying tannins balancing the fruit. A delicious juicy-fruit style, made to enjoy young, but I’m sure it will also age well."

Reviews of the 2019 Grenache Touriga:

95 points, Jane Faulkner, 2021 James Halliday Wine Companion:
"What appeals is how the fruit does the talking. Winemaking merely the guide. Made in a fresh, drink now style yet with some depth and shape thanks to its grainy tannins and savoury overlay. Delicious."

90 points, James Suckling:
"Attractive raspberry and papaya aromas here with red plums and blackcurrants. The palate has crisp, chalky texture and fresh red-berry and red-papaya flavors. Juicy-fruit finish."

90 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front:
"Bright and vivacious style, feels fresh, berry fruited, pretty and decidedly sweet. Sweetness sticks in the craw a bit but you get the feeling this bottle won’t last long around the right crowd. A neat chomp of gummy tannin does good for some balance, too. Fun!" 

Reviews of the 2018 Grenache Touriga:

93 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion:
"The fancy of freshness. Raspberry, spice, strawberry pie and anise notes fly attractively through the palate, charming as they go. It's a 55/45% blend; it saw no new oak (40% was kept in stainless); the flavours and scents burst merrily from the glass. It's a lovely wine. Serious quality, fun style."

2019 Drink Easy Competition:
"Ripe, plush plums, cherries - fat juicy summer red fruits. The acidity is here and strong but flexible tannins keep it fresh as. Delicious drinking."

Reviews of 2021 Leask Grenache:

95 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
Off 1940s bush vines on red-brown loam and deep sand with some ironstone. It’s a lower-lying but later-ripening site in the foothills; 10% whole bunches; older puncheons for seven months. There’s tertiary development here. Crushed autumn leaves, roasted chestnut and worn leather, along with anise, cracked pepper, dried blackberry, amaro, bitter red aperitivo, muted musk and a rusty-bloody note. Under this lurks red fruit, somewhere in the cranberry, pomegranate and cherry spectrum, but not at all fruity with it. Sitting at medium weight and marrying transparency with power, this is savoury and vibrantly fresh on the palate. Such an individual wine; Italianate in a way. Not easy, yet charmingly so.

96 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, May 2025:
This is graceful and complex, showing dark berry, dried herb, cured meat, and warm spice aromas on the nose. The concentrated palate displays outstanding weight and silky flow, wonderfully complemented by plush texture and delicate, grainy tannins. It's robust, sturdy, yet refined and sophisticated, with a sustained, engaging finish. At its best: now to 2036.

Reviews of 2020 Leask Grenache:

92 points, Winepilot, Jeni Port, May 2024:
Welcoming and bright in personality is definitely what you like to see in a four-year-old. The fragrance is aromatic and lifted in wildflower, musk, juniper and red berries. Takes a darker course on the palate, building in depth and intensity, revealing a more serious side – once again, something you might expect and definitely like to see in a flagship wine. The power of the Grenache fruit is impressive and solid in dark plum, black cherry, earth, clove, black pepper wrapped in supple tannins and with good persistence, it’s an easy wine to get to love. That extra spark of peppery spice towards the finish lifts what is, at its heart, a relatively weighty, ripe, McLaren Vale Grenache.

97 points, Decanter, David Sly, January 2024:
Much is suggested on a vivacious nose, but beneath soft and cuddly red-fruited flavours, lean and powerful dark fruit muscle flexes in the mid-palate. A whole cohesive package. Very elegant and sinewy for a wine with such a deliberate drive at its core. One to contemplate. 10% whole bunch, matured 13 months in three-year-old 400-litre French oak puncheons.

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:
Old vines, dating from the 1940’s. Fermented wild in open-top fermenters. A brief maceration compared to the regional vanguard, with just 11 days on skins. Three years in used 400L French wood. Whole-berry aromatics of kirsch, rosewater and mulled wine. A swathe of menthol-laced tannins define the mid palate, while drying the finish. There is a lightness of being. A welcome pliancy, too. Just too minty.

Reviews of 2019 Leask Grenache:

93 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
Fresh raspberry, wild-herb and wet-stone aromas here with pomegranate and blood orange, as well as dried flowers. The palate holds a succulent line of tannin and fresh, bright raspberries, together with kumquat and blood orange. I like the sturdiness here.

90 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:
A pallid ruby, with a spindly shaft of fibrous tannins, crunchy red berry and pomegranate scents heralding better Vale grenache. A vibrant grenache, showcasing a transparent pinosity.

Reviews of 2018 Leask Grenache:

95 points, Jane Faulkner, James Halliday Wine Companion, August 2021:
Vines planted in the '40s, whole berry with 10% whole bunches, cultured yeast and aged in French puncheons for 17 months. There's a lightness across the palate from fine sandpaper tannins and cherry and raspberry fruit. It's a lovely wine with savoury inputs and not at all confected. A whiff of pine needle/Mediterranean herbs comes and goes.

92 points, James Suckling:
There's quite a fresh and attractively crisp feel to this gently bold expression of Christie's Beach Formation soil type. The berries tread the line from red to darker tones and there's a savory, earthy edge. The palate has a succulently, bold and fluid feel with attractive tannin grain and a little grip.

97 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion :
The sparks fly. It's rare for such a light wine to feel so imposing. The fruit is crisp and spicy, aniseed notes almost seem unsweetened, there's mint served in ever-so-pure form, and the way tannin introduces tension to the wine's unfolding drama is quite exquisite. It's grenache in a sky full of diamonds. It's something.

Reviews of 2016 Grenache:

97 points,James Halliday, Wine Companion, August 2018:
The first 100% varietal grenache by Hither & Yon. Bright, clear colour; a perfumed rose petal, spice and red fruits bouquet, the palate 100% delicious. A beautiful, effortless achievement of perfection, the red fruits and satin smooth tannins show none of the hot alcohol, dead fruit characters that I'm sure other makers might have achieved. I'm marching off with this to drink tonight

Mike Bennie, WBM July 2018, 94 points:
Pretty, perfumed Grenache of high-toned floral and sweet spice fragrance, medium weight red berry fruitiness, a layer of vanilla-clove spice running riot. A plush, velvety feel to texture, too. Big tick for quality at price point. 14.2%, $80.

Reviews of 2021 Leask Shiraz:

5 stars, 95 points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review, January 2024:
Inky, dark and opaque in the glass, an impressive colour. Deep, dark and brooding aromas of plum, blackberry, bramble, cedary oak, dried herbs and anise. Powerful, plush and concentrated in flavour. Plum, mulberry, blackberry and sweet oak flavours are all at play in a very decadent way. The tannins are firm and shapely and work well to tame the opulent fruit.

Reviews of 2018 Leask Shiraz:

95 points (gold), 2021 The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
A lovely, dark, impenetrable purple in the glass. Black cherry, olive tapenade, iodine and dried herbs are the features of the aromatics. There's plenty bubbling away here, quite evocative. Powerful but balanced flavours of dark plum and black cherry, there's also some 70% cacao chocolate and creamy oak adding structure, texture and mouthfeel. The tannins have an obvious presence ensuring all that power is focused and the length is long, firm and serious.

93 Points, WineFront, Mike Bennie:
Top flight wine from the good folks at Hither & Yon. Powerful red, deep and dark. Brooding and feels like it’s just a wee baby. Ripe plum, sticky salted liquorice, woody spice, truffle and earth. Big and bold. Throaty and warm. Dark chocolate tannins all powdery and assertive. Done well, no missing this wine.

93 Points, James Suckling, June 2021:
Very attractive red berries and cherries here with some earth and chocolate too. The palate has a smooth feel with plush, gently grainy tannins carrying long. Approachable.

90 Points, Royal Adelaide Wine Show 2020.

Reviews of 2016 Leask Shiraz:

James Halliday, Wine Companion, August 2018, 94 points.
This must have come from a very special site, with no frills vinification. It is medium to full-bodied, with exceptional mouthfeel, velvety but not the least heavy, the role of oak limited. It all works well. 26 years old vines, hand-picked, open-fermented, matured in used French puncheons for 18 months.

Reviews of the 2024 Mencia:

90 Points, Silver Medal, 2025 McLaren Vale Wine Show.

“Top Five Young Gun of Wine Deep Dive: Australia’s Best Mencia” July 2025

91 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, June 2025:
This is the first mencía release from estate Sand Road vineyard vines planted in 2021 to Christies Beach Formation: alluvial sand, silty clay and gravel. This was gently extracted over 12 days, then saw eight months in neutral oak. There’s a bit of tannin here, pithy, skinsy, teeth-coating tannin. Not too much, but certainly needing food. The wine is generally pulpy and bright, floral with juicy wild berries, blackberry pastille, raspberry coulis, a little tar and cherry cola, kind of slurpy and fresh, but again demanding food, with a fine seam of acidity also guiding one to the table.

Reviews of the 2022 Carignan:

91 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous.com, April 2025:
The relatively rare 2022 Carignan has a delicious approachability bursting with blackberry, mulberry and sweet red cherry aromas, with a touch of musky plum skin. The good times continue with fleshy flavors, zippy acidity and just enough tannins to keep its streamlined shape over a generous finish. The 2022 is a fun Carignan that is hard to put down. Drinking window: 2024-2027.

16.5, Max Allen, Jancis Robinson, October 2023:
Vines planted in 2013, last red variety to be harvested in 2022, made in two batches– one free-run juice, lighter, fruitier; the other whole-berry, crushed, pressings added back, more structural – then blended for 6 months’ maturation in older puncheons. Enticing, black fruit, good vinosity, fine and focused. Keeps Carignan’s earthiness, growly tannins and gaminess as background notes, brings the delicious fruitiness into the foreground.

91 points, James Halliday Companion, Ned Goodwin MW:
This is good. Perhaps the most convincing red of the suite, particularly in light of a variety endowed with astringent mettle and inherently high acidity. Placated, toned and let loose with what feels like gentle extraction and the right sort of oak treatment. Red pastille, kirsch, bergamot and a herbal tannic twine directing the fray. Mid-weighted, fresh, intense of flavour and yet light on its feet. Immensely versatile at the table. Easy drinking.

92 points, The Wine Front:
I do enjoy Carignan, especially from creaking old vines, though this offering from a vineyard planted in 2014 shows a fresher face, but still has excellent varietal character. Red and blue fruits, a little ironstone and scrub herb perfume, even some choc-liquorice. It’s medium-bodied, gently saline and savoury, light grip of tannin, good freshness and perfume, and offers a chewy finish of solid length, with a bit of amaro/orange peel trailing. Lots of character, and good to drink. Like it.

Reviews of the 2021 Carignan:

90 points, MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator, December 2023:
This has a wonderful energy to the core of red fruit flavors, including wild strawberry, cranberry and maraschino cherry. Reveals hints of clove-heavy chai tea that are supple, juicy and plush on the long finish. Drink now.

92 points, James Halliday Companion, Ned Goodwin MW:
Grapes like this excite me. They are torrid and equipped with natural astringency and bright acidity, something that most traditional grapes in these parts lack. And? The wines have tension, detail and the savoury sort of lattice between fruit and finish that is required for a second glass. This is handled orchestrally. Red fruits, thyme, rosemary and scrub. A deft approach to gentle extraction that renders character without carignan's facility for hardness. Simple. Perhaps. But a tattoo of crushable drinkability reads 'thrills with a chill'.

Reviews of the 2020 Carignan:

92 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
Such attractive, brambly raspberry and blackberry aromas here with a flurry of wild herbs, too. So fresh. The palate has vibrant red-berry flavors that sit lively, framed in bright, easy tannins. Very drinkable now.

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
I can't think of many varieties better suited to the dry Mediterranean climate of McLaren Vale. Able to withstand torrid conditions while embedding its wines with a wiry cage of tannin and bright acidity, carignan is one of many tickets into the future. This producer champions plenty of others. A partial wild fermentation and short élevage in older French wood intuits promise: cherry pith, thyme, mint, liquorice. The tannins, as expected. Thrills with a chill.

Reviews of the 2019 Carignan:

91 points, The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
Bright, medium to deep red/purple colour. The nose is savoury, earthy as well as plummy, dark fruits driving the wine. A hint of pepper. Medium to full-bodied, abundant tannins which are powdery and supple. Some chocolate. Good drinking already and will take some age.

91 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front:
Vibrant, forest berry fruitiness, sprigs of green herb, minty notes, peppery stuff. Palate is light and lithe, sizzles with tart acidity in a good way, shows a feathery lick of earthy tannin. Spice, cranberry, kind of transparent, exotic things, it’s interesting and good. I like it. A bit amaro?

91 points, James Suckling:
This has red-flower and leafy aromas, as well as some earthy nuances. Vibrant raspberries and tart red cherries. Succulent appealingly fresh raspberries and redcurrants on the palate with fine, crisp tannins.

Reviews of the 2023 Touriga Tempranillo:

92 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2025:
From the home Sand Road vineyard. The 80/20% touriga/tempranillo were vinified separately, but both were destemmed and raised in older oak before blending and spending three months in tank. This is thoroughly Iberian in feel, with lilting red and purple florals across slurpy blue and black fruits. Black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, violet, lavender, dried thyme, dark spices and bitter chocolate, underpinned by a regional ferrous note. It’s pulpy, but savoury, too, the balance of varieties harmonious. It would be great with charred lamb and caponata, or the like.

90 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review, February 2025:
Deep purple colour; sweet herb and raspberry/red fruit aromas, a trace of cola. The wine is soft and medium-full bodied, young and fruity but also approachable and drinking well already, not simplistic/raw fruit but something more.

Reviews of the 2022 Touriga Tempranillo:

93 points, Silver Medal, 2024 National Wine Show

95 points, Gold Medal, McLaren Vale Wine Show 2023

93 Points, The Vintage Journal Summer Wine Guide 2023:
Bright cherry ruby. This opens up with a delicious core of berry fruits - blackberry and dark cherry laced with red strawberry and tobacco spice. It then flows through to a chocolate, inky and earthy core of flavour with tannin torque through to a beautifully sustained finish. Very impressive.

92 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, April 2023:
These blokes make some very tasty wine. So purple and intense. There’s salted plum, sarsaparilla, violet, a fair bit of ozone, dark chocolate and liquorice, and toasted hazelnut. Fleshy and ripe, all the toasted nuts and cherry chocolate, are also quite salty and umami, with silty tannin, lavish flavour, ferrous and wheaty, with a rich finish.

Reviews of the 2021 Touriga Tempranillo:

89 Points, MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator, December 2023:
Starts with blueberry syrup, black liquorice and floral details of violet, segueing to toasted green tea on the juicy core. Reveals firming, earthy tannins and a hint of fresh mint on the finish, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo. Drink now.

16.5/20 Jancis Robinson, September 2023:
Pleasing dark fruit with the black tea-leaf note that I sometimes associate with Tempranillo. Finish has lots of medicinal qualities, proper complexity and fragrance. Savoury and tight in structure. (RH).

94 Points,  Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal, December 2022:
Medium crimson. Musky plum, blueberry, red cherry aromas with lifted aniseed notes. Subtle, sweet and juicy with blue fruits, slinky loose knit tannins and refreshing pure acidity. Finish is chalk and mineral. Attractive early fruit forward drinking style. Drink now, soon.

92 points, Wine Advocate 2022, Erin Larkin:
The 2021 Touriga Tempranillo is layered with salted licorice, pomegranate, raspberry leaf tea, garden mint and brine. This is thoroughly enjoyable and not at all the "prohibitively tannic" wine I was expecting. (I love tannins, and these are very fine.) It is mineral and juicy and all kinds of good. Highly recommended.

92 points, The Wine Front 2022, Mike Bennie:
Touriga and Tempranillo, blended for your pleasure. Oof, so purple-fruited, juicy-slurpy and outrageously delicious. It’s inky dark in colour and vibrant as all get out, a cavalcade of raspberry liquorice, blood plums, woody spice and cherry cola. Gently savoury in all that too, but its way more about that friendly and bombastic nature and a vivid portal to the varieties, with come-hither attractive everything. While it does all this, it sits quietly complex in its detail too. A no brainer. Slosh it around with abandon.

92 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
This is delicious drinking, attesting to the future of the Vale as makers become more proficient with better suited varieties. Touriga services the floral perfume and vibrancy, while Tempranillo fills the mid-palate with dark cherry, thyme, mint and sage, pushing the flavours long across a twine of dusty chamois tannins. Mid-weighted of feel, immensely versatile and nicely savoury.

• Trophy: Best McLaren Vale Wine - "The Bushing Monarch"
• Trophy: Best Mediterranean Variety Red Wine

• Trophy: Best Wine of Show
• Trophy: Best Red Wine of Show
• Trophy: Best Nero d'Avola
• Gold Medal

Max Allen, Australian Financial Review, 23rd November 2017, www.afr.com:
This is a bloody ripper of a young red. No wonder it won three trophies (including best of show) at this year's AAVWS. It has a gorgeous saturated colour, heaps of voluptuous, seductive berry fruit, supple grippy tannins crying our for some garlicky charcoal-grilled lamb, and a lovely vibrant freshness about it, despite the 14.5% alcohol. Moreish. Delicious. Goes on sale soon at the Hither & Yon cellar door.

Adelaide Review, Hot 100 Wines 2017/2018:
Fruit Forward Reds; "Uber-fragrant and lithe. Whisk this one off to a picnic and enjoy on a super fancy rug.

• Trophy: Best Red Wine of Show.
• Trophy: Best Italian Red Variety.
• Trophy: Best Nero d'Avola.
• Gold Medal.

Reviews of 2023 Petit Blanc:

91 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2024:
Muscat à petits grains at the home Sand Road Vineyard was grafted 40 years ago. It was arguably not the most astute move, with muscat in demand neither as fruit nor in bottle. No matter, the suitability to a warm climate fits the house ethos, and the results are more than agreeable. Lightweight but flavourful, with orange blossom, lemon zest, coriander seed, yellow grapefruit and hints of frangipani and magnolia, the palate zesty and mildly pithy, saline with an engaging tonic and lemon barley water note, both in flavour and sharp tang..

92 points, Winepilot, August 2023: https://winepilot.com/story/hither-yon/:
The beautifully named Muscat blanc à petits grains is the basis of the Petit Blanc, and I believe it’s the first time I’ve ever had this grape in a dry form (it’s regularly seen in the sweet French wines Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise and Muscat de Rivesaltes). Despite its tendency to make “grapey” wines, I found this to be much more aromatic than expected, with distinct orange blossom, lemon and wax characters, and delightful lychee and spice notes that developed with some air. The palate is very zippy, salty and silky, with a slight sourness, and it pairs nicely with cheese (provided it’s not too bitter), heightening the aromatics.

Reviews of 2022 Petit Blanc:

93 points, The Wine Front 2022, Mike Bennie:
Much drier, saltier and crunchy that the decent 2021, this feels a lot more Mediterranean in feel and style. It’s a muscat blanc, made dry, of course, and picked earlier and made to dry. Planted 1980s. It shows the variety calling cards of frangipani and general perfume but with sea spray, alpine herb and tonic water scents. Flavours echo this, it’s tingly, mouth-watering and super fresh with soaring drinkability. Citrusy fresh, briny, long and cool. Takes me to Sicily/Sardinia in a way. So delicious here.

Reviews of 2021 Petit Blanc:

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
While it is not on the label, this is straight up muscat à petits grains. Light-weight, beautifully aromatic and palpably dry, this is the sort of wine served as an apero while staring at the Mediterranean, from the Languedoc to the Côte d'Azur. Honey blossom, jasmine, musk, grape spice, dill and a rub of citrus unwind across a talcy palate. Delicious drinking.

90 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
Aromas of cut grass, lemon juice and peel and fresh-picked sage make a fresh impression on the nose, as well as lychee and honey. The palate has a smooth, softly fleshy feel with pear pastry. Fresh finish.

Reviews of 2020 Petit Blanc:

91 points, Mike Bennie, Winefront:
What a fun thing from H&Y. And good thing. Cucumber, lemon squash, green herbs. Good scents. Lots of juicy, bouncy fun in the palate. More cucumber, lemon squash, Real Lemonade perhaps, some green apple. Zingy finish whips things tart and clean. Good times. Lots of personality and lots of drinkability."

91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW, :
"This is fun! Grapey and spicy. Think canned lychee, orange blossom and jasmine scents, all careening along talcy rails of chew and acid freshness. The finish is dry and has plenty of pucker. Drink with gusto."

Reviews of 2019 Petit Blanc:

Adelaide Review 2020, Hot 100 Wines, Light Aromatic Wines:
An intriguing wine with a light aromatic lift, initial savoury aromas are followed by n, orange, and nashi pear. This wine is deliciously weighted with a pleasing phenolic grip and lovely acid.

Reviews of 2018 Petit Blanc:

90 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion:
Citrus and tropical fruit flavours are attractive enough, but the slippery-satiny nature of the texture here makes this pretty white wine enjoyable to say the least.

Reviews of 2017 Petit Blanc:

88 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, September 2017:
Made from Muscat Blanc a’ Petits Grains. I don’t recommend most white wines be served too chilled, but I think this style is best served with a bit of frost on it. Perfumed and musky, kind of light and briny too, with delicate flavour, mainly lemon and lemon barley. It’s got zip and freshness, a bit of fragrance, and it’s VERY easy to smash down with gay abandon. A wonderful wine for summer luncheons, and the like, preferably featuring a sea breeze. I like it, but it is what it is, and that, in this case, is a good thing. The simple things etc.

89 points, Huon Hooke, November 2017:
Pale almost water-white colour and a pungent muscat fruit aroma, which is clean as a whistle and appropriately fragrant. Passionfruit traces. The wine is surprisingly dry in the mouth, like a French muscat blanc sec. As such, it would make a good aperitif wine. A very good, if simple, varietal dry white.

88 points, James Halliday, 1 August 2018:
The fact that its grape variety (muscat blanc à petit grains) might cause people to expect an off-dry wine is neither here nor there, hither or yon. It's fresh, delicate, crisp, dry and faintly lemony.

Reviews of the 2024 Petit Rouge:

89 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, December 2024:
Not the Valle d’Aosta variety of the same name, but rather the companion to the Petit Blanc in the range, and also made from muscat: muscat rouge à petits grains. This was fermented cool, matured on lees for six weeks, then carbonated. A pale, peachy pink and redolent of strawberries, musk sticks, talc, rosewater and orange blossom, this is perky and vibrant with fruit sweetness swelling the palate, finishing dry. This is frivolity in a bottle, and more power to it.

90 points, SA Wine Guide 2025, Shanteh Wale:
Nectarine, white plum and lychee juice. A hint of watermelon candy and bergamot. There is a tickle of sweetness but so lightly dolloped, it’s barely perceivable. Instead, you get a wash of running acidity and a lovely prickle of spritz. Fun and flirty. Drink now.

Reviews of the 2024 Pinot Noir:

90 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, June 2025:
From the Adelaide Hills side of the Hillenvale vineyard, which bisects the Vale and Hills GIs. A spicy and relatively savoury affair, albeit with a good slosh of vibrant red fruits. Cherry, strawberry and sour redcurrant, Earl Grey tea and dried orange rind, a crackling twigginess, a brush of bracken, some cassia and caraway. It’s got ready appeal, and some appealing sour-fruited tension keeping the energy up.

Reviews of the 2023 Pinot Noir:

91 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, April 2024:
From the Hillenvale Vineyard (at around 390m), which has the GI border of McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills slashing through it; this comes from the Adelaide Hills side. A little whole bunch, 10% new oak. Pale red in the glass with aromas a little muted at this early stage, but with air, bright red cherries, redcurrants, a little musky/rosy note and some appealing twiggy, mulchy elements build. This is nicely refined and quite pretty, with an appealing savouriness to fruit and structure. A little longer in bottle will quell the slight edginess.

Reviews of the 2022 Pinot Noir:

91 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, March 2023:
From a vineyard in Kangarilla about 390m above sea level, planted in 1999. Dark cherry, cardamom, dried roses, mint, an earthy/mushroom thing happening. It’s juicy and a little sappy, some ripe tomato and pomegranate, a slight chinotto bitterness through ripe cherry, light emery board tannin, and a firm finish of good length. Fruity and savoury, and good to drink. I like it.

92 points, Halliday Wine Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
Hand-picked. De-stemmed to 100% whole berries for an open fermentation. Élévage in older French wood for 7 mths. Straight-shooting Hills pinot with telltale notes of sandalwood, dark cherry, bergamot, rhubarb and sarsaparilla. These can get too sweet at times but here, handled with aplomb. Mid-weighted, lithe and expansive. Far from cerebral, but quality drinking at a fair price.

Reviews of the 2025 Rosato:

 92 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
74/26% aglianico/sangiovese from the home Sand Road vineyard. A burnt orange tone and a savoury cast. Redcurrant and pomegranate, sour cherry, cool peach, rose, rhubarb and red apple skin. This is firmly pitched to the table. More power to that. There’s abundant fruit and flavour, but there’s a linearity of structure, fine tannin and acid in league, intertwined. Bring the food and it will sing.

 91 points, Campbell Mattinson, September 2025:
This rosé-style was made with Aglianico and Sangiovese grapes. This is fresh, juicy and crisp but it also has good spread (of flavour) through the finish, which is always the surest sign of quality. Red cherry, fennel, watermelon and an array of fragrant, Italian herb characters – and a flash of blood orange too – all make for highly enjoyable drinking.

Reviews of 2023 Sand Road Grenache:

90 points, James Suckling, June 2025:
A juicy, fruity and easygoing grenache. Strawberries, bay leaves and baking spices on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with melty tannins. Playful and silky, with a fruity, crunchy finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

91 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous.com, April 2025:
This well-pitched 2023 Grenache starts off a little shy with gentle aromas of cooked cherries and dusty spices with older oak in play. Juicy and vibrant, it displays ample, fleshy red fruit and strong earthy tones, building to a finish of solid length. Drinking window: 2024-2028.

*Red Star Value. 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2025:
Sand Road vineyard, planted in '09 to alluvial sands, silty clay and gravel. Destemmed and open fermented at coolish temperatures for two weeks; raised in older French puncheons. Old vines are the buzz with grenache, and for good reason, but lovingly farmed young vines can also have striking results. And the Leask brothers do nothing if not farm well. Savouriness and tannin may not be the first thing to expect from younger vines, but here they are. Dried cranberry, wild raspberry, Earl Grey tea, dusty earth, baking spices. It hits mid-weight, with no sweet spot – a good thing. Rather, the fruit is wrapped up in a food-apt tensioning of chewy grip and clean acidity. Distinctive. Good.

92 points, SA Wine Guide 2025, Shanteh Wale:
Matured for 14 months in old French puncheons. A bright, pure ruby hue in the glass. Aromas of rosehip, red cherry and blood plum juice. A strawberry roll-up or two. Dried thyme and sage leaf. A cascade of elevated acidity and fine but powerfully dry tannins. This will wake up your taste buds and come alive with some fatty meats or a charcuterie board. Keep an eye on this site and wine; there is plenty of promise here. Particularly for the structure those gritty tannins give to the final product. For now, this is a steal at the price. Drink now–2027.

Reviews of 2022 Sand Road Grenache:

94 points, Decanter, David Sly, January 2024:
All high-toned cranberry over sunny cherry, but then slinky tannins pull a tight line. Texture and tone become the central focus before a pillow-soft landing. Great control and poise from this admirable, high-wire balancing act.

91 points, The Real Review, January 2024:
Medium-deep red-purple colour with a lift of volatile acidity which also comes through on the palate. Taut, firm, lean and a little austere. Intense, focused palate flavour. Probably not volatile enough to worry most drinkers but it would be better with less. It's quite a muscular wine which should have a solid cellaring future. A good decanting and aeration helps.

92 points, Winepilot, August 2023:
There’s always something special about McLaren Vale Grenache, and I enjoyed this one a lot. It’s bright and juicy (and particularly vibrant with food), showing lots of red and black fruits (wild strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, black cherry, stewed plums) and some spicy cinnamon and black pepper. Give it some time to breathe and it will express itself confidently, both on the first night and the second.

Tony Love, InDaily February 2023:
From the Leask brothers’ youngest Grenache vines at 13 years old, crafted into a youthful, fragrant, bistro style with 20% whole bunch influence in the winemaking that offers a subtle sappiness in the palate. While you are being seduced by its floral aromas and freshly squeezed plum and apple juiciness, you should pause for a mo, as it has plenty to offer in its textural game, lip-smacking and with an appealing spicy/peppery tannin profile in the palate and finish. Bistro, yes, and very food conscious as well – its own crew suggests pairing it with the vegetable and cheese pasty from the Willunga Bakery.