Products

Reviews of 2024 Sand Road Grenache:

91 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, April 2026:
The latest suite of wines from Hither & Yon are one of those ‘all hits no misses’ kind of deals. There’s something in the waters there. Styled as a nouveau wine. From Sand Road vineyard, which one assumes is a sandy road, and therefore sandy vineyard. This is a soft, supple red of juicy, forest berry fruitiness, touches of vanilla, a lick of sweet earthiness, tomato leaf, blood orange. Bouquet and palate shake hands on this. So swishy and appealing in its fruit driven way, a no brainer for chucking in the fridge, happy on its own fireside too. Slosh, chomp, sashay. Alright!

95 points (Top Rank), Huon Hooke, The Real Review, December 2025:
Medium-deep red with a faint tint of purple; the aromas are shy and offer dried herb and dried cherry nuances with an overtone of dry earth. It's full bodied and firm, the tannins coating the mouth's interior and completing a seriously full-bodied, ample wine with abundant drying tannins and a sense of gravitas. This is good now and will reward some cellaring: 2025–2037.

93 points, Shanteh Wale, South Australian Wine Guide 2026, November 2025:
An enticing wine filled with toffee apple, cherry syrup and raspberry compote. A touch of bay leaf and sage. The palate delivers those welcoming red fruits in line with some astutely dry tannins that wash over the palate to reveal terra cotta, clay and hazelnut cream. It’s a magical concoction that invites you in with some red fruit confection but stands tall in its structured and tailored frame. A savvy wine and great value. Drink now-2030.

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.

Reviews of the 2024 Shiraz:

93/100 Points, #3 of 26 Shiraz 2024 McLaren Vale: Top Value, Melissa Moore, The Real Review, May 2026:
Deep in colour, rich and ripe with black berries and cherries and vanilla, chocolate—almost Cherry Ripe but not quite— and bold and textural, bright and focused, firm grippy tannins. A winter warmer in a nutshell.

*Red Star Value, 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2026:
This came off four sites, including the Hillenvale vineyard, with 5% from vines that spill into the Adelaide Hills GI. Cooler sites lend a medium weight, a Hither & Yon theme across the range. Dark cherry and olive, black loose-leaf tea, violet, dark spices, dried seaweed and essence-like blackberry, but there’s nothing overly sweet or rich here. It’s supple, fruitful, effortlessly charming and such a versatile food wine. More powerful shiraz has its cohort of fans and its place, but it’s wines like this that better fit our modern way of eating and drinking, wines that can bring newer drinkers, or those fatigued, to appreciate our most planted red grape.

Reviews of the 2023 Shiraz:

90 points, Shanteh Wale, South Australian Wine Guide 2026, November 2025:
Fruit is from four separate blocks in the Eastern Foothills of McLaren Vale. The elevation brings with it a blue-tinged aroma, bilberry and blackcurrants. Butterfly pea flowers and poppyseed. Its bright lines of acidity and some chewy tannins keep the wine lively. There is a pocket in the middle palate filled with black sesame; it stands out for its unique flavours and shape. Drink now-2028.

*Red Star Value. 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
In the mix of future-proofing varieties, McLaren Vale’s most planted grape – and by a significant margin – is shining ever brighter at this address. No imperious flagship bottlings here; more taking the moderately weighted food-friendly angle, as with their climate-champion grapes. Tart boysenberry, black cherry, violet, Earl Grey tea. It’s got some pep from the cool year, finishing energetically. It’s a delicious iteration.

90 points, Campbell Mattinson, September 2025:
This is fresh, fruity and well balanced. It offers plum and red cherry flavours with subtle infusions of toast, chicory and smoked herbs. It’s not a big wine but nor is it underdone; it walks an attractive, well-fruited line, and is a good red wine to drink as a result.

Reviews of the 2022 Shiraz:

91 points, James Suckling, December 2024:
Black cherries, black beans and roasted herbs on the nose, followed by a full-bodied, fleshy and fine-tannined palate. I like the savory herb undertones to the black fruit. Drink now. Screw cap.

*Red Star Value. 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, June 2024:
From the brothers Leask, who largely specialise in climate-apt grapes, this is compelling value from an old-school hero variety. It's the right balance of juicy and savoury, with black cherries, blackberry, spiced plum, white pepper, leather, anise, rocky iron notes and hardy herbs, the palate silky, underwritten by finely tuned tannins, guiding but not interrupting the flow. Very nice indeed. *Red Star Value.

90 Points, The Real Review, January 2024:
Youthful in the glass. Aromas of dark fruits, spice, dried herbs, graphite and a whiff of eucalyptus. Full flavoured, chewy and dark fruited. Plum, mulberry, spice and cedar are all at play and the tannins are firm and savory.

94 Points, The Vintage Journal Summer Wine Guide 2023:
Medium-deep crimson. Fresh blackcurrant, blackberry aromas with hints of marzipan and spice. Inky deep and sinuous with plentiful dark berry fruits, marzipan, hint ginger notes, fine al dente tannins, very good mid-palate volume and fresh long mineral notes.

Reviews of the 2021 Shiraz:

92 Points, Angus Hughson, Vinous, February 2023:
The 2021 Shiraz is a hearty expression from McLaren Vale, delivering good levels of flavor and complexity. There is an attractive impact of new leather and blackberry aromas with a nice dose of ironstone. Fleshy mulberry and olive tapenade flavors follow with satisfying density and ripe tannins on the finish.

92 Points, Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal, December 2022:
Medium deep crimson. Bush garrigue, red cherry, red liquorice, roasted walnut aromas. Supple cherry pastille, cranberry fruits, fine chalky, al dente textures and underlying roasted complexity. Drink now, keep for a while.

91 Points, Ned Goodwin MW, 2022 James Halliday Wine Companion:
Picked across a number of parcels for a panoply of varying textures and flavour profiles. Scents of dark cherry, tea tree, mint and green peppercorn. Iodine and a swab of tapenade, too. This is good drinking for the money. Flavour, poise and refreshment in spades, with a lithe tannin profile tucking in the seams for savouriness over fruit.

90 Points, Wine Advocate 2022, Erin Larkin:
This 2021 McLaren Vale Shiraz is juicy, buoyant, pure, bright and delicious. It is exactly (and I mean EXACTLY) what you look for when picking up a value Shiraz. This is a cracking little wine. It's not complex - and I'd drink it young—but it is layered with all the minerals and bouncy fruits you could want, and then some.

Reviews of the 2020 Shiraz:

93 Points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
This is very good regional Shiraz, implementing a controlled chord of reduction to constrain lilac, cracked pepper, clove, charcuterie and blue-fruit accents. Fine tension. Compelling length. The lushness of the Vale iterated almost as a cooler-climatic expression. Fine-boned tannins and savoury spice inflections. Versatile at the table.

91 points, James Suckling:
"Attractive blackcurrant aromas and hints of leaves. There's a real blue-fruit edge to this shiraz. The palate has quite a brisk, assertive feel with smoothly delivered blueberry and blackcurrant flavors."

Reviews of previous vintages:

95 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion:
Oh come all ye faithful lovers of McLaren Vale shiraz. It's hard to say whether the variety or the region is the most important - and true - contributor to the depth and outright richness of this Shiraz. The tannins also ring true to the theme, leaving no doubt about its longevity.

93 points, James Halliday 2019 Wine Companion:
It delivers a solid whack of dark berried flavour. This is a sure-footed wine, well-balanced and finished, with fluid delivery of coffee cream, blackberry, plum and choc-mint flavours. From start to finish, it keeps you satisfied.

91 Points, Gary Walsh, June 2017, The Wine Front www.winefront.com.au:
Blackberry, smoky grilled meat sprinkled with pepper, a bit of purple flowers or something like that. Medium bodied, flavoursome, almost slurpy, but a bit more in it than that, with light tannin, spice and dark fruits, and a tidy finish. Lovely wine, drinking very well young. Doing a good job of it here.

90 Points, Huon Hooke, March 2017, www.huonhooke.com:
Deep red/purple colour and a ripe, concentrated, deep-fruited aroma and palate flavour. The texture is soft and easygoing. Peppery blackberry and dark plum aromas. Concentrated, rich, soft and rounded. A very smart shiraz for one so young.

Reviews of the 2024 Tempranillo:

91 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review, January 2026:
Top Rank Tempranillo (5 of 16) from South Australia.

Ink black core with a deeply rich ruby rim. Heady nose of blackberry and dark chocolate. Powerful and rich, with lashings of black fruit, anise and pepper spice, then a textural melted dark chocolate note. Goes long, ample tannins building to ensure a savoury, drying finish.

91 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, September 2025:
From the House and Creek Blocks, about two-thirds and a third respectively, the former raised in older oak, the latter in steel. Exuberant with dusky florals, cherry, wild raspberry, dark forest berries, anise and cola. It's all quite fleet of foot, flavour-packed but modest in weight. Tannins are aptly, varietally incisive, the acid somewhat more direct than the grape often yields, but the impression is one of engaging, food-friendly drinkability.

Reviews of the 2023 Tempranillo:

91 points, James Suckling, December 2024:
Youthful and fresh, this has notes of raspberries, red cherries, white pepper and paprika on the nose, followed by a medium-bodied, lithe and lightly peppery palate. Drink now.

Reviews of the 2021 Tempranillo:

90 points, Ned Goodwin MW, Halliday Companion 2022:
An everyday quaff, suggesting that handling of this early ripening variety is getting better. Bing cherry, iodine, lilac and lavender. The tension is serviced by reduction as much as a verdant lilt and vanillin streak of gentle tannins.

92 points, Nick Stock, James Suckling 2022:
A mid-weight red that has good purtity of blueberry and cherry fruit with a faint floral and white-pepper edge. Holds a sleek and succelent stance in the mouth and delivers a vividly fresh squeeze of tannin through the finish. Drink over the next 3 years. Screw cap.

Reviews of the 2020 Tempranillo:

92 points, Nick Stock, James Suckling 2021:
A wealth of blackcurrant, blueberry and violet florals that are really expressive and sweetly fragrant. The palate has a tautly fitted frame of tannin that carries juicy blue-fruit flavor. Fresh and crisp.

Best in Australian Tempranillo' - Young Gun on Wine:
AThis made the top-six lists of five tasters, with Wren placing it first on his sheet, while Andrew had it just one place back. Forbes, Jones and Infimo also rated it highly. “Cherry cola on the nose coupled with lifted red fruits such as cherries and plums – reminiscent of a summer berry pudding,” wrote Andrew. “The line of acid and tannin provide energy on the palate and carry the vibrant fruit which presents as juicy and moreish on the mid-palate."

Reviews of the 2019 Tempranillo:

92 points, Jane Faulkner, James Halliday Wine Companion, August 2021:
A lot of pizzazz packed into this with its cherry-accented fruit, sarsaparilla and woodsy spices. It's medium-bodied, juicy with firm tannins and a slight green edge on the finish means having this with food.

91 points, James Suckling:
This is a bold, vivacious style with plenty of deep-set blueberries and cassis and a smooth and bright, juicy palate that carries a long band of bright, blue-fruit flavour.

Reviews of the 2018 Tempranillo:

95 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion:
"Full of flavour, texture and life. This is about as full-bodied as tempranillo gets and, even better, it comes dressed in velvet. Plum, black cherry and cola flavours sweep through the palate in convincing fashion. Fine-grained tannin stitches the finish into a neat package. It's good."

92 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front:
(Posted on 09 July 2020) "It would appear we are a little late on this one, as I note, while grabbing a bottle image, that they’re on to the 2019 on their web shop. Oh well. Come hither. Cherry and plum, a little earth, BBQ sausage, and spice. It’s medium-bodied, with pleasingly sooty tannin, ample fruit and balanced acidity, a bit of sweet strawberry freshness in the mix, and a nice long even finish. What a charming wine it is. Speaks of region and grape most eloquently."

2019 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show - Bronze Medal "Bright red fruit strawberry and fine powdery tannins. Soft juicy and within the frame of the varietal fruit with balanced plushness and fine tannins. Cherry ripe, chocolate. Nice crunch tannins. Exotic flavours reminiscent of an Icelandic picnic."

Reviews of 2017 Tempranillo:

James Halliday, 07 August 2018, www.winecompanion.com.au
"Full, bright hue; red and black cherry on the bouquet lead directly into the palate before savoury tannins try to take a grip on proceedings." 89 points

Mike Bennie, WBM, May/June 2018, 92 points
"A more serious-feeling Tempranillo than expected with concentration and richness on its side. Perfume is appropriately floral, rose hip tea- imbued and shows whiffs of choc- Turkish Delight, while the palate is more mulberry sweetness and a dash of clove/cinnamon spice. Some real glide here too. 14.5%"

Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review, May 2018, https://www.ozwinereview.com
"Another varietal ‘17 Vale red from Hither & Yon team. Molten, dark berry nose – it’s not Rioja but gee it’s expansive and thick fruited with that southern McLaren Vale inky density. At first I thought this might be too ripe and slick sweet, but the tannic depth and wafts of choc berry carries this forward. A genuinely substantial McLaren Vale Tempranillo. Best drinking: Wait a year or so to see it at its best and drink in 10. 17.5/20, 91/100. 14.5%, $27."

Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, November 2017:
Gold Medal, 95 points

Reviews of 2016 Tempranillo:

93 points and red value star, James Halliday, August 2018:
Made from two pickings, almost 3 weeks apart. Open fermented, whole berries and bunches, and 6 months in French oak. Unequivocally varietal bouquet, with lifted aromas of fresh cherry, blueberry, and cola extract, spliced with a more savoury element. Fresh, juicy and flavoursome, but moderated by the fine tannin. Delicious.

90 points, Huon Hooke, February 2017:
Deep, young purple/red colour. The wine is full-bodied and fruit-driven on the palate with bold, bright young flavour and soft but persuasive tannins. The wine is very young and primal but very good. Balance and mouth-feel are excellent and it just remains to be seen what some bottle-age might bring.

90 points, Stuart Robinson, www.thevinsomniac.com, December 2016:
"Delicious Joven style: jubey, juicy, fruits of the forest mix. The kinda wine you want to sink your head into: cooling, calming, intriguing, inviting. There's a darker edge to the palate, a light rub of tannin. Medium bodied, a twist of aniseed - lush fruit. Strikes this balance between downright simplicity, with a little dark underbelly. Would easily handle a summer-necessary chill.

2015 Tempranillo reviews:

Mike Bennie. WBM Magazine. May 2016. 93 points.
"This is Tempranillo marching to its own beat. Neither joven nor Riserva, it's a slurpy, slippery, medium weight thing that shows choc-cherry and anise characters in perfume and flavours, lushness of fruit and a lightly sandy finish. It's seriously great drinking and could take a light chill too."

91 points, Wine Enthusiast (USA), March 2016:
Dark cherry in colour with black infections at the core, this wine has a pleasantly vinous nose of pomegranate seeds and blueberries. Sweet spice and perk acidity invigorate the medium bodied palate, while supple rounded tannins hang in the background. The finish lingers with cinnamon-dappled raspberry pie flavors. Even if only moderately complex, this wine is incredibly easy to sip. Drink now through to 2018.

91 points, Stuart Robinson, www.thevinsomniac.com, March 2016:
Savoury, woody hints, flashes of blue fruit, a little black cherry. In the house style: a juicy fruit-bomb, not lacking in a little savoury depth - a second pick of fruit comprising 12% of the wine was allowed a little extra hang-time, with some whole bunch inclusion - a little acidic reach into the corners of the palate. A light rub of tannin, some black licorice and a little bitter cocoa. Juicy, moreish, another winner from the H&Y team.

Huon Hooke, March 2016:
Deep red colour with a trace of purple. Dark cherry fruit pervades the bouquet, becoming chaffy with airing, while the palate is ironstony and firm, straightforward and plum-pippy, ending with a trace of bitterness. A pretty good temp.

88 points, Andrew Graham, March 2016:
Juicy red fruit, wet brick Temp varietal characters, then more raspberry and cola fruit with a little earth. It’s a nice 'joven' style this, all fruit, minimal oak and light sandy tannins. Slurpable, juicy wine, if a tad simple. Best drinking: 2017-2021.

Reviews of the 2025 Tinto Shiraz:

91 points, Melissa Moore, The Real Review, May 2026:
Plush and concentrated on the nose, with ripe blackberry and black cherry fruit aromas and hints of violet and dried black plum. Textural and creamy on the palate, with bright acidity to balance and savoury grape-skin tannins on the finish. Fun—could even be chilled on a warm day.

90 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, April 2026:
It’s all shiraz, though the ‘Tinto’ is to suggest, well, redness, but, also, “the pure joy in this, matched to the ethos of this wine, and ochre soil of the site“, which is a nice sentiment – I like it. Nouveau shiraz, is the deal. It’s slurpy and rich, dark fruited, cola-laced, inky with a sense of purple fruit, dashed with milk chocolate, touched up with green herbs and peppery spice. Nice! Soft, fun, flirty red wine. Easy to guzzle, likely to get a chill. Party time right here. Not so complex, but seriously good energy.  If you want a red with freshness but some heft, step right up.

90 points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026:
Shiraz made in a forward, exuberant style, sans oak – tank only – and with only gently pressed free-run used. It’s like shiraz got jealous of grenache and wanted to join the fun. Bright red and tart black fruits, some blueberry, red and blue florals, a little boysenberry. It’s got energy and drive, a splash-around light red that can take a slight chill and has enough tannic pluck for the table.

Reviews of 2022 Touriga:

Young Gun of Wine, Australia's Best Touriga Nacional, August 2026: 
Touriga is so much more than a generic ‘dry red wine’ variety, particularly when it has seen some time in the bottle. Rich intense spice and a slightly fortified aroma lead into a nicely medicinal, Ribena-infused palate. The spice leaning dark plum, blood orange and blueberries slot together with the herbal undertones and slight liquorice and sit well with the ripe tannin. A lovely example that shows there is so much complexity and variation in the Australian take on Touriga Nacional.

Reviews of 2020 Touriga:

93 points, Mike Bennie, Winefront:
McLaren Vale Touriga on blast. Highly perfumed, all forest berries, sarsaparilla, liquorice, mint and sage characters. Glossy textured, soft and supple, sweet fruited but tempered with crisp, tangy fresh acidity and some creamy, soft tannins lending length and a lovely, puckering finish. Seriously good times, lots of structure and depth yet vitality. Great stuff.

91 points, Ned Goodwin, Halliday Companion 2022:
A bright, mid-weighted, crunchy and slightly sweet red. Touriga, inherently high in acidity, serving to tone flavours of violet, sweet cherry, anise and a sachet of herb. The finish, long and vibrant.

Reviews of 2019 Touriga:

95 points, Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show:
Vibrant, clean & juby pure fruit with a soft long violet finish

93 points, Mike Bennie, Wine Business Magazine:
Straight up, great drinking. Charisma and charm, cola and sour-sweet berry characters, pomegranate juice, cardamom & a hustle of minty herbs. It feels medium weight, slippery but finishes with a smudge of tannins. It's charming from hello, and distinct in its personality. It's got a lot going for it, no doubt.

Reviews of 2018 Touriga:

93 points, Gourmet Traveller Wine - 100 Top New Release Wine:
You can smell and taste Portugal here, the same notes that come through in Portuguese vintage Port, although not porty in the overripe sense. Black cherry, aniseed; beautifully made and fresh; the palate full bodied and firmly structured, powerful and long-lasting.

93 points, Huon Hooke - The Real Review:
Deep, bold, bright purple/red colour, with a lovely sweet black cherry bouquet that smacks of Portuguese port, although it's not 'porty' as such. It's the fruit character, which is very authentic. The wine is full-bodied and firmly-structured, powerful and long-lasting on the palate. A really smart red wine with a bright future.

91 points, Gary Walsh - The Wine Front:
Violet, lavender, chamomile – so floral – also new leather, Christmas cake, blueberry. It’s juicy and plump, plenty of dark fruit and peel, dark chocolate, freshness with sinewy tannin, and a chalky finish of solid length. A lot of interest and pleasure in the glass here.

Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show - Silver Medal: "Bright red garnet, a little ripe floral lavender notes on the nose, the palate is soft and even tempered, lovely lines and spice. Vibrant and juicy.

92 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion:
Dry red style with leather and red cherry flavours doused lightly with dusty dried herbs and spices. There's just enough firmness to the tannin and a good level of ripeness to the fruit. Its a wine of a confident producer.

Reviews of 2017 Touriga:

Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review, May 2018,:
Please, more McLaren Vale Touriga. This is the first crop off Malcolm & Richard Leask’s Touriga plantings and it’s a winner, with bright, gummy bear purple fruit and a just a hint of soil. It’s so vital! Great fine tannins too. Every time I try these well balanced, energetic fruity Touriga Nacional styles I’m reminded how good they are. Delicious, fruity wine. It’s not wildly serious but an enjoyable drink with acidity, tannins and flavour. Best drinking: Now to seven years. 17.7/20, 92/100. 13.2%, $27. Would I buy it? Sure would.

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.

Reviews of the 2025 Vermentino:

*Red Star Value: 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, August 2026:
From '20 plantings in the Oakley Road vineyard, the fruit was crushed and left on skins for 10 days at 15°C, then pressed to older French oak, with eight months on lees. Lightweight bottle (yay!), as is the practice here. Bracingly dry, tight and saline. Cloudy apple juice and dried apple, green pear, preserved lemon, wild grasses, coriander seed and Persian lime. It’s a racy, lighter wine, fruitful but more about savoury flavour detail and pithy, silty texture. It’s very refreshing.

89 Points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, April 2026:
McLaren Vale and vermentino are easy bedfellows. This is exotic in as much as when I tasted it, I immediately thought of Real Lemonade, and couldn’t get much past that. It has that distinct, strong lemony flavour, almost like an essence of lemon, and then dials in a sugary undertow, but that’s met with a touch of saltiness too. It all matches. A sense of melted Lemonade Icy Pole to it all too. And then it doesn’t quite feel sweet to finish either. Curious! And fun. Needs a very good chill, and perhaps the best of salt and pepper squid alongside.

Reviews of the 2024 Vermentino:

90 Points, James Suckling, June 2025:
Vibrant and fresh, with aromas of sliced lemons, white flowers, apple blossoms and talcum powder. The palate is light-bodied with focused acidity, a nicely constructed mouthfeel, a fresh finish and underlying concentration. Drink now. Screw cap.

“Top Five Young Gun of Wine Deep Dive: Australia's Best Vermentino ” April 2025

*Red Star Value: 93 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2025:
Picked both early in the season and the morning, this was crushed to tank for a cool ferment on skins for two weeks; pressed to old oak to finish alcoholic fermentation and go through mlf; three months' élevage. Cypress and myrtle, wild grasses, tea tree oil, chamomile, Indian tonic, martini olive, lime oil, Vietnamese mint, preserved lemon, coriander seed and grapefruit pith. It’s a briny, maritime wine – like a botanical-infused aperitif – light of weight with a feathery grip and abundant freshness. This is the second release, and the fundamentals are the same, but this steps up in poise and balance. Very good.

Reviews of the 2023 Vermentino:

92 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion, February 2024:
Low in alcohol but quite deep in colour. This was fermented cool for 14 days on skins, with free-run juice matured in old French barrels for six months. It’s the first vermentino for the Leask brothers, and it’s a distinctive iteration, with pine needles, pepperberry, myrtle, coriander seed, candied lemon peel, fennel fronds and a Lillet blanc/dry vermouth vibe. Chalky phenolics are preceded by a classic saline slip and a surprising depth of flavour for the ripeness.