Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2015

The gloriously dark, potent Eileen Hardy is made entirely from premium, old vine Shiraz from the prized McLaren Vale – we're talking vines 50 to 104 years old. It’s a fragrant wine with ripe plum aromas and notes of liquorice, dark chocolate and black olive. Mouthfilling, dark cherry flavours are laced with toasty oak complexity and braced by fine tannins, the result of 18 months in small oak casks. Over the years it's won Trophies, Golds and Silvers galore. Even with all these big gong accolades, it's quite modestly priced, while other Aussie icons often sell for much loftier prices. Still youthful at five years old, the wine is best decanted an hour beforehand to allow the flavours to open out. A triumph with melting soft lamb shanks.