Sons of Eden, Remus Old Vine Shiraz, Eden Valley, South Australia 2019 (14.5%)

£54 Pull the Cork, The Oxford Wine Co

Given that the two are adjacent regions, it’s hard to believe how different Shiraz can be when you compare an authentic Eden Valley wine with one from its slightly lower-altitude neighbour, Barossa. Our two Best in Show South Australian Shirazes make this point memorably. Both are dense, and dark in colour, but give this wine a sniff and you’ll find perfumed blackcurrant fruits impeccably defined, their breath sweetened with a little oak. On the palate, it is intense, deep and salty-savoury but clearly a tenor in range, surging through the palate on a surf of pristine fruits. The natural balance is impressive, as are the ultra-soft tannins which seem to melt into the fruits, combining with the wine’s saline crushed-stone richness to convey the profundity of terroir possible here.

This ultimate accolade sums up Sons of Eden’s relentless reach for the summit and its mastery of the valley from which it received its name. ‘The vast majority of soils in Eden Valley are young in comparison to Barossa, and generally derived from weathered rock,’ explains winemaker Corey Ryan. ‘Typically, they have low water-holding capacity and are shallow sandy loam over granite parent rock. The other feature is that they are generally acidic in nature and have low fertility. These features combine to inhibit vine vigour and crop levels, which ensures high-quality fruit.’

It would be remiss not to mention that these vines are 60-90 years of age, thereby decreasing yield even further and leading to due deference from Ryan in the cellar: ‘Less is definitely more’, he states. ‘Minimal intervention and natural winemaking philosophies are key, and we only get involved when absolutely needed.

‘A combination of pre-ferment cold soak, whole-bunch clusters and natural fermentations together with minimal wine movements post-pressing ensures vibrancy and opulence in our wines, but the major influence on our style is the high-quality, old-vine fruit.’