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Bec Hardy Garden Series Shiraz 2024

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One of the two vineyards in McLaren Vale which provides the fruit for this terrific Shiraz is the Lower Tintara vineyard, originally planted by Thomas Hardy way back in the 1880s. One has to wonder if anywhere else on the planet, which has vines approaching 150 years in age, would ever offer a wine at this price? Fat chance. This is such cracking value. Maturation was for ten months in a mix of French and American oak. A vibrant purple colour here, there is a wonderfully lifted and aromatic nose with notes of violets, plums, chocolate, mocha, coffee beans, cassis and mulberries. This is one of those ever-so-alluring noses that if not careful, you’ll find yourself sitting and smelling the wine, forgetting to drink it. But when you do, it is fresh, plush, finely balanced with silky tannins and really impressive length. Love it and it will surely improve over the coming years, meriting a higher score. Enjoy this over the next ten to fifteen years.

Ken Gargett

Contributor at Winepilot

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Wine writer and critic