Excellent colour, deep red and purple, and the smell is all blue, red and purple fruits, dense, dark and ripe. Intense and kind of brooding too - there's some seriousness mixed in with all that brightness here. The flavour deals out a similarly big flavour, all ripe, intense, tightly packed dark fruits with the barest dusting of spice. The texture is almost hedonistic, velvety and plush, with smooth, fine tannins with sweeter fine berries pushing along the finish.
Awards and Accolades
2014 Vintage: 92 Points - Campbell Mattinson, Australian Wine Companion "Pure seduction. Sweet berry and liquorice flavours with a lick of dark chocolate. It oozes through the palate in velvety style; rich, ripe and delicious. Ready to drink now"
2013 Vintage: 93 Points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion "Wild crimson-purple; the first whiff screams McLaren Vale with dark chocolate, licorice and black and red fruits leaping from the glass; better still is its vibrant mouthfeel, red fruits now framed by fine, savoury tannins. Ready now although will hold."
From the Winery
Sourced from a selection of mature, dry-grown vineyards in the Seaview sub district of McLaren Vale. Seaview is home to many of the regions oldest vineyards and these low-yielding vines produce extremely concentrated and well balanced fruit.
The fruit is hand-harvested and vineyard sorted before de-stemming and cool fermentation in small two tonne open fermenters with regular hand plunging. Matured in seasoned French and American oak (10% new French) for nine months before bottling with minimal filtration and sulphur addition.
The 2015 vintage in South Australia was outstanding. Good soil moisture allowed the vines to weather the warm, dry summer conditions. Early Autumn rains refreshed the vines before cooler temperatures allowed a long, even ripening. A richly flavoured but well balanced year.
The Primrose Path was founded by leading McLaren Vale wine grower Jim Zerella and Nicholas Crampton to create modern and exciting wines that showcase this amazing region.
The Primrose Path refers to a relaxed life of ease and pleasure. The trick is retaining grace whilst avoiding indulgence. Nowhere seems more suited to this life than McLaren Vale, a region devoted to a culture of food and wine against a backdrop of dazzling natural beauty.
Don't Pay: $21.00
WBW Rating: 94/100
Closure: Stelvin
Region: McLaren Vale, SA
Winemaker: Jim Zerella
Drink now until: 2022
Alc/Vol: 14.5 %