S.C. Pannell Wines Montepulciano 2021 (12 Bottles) McLaren Vale

by CellarHand

$394.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

February, 2021

Deep, dense, almost glass-staining purple colour, with a mysterious bouquet of reserved black fruits, graphite, earth and some coal-dust overtones. A note of blueberry, a whiff of dried banana. In the mouth, it’s full-bodied but not a blockbuster, beautifully balanced and approachable already, with ample finely-sculpted tannins that harmonise well with the body, flavour and texture. A very smart wine with a bright future, well worth a little cellar time.
Huon Hooke: The Real Review 93 points

This is definitely a happy wine and a variety Stephen has great hope for in our warm climate. The wine is an immediate pleasure but given a moment can be contemplative and cerbral. In a way it’s the red version of Fiano with the same juxtaposition of lean and ripe.

82% Case Vineyard, Langhorne Creek and 18% from our Olivers Road Vineyard in McLaren Vale; the first harvest off grafted vines right next to our cellar door. McLaren Vale fruit was harvested mid-March and Langhorne Creek mid-April. Each parcel vinified was seperately but identically: 13 days on skins in stainless steel before gentle pressing, malolactic fermentation in puncheons before maturation in French-oak vat and puncheons.

It has light-red fruit aromas: watermelon, raspberry and mulberry on the tree. Red chilli and a Cabernet-like herbaceous character follow before finishing with a lick of toffee apple sweetness and mild sopressa. The palate is as dark and rich as the colour and finishes with mulberries freshly picked from the tree and eaten in the lazy warmth of summer.

In terms how it feels, it’s medium-bodied, calm, relaxed, soft, generous, powerful and provocative. The tannins are mild and velvety; this may be the perfect crossover wine with the richness of Shiraz matched with the regal tone of Cabernet combined in a variety that is coping with our climate. – Stephen Pannell

 

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Description

ABOUT SC PANNELL

Stephen Pannell is one of the most liked and respected winemakers in the business, loved also by a wine-drinking public looking for refreshing, aromatic white wines and reds that are approachable and moreish – in essence, wines that are serious while remaining irresistible to drink. S.C. Pannell has been part of the CellarHand family since the label’s inception in the early 2000s, since when Steve has won just about every accolade going, including a second Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy and the title of Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year.

Steve has also bought a vineyard he’s loved for years, and acquired a winery and cellar door in the heart of McLaren Vale, from where S.C. Pannell continues its quest for great “wines that are grown, not made” – wines that are delicious, that taste of where they’re from and that are a natural partner for the food and lifestyle of their home.

MEET THE WINEMAKER

Stephen Pannell has twice won Australia’s most prestigious wine award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy – most recently in 2014 for his 2013 Adelaide Hills Syrah – and his reputation is further hinted at by his being named one of the 50 most influential contributors to the world of wine by Decanter Magazine.
He earned his stripes working with some Australia’s iconic wineries including Wirra Wirra, Hardy’s Tintara and BRL Hardy, where he was Chief Red Winemaker from 1999 to 2003. He has worked numerous overseas vintages at such places as Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Burgundy, Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux and G.D. Vajra in Barolo.
In 2014, Steve won his second Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy and further cemented his relationship with the great grapegrowing region that is South Australia by setting up a cellar door in the heart of McLaren Vale. His local legend status has been confirmed again and again, winning the Bushing Trophy for best red wine of show in McLaren Vale no less than four times: 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2018.

CellarHand

CellarHand is a fine-wine importer and wholesale distributor, with a portfolio featuring some of the most sought-after estates of Germany, Austria, France and Italy, as well some of the greatest producers from Australia and New Zealand. Our ethos has always been to build a portfolio as you’d construct the perfect wine list. We work with small, family producers who express the best of their regions. The wines we sell are the wines we enjoy, and the people who make them are like family to us. They are wines that taste of where they come from, and though they’re steeped in history and stamped with the signature of their terroir, they’re more than ever relevant – and desirable – to the Australian diner of today.