Wendouree is among the very top Clare Valley wine producers in South Australia. Their wines are difficult to source directly from the winery due to a combination of generous pricing and a quixotic mailing list system. Persistence pays off on the latter. Their blend of shiraz malbec from the 2016 vintage is a very good wine, if in a slightly awkward place. Bottled under screw cap, it is youthful at 10 years’ of age. It has aromas of blackberry, dusty cloves, mulberries and cedar. The palate is firm and its fruit a little stern. The cedar is a little obvious, if high quality, and there are unresolved powdery tannins. Set against this, the wine has very good length and its fruit is correctly ripe, both reliable indicators of quality. I think this wine will come together. Give it another 5 years or a long decant. Review Rating: Very Good (★★★★, 90 points). Website: None. Tasted: February 2026. Like: Subscribe.
