A couple of years ago, Mudgee winemaker David Lowe buried three 500-litre terracotta amphorae in the ground next to his best block of shiraz vines.

It wasn’t easy: “The earth was pretty solid,” says Lowe. “Stone, shale and quartz – a tough dig.” During the 2023 vintage, the winemaker then crushed and fermented some of his top shiraz grapes in those buried amphorae – again, not a straightforward thing to do, compared with using conventional stainless-steel tanks or oak barrels inside a cosy winery. But the result of all this effort is a unique expression of variety and place, taking Lowe’s usual shiraz style and giving it an unusual twist.