Super premium Hunter Valley shiraz from Leogate Estate produced from special vineyard planted by wine legend Len Evans

A very special vineyard, set up by an Australian wine legend, is the hero behind this $100 bottle of sublime shiraz.

This week’s offer from The Australian Wine Club is a celebration of high-quality shiraz.

Wine comes from nature. The taste of the wines we love flows from the soil, the sun and the season.

It’s why the place the grapes are grown – the region and then the vineyard – is so crucial. The French call this combination of natural factors “terroir”.

It’s why the very best vineyards are so revered in the world of wine; special sites that are able to produce stunning wines, year after year, due to their unique “terroir”.

“Great wines start in the vineyard,’’ says Leogate Estate senior winemaker Mark Woods, the custodian of a storied Hunter Valley vineyard that has produced highly rated, award-winning shiraz for decades.

The Leogate Western Slopes Reserve Hunter Valley Shiraz 2019 leads The Australian Wine Club’s celebration of high-quality shiraz this week, with our mixed dozen drawn from four different regions. With an RRP of $115 and only 350 dozen produced, this offer is a rare opportunity to sample a special Hunter red at a mixed dozen price.

Leogate Estate senior winemaker Mark Woods. Picture: Leogate Wines

The Leogate Western Slopes shiraz is crafted from grapes grown in an isolated patch of the Brokenback Vineyard, planted in the late 1960s by the late and legendary Len Evans.

The irrepressible Evans, regarded as a founding father of the modern Australian wine industry, purchased the land in Pokolbin from the Tyrrell family while setting up Rothbury Estate, an ambitious venture that later faced financial problems and a hostile corporate takeover.

“Len saw it as a great patch of dirt, with deep, rich alluvial creek soils for whites and undulating hill country with beautiful chocolate and red clay soils for red wines,’’ Woods says.

The vineyard is set against the Hunter’s spectacular Brokenback Range and includes 100 acres of low-yielding shiraz vines planted on a west-facing hill.

“The vines have to endure hot afternoon sun and tend to produce smaller bunches with intensely flavoured berries,’’ Woods says. “They work pretty hard in those clay soils and this keeps the yields down. You’re not getting football-sized bunches and watery flavours.

“You’ll see those traditional Hunter shiraz flavours coming through – plum and polished leather, peppery notes and spice, and we’re taking a soft, gentle approach in the winery, not over-oaking.”

Woods has just finished harvesting his 15th vintage for Leogate, owned by former Tamworth graziers Bill and Vicki Widin and regarded as one of the Hunter’s jewels, having scored five red stars in the Halliday Wine Companion for the past 13 years.

“The fruit from the vineyard is really the launching pad for the winemakers to add their science and creativity. The weather patterns, the micro-climates, the soil – the terroir – it plays a huge role,’’ Woods says.

“Even the most talented winemaking team can’t do much if the fruit quality isn’t there. This is agriculture at heart.”

Leogate Western Slopes Reserve Hunter Valley Shiraz 2019

From an exceptional vintage, the 2019 draws you in with plums, blueberry and mulberry aromas, mingling with lilac, spice, dried meats and smoky notes. Generous, concentrated flavours flow across the palate: plums, black cherries and fig in abundance. Fresh acidity calls you back. Beautiful drinking now. Awarded gold at the International Wine Challenge. 14.5% alc; RRP $115.

SPECIALS $105 a bottle in any dozen; $22.99 a bottle in Premium Shiraz dozen

Purple Hands After Five Wine Co. Barossa Valley Shiraz 2021

Sourced from a single Williamstown vineyard, this contemporary Barossan shows satsuma plum, black fruit, vanilla and dark chocolate on the nose, leading to a richly flavoured feast of plums, blackberries and licorice with hints of fresh earth and spice. Firm tannins and a savoury finish. Lay down for the cooler months ahead. 92 points, Andrew Caillard, MW. 14% alc; RRP $45.

SPECIALS $35.99 a bottle in any dozen; $22.99 a bottle in Premium Shiraz dozen

Bellarmine Pemberton Shiraz 2021

A charmer. Hypnotising scents of ripe red plums and raspberry, wafting with vanilla, chocolate powder and smoky paprika spice. Fresh but generous flavours: plums and blackberries, along with savoury notes of cured meats and aniseed. Supple texture and fine tannins. Super drinkable. 94 points and a red star for exceptional value, Halliday Wine Companion. 14% alc; RRP $32.

SPECIALS $24.99 a bottle in any dozen; $22.99 a bottle in Premium Shiraz dozen

Willow Bridge Gravel Pit Geographe Shiraz 2023

West Australian shiraz is in a real groove. This boutique offering arrives from the west showing a subtle balance between vibrant fruit and peppery spice. It’s all here in good measure: blackberry, blueberry and plum aromas and flavours, with a sprinkle of olives, black pepper and aniseed. Good length; still youthful. 13.9% alc; RRP $35.

SPECIALS $27.99 a bottle in any dozen; $22.99 a bottle in Premium Shiraz dozen

PREMIUM SHIRAZ DOZENThree bottles of each wine above for $22.99 a bottle.SAVE $405 a dozen.

Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.