An elegant, raspberry-scented offering, the 2019 Kangaroo Island Shiraz is only available via the winery cellar door. It's complex, with floral notes, hints of cracked pepper, star anise and pastry crust all adding nuance to the red-berried fruit. Only medium bodied, it's silky and fine in texture, with gentle tannins that don't require cellaring but seem likely to support up to a decade of aging if desired.

To my palate, the maritime climate of Kangaroo Island yields Shiraz with less edginess than more inland and/or elevated climates. Maxwell's 2018 Kangaroo Island Shiraz is an elegant wine that epitomizes that. Faint herbal nuances accent the raspberry and redcurrant fruit, while the medium to full-bodied palate is smooth as silk, lingering easily on the finish.