Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz 2018

The grapes for this Shiraz come from Dandelion's Kinkora vineyard in Seppeltsfield Road, Tanunda. The vines range in age from 35 to 108 years old and many of these ancient, gnarled vines are planted on their original rootstock in some of the oldest soils on the planet. 

"From own-rooted centenary vines, this meaty, mineral Shiraz just pipped the two from McLaren Vale: Lioness and Lion's Tooth. 18 months maturation in mainly old French barriques lends a toasty caramel tone to the ripe mulberry, dense plum pudding and herbal tapenade flavours. Brooding and savoury with fresh acidity and chocolatey tannins."  Tina Gellie

"Intense crimson with youthful purple hues. Generous, mouth-filling sweet blackberries, raspberries and plums cover the palate with lashings of sweet spice. Firm but fine tannins and dark chocolatey nuances continue throughout the lengthy palate with a youthful finish."  Dandelion Vineyards 

Expert reviews

"From own-rooted centenary vines, this meaty, mineral Shiraz just pipped the two from McLaren Vale: Lioness and Lion's Tooth (with 5% Riesling). 18 months maturation in mainly old French barriques lends a toasty caramel tone to the ripe mulberry, dense plum pudding and herbal tapenade flavours. Brooding and savoury with fresh acidity and chocolatey tannins. Drink: 2021 - 2027."  Tina Gellie, Decanter - 93 points

"Hand-picked, open-fermented, 8 days on skins, matured mainly in used oak for 18 months. The colour isn't as deep as its Lioness sibling; yet to come together as convincingly, but will improve. Drink by 2032."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 92 points

Awards

Gold Medal - New Zealand International Wine Show, 2019 
Gold Medal - Women Wine & Spirit Awards UK, 2020
Gold Medal - CWSA, 2019 
Platinum Award Winner (95 points) - Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition, 2020

About the winery

Dandelion Vineyards was started in 2007 by Bulgarian born winemaker Elena Brooks and her husband Zar. Elena crafts full-bodied wines from a suite of beautiful old vineyards in Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Eden Valley, Langhorne Creek, Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula.

Growing up in Bulgaria, wine has been a part of Elena Brook's life for as long as she can remember. Elena's mother worked in a winery and the fall of Communism in the late '80s led to an influx of orders for Bulgarian wine from supermarkets in the UK as they seized on this newly available source of affordable wines. To help produce wines to the supermarket's specifications, Australian winemakers stayed at the winery - all well and good except that the locals didn't speak English and the Australian winemakers didn't speak Bulgarian. Elena was learning English at school and she was quickly given a role in the winery as an interpreter and her journey into the world of wine began. By the age of 12, she was interpreting barrel tastings with the winemakers. By the age of 15, she had the wine knowledge and vocabulary of a veteran, and by 16 she was making her first batches of Chardonnay.

In 1998 she packed her bags and headed to Australia to study winemaking at the University of Adelaide. In 2000, amidst the mayhem of a grape harvest, she met Zar Brooks, a somewhat legendary figure in the sales and marketing of Australian wine who was working for icons like d'Arenberg and Wirra Wirra. They fell in love and, as they say in the classics, the rest is history.

"Dandelion is such a young company, and we are seen in many restaurants and wine retailers so it is a commercial operation. But we make every wine as if we were just making a couple of barrels. That's what I love about Dandelion. We can have commercial appeal but we can also do things that are exciting and experimental. That's what makes it so much fun."  Elena Brooks

In 2018 Elena and Zar Brooks purchased the Firehawk Farm Vineyard in McLaren Vale with the intention of opening a cellar door and restaurant on the stunning 60-acre property. The aptly named Wonder Room is currently deep in construction and set to open its doors in April 2023. It will stand among the vineyards at the farm, on top of an ancient ridge overlooking McLaren Vale with breathtaking views of the Gulf of Vincent and Willunga Escarpment.