Pertaringa Undercover Shiraz 2020

Geoff Hardy established Pertaringa in 1980 and since then the Pertaringa vineyards in the foothills behind McLaren Vale have continued to produce some of the region's finest wines. Geoff's daughter Bec, who founded Bec Hardy Wines, acquired the Pertaringa wine brand from her father in 2020. 

"This is a serious contender for best value wine of the year. Stunning stuff and criminally under-priced. Vibrant purple in colour, this is inky, and dense, and full of chocolate notes and all a bit thrilling. There is a plushness here, with cassis, dark chocolate, blackberries, leather and cloves. Serious concentration, lusciousness and great length, this is powerful but balanced and focused with attractive silky tannins here. Love this – a gorgeous wine. Has a good decade of sensational drinking ahead of it. The intensity of this wine is maintained the entire length. Are there better wines in this collection? Perhaps, but I am not sure that there are any which give the same amount of sheer pleasure. The practice is to always attempt assessing without knowing the price, so I was expecting this to be at least an $80 to $100 bottle. $25? Buy as much as will fit in your cellar."  Ken Gargett

The Undercover Shiraz is named in recognition of McLaren Vale's history of supplying other regions with its finest red grapes to improve the quality and richness of their wines. For this reason, McLaren Vale fruit is sometimes known as the mid-palate of Australia.

This Shiraz is a blend of three different McLaren Vale Vineyards. The Lower Tintara Vineyard is located on Kays Road in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale where the 20-year-old vines are on sandy loam soils called Maslin Sands, which are 34 to 56 million years old. The Conte Vineyard is located on Sand Road where the 60-year-old vines are on sand over clay from the Ngaltinga Formation, which are 10,000 to 2.6 million years old. The Klaveniek Vineyard is located on McMurtrie Road where the 20-year-old vines are on Biscay soils from the Kurrajong formation, which are also 10,000 to 2.6 million years old.

The fruit was destemmed into small open fermenters before 15 months maturation in new and seasoned French oak.

Expert reviews

"This is a serious contender for best value wine of the year. Stunning stuff and criminally under-priced. The name gives a nod to the long history of McLaren Vale supplying top quality fruit to other regions without any recognition – labelling laws have improved that situation. This wine spent eighteen months in a mix of French and American oak, 15% of which were new. Vibrant purple in colour, this is inky, and dense, and full of chocolate notes and all a bit thrilling. There is a plushness here, with cassis, dark chocolate, blackberries, leather and cloves. Serious concentration, lusciousness and great length, this is powerful but balanced and focused with attractive silky tannins here. Love this – a gorgeous wine. Has a good decade of sensational drinking ahead of it. The intensity of this wine is maintained the entire length. Are there better wines in this collection? Perhaps, but I am not sure that there are any which give the same amount of sheer pleasure. The practice is to always attempt assessing without knowing the price, so I was expecting this to be at least an $80 to $100 bottle. $25? Buy as much as will fit in your cellar. Drink: 2022-2032."  Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot - 96 points

"It's gorgeously fruited and fragrant on the nose with blackberry, warm spice, elegant oak and rich floral aromas, leading to a concentrated palate that's both refined and powerful. Beautifully rounded and harmonious with a lengthy velvety finish. At its best: now to 2032."  Sam Kim, Wine Orbit – 94 points

About the winery

The Pertaringa story begins in 1850 when Thomas Hardy arrived in McLaren Vale from the UK. Thomas was the region's first settler and is widely regarded as the father of the South Australian wine industry. Fast forward four generations, and in 1980, Geoff Hardy left the then family company Thomas Hardy & Sons to make his own way in the Australian wine world. The same year, he established Pertaringa and since then the Pertaringa vineyards in the foothills behind McLaren Vale have continued to produce some of the region's finest wines. The soils are enriched from the hills above and the cooler climate, further tempered by the sea breezes off St Vincent's Gulf, sets the scene for high quality wine grapes.

Geoff's daughter Bec, inspired by her father's passion for cultivating premium fruit and producing fine wines, also went on to study and work in the wine industry in both Australia and overseas, including for her father's company Wines by Geoff Hardy. In 2015, Bec decided to make her own way in the Australian wine world and founded Bec Hardy Wines. In 2020, she acquired the Pertaringa wine brand from Wines by Geoff Hardy, becoming the first woman in the family to own vineyards and produce her own wine. Husband Richard joined Bec as Managing Director of Bec Hardy Wines in 2019.