Nangkita Premium Cabernet-Shiraz Fleurieu South Australia 2021

Sometimes, we get to feel like magicians, and today is one of those days. Small-lot, organically farmed Cabernet-Shiraz from South Australia’s majestic Fleurieu Peninsula, with a gleaming 95 point score... for UNDER $15? I’m not sure if our buyers made a little uh-oh in their spreadsheets, or if it’s just our lucky day – but I do know for sure that this is the red wine deal of all deals!

Just south of Adelaide, Australia, sits a lesser-known wine region called the Fleurieu Peninsula, whose climate almost identically mimics the Mediterranean, with cooling sea breezes and mild summers that promote even grape ripening and elegant red wines. Nangkita Vineyard has sat nestled here among the rolling hills and tucked-away valleys since the 1990s, organically growing grapes on their elevated, biodynamic, 43-hectare property and crafting distinguished, single-vineyard wines of great acclaim.

With a focus on regenerative and sustainable principles, like livestock integration and no-till farming, the estate produces high-quality, small-batch wines from a terroir of deep, sandy soils over limestone. Their 2021 Premium Cabernet-Shiraz red blend takes 60% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and 40% Shiraz (or Syrah, here in our neck of the woods), all estate-grown and sourced from Dam Block No. 1 and 4.

Let me tell you, the quality of this stuff is apparent at every turn, and it could easily (easily!) sell in the $50-$70 range. Violets and roses, blackberries, with some plum-blueberry pie, plus smoky undertones of bacon fat, and a whisper of eucalyptus and toasty baking spices... this wine is the real deal, and loaded with complex, silky, and rivetingly bold layers. Stock your cellar with this brilliant and robust red blend to get you through at least the winter (although, it’ll easily hold up for another decade or more... so it might behoove you to get more than you think you need)!

PAIRING IDEAS: Something equally sultry and brooding is the call here – so we’re going for a batch of these juicy, tender smoked beef short ribs, with a side of creamy cole slaw and baked beans, of course!