2021 Koomilya DC Block Shiraz
2021 Koomilya DC Block Shiraz

2021 Koomilya DC Block Shiraz

Highly Rated
S.C. Pannell |McLaren Vale |Shiraz
A formidable Shiraz built in a cellaring style. Quintessential McLaren Vale Shiraz from Steve Pannell.
Price:
$130.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship, only 2 units left
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Description

This is a very special release for virtuoso winemaker, Steve Pannell. The 2021 DC Block Shiraz comes from the original plot that gave Koomilya its cult status. Named after Don Cant, a previous owner, this wine is all about tension and power.

Grown on slaty siltstone flecked with ironstone, the DC Block is the darkest and most intense of the trio. Aromas of brine, charcuterie, Satsuma plum, and Russian caravan tea swirl together, offering a savoury, almost umami experience on the nose. On the palate, it bursts with energy—cranberry, pomegranate, and sandalwood textures meld seamlessly with its coiled tannic structure, creating a wine that’s both full of power and elegantly poised.

Critics have been universally impressed by the DC Block's tension and depth. Marcus Ellis awarded it 97 points, praising its "brilliant" interplay of savoury tannins, sour cherry, and warm spice, noting that it’s expansive yet serene with beautifully extracted tannins. Meanwhile, Ned Goodwin MW echoed the sentiment, awarding 96 points, and describing its notes of rosewater, cherries, and dried lavender as "immaculate," pointing to the wine’s "toothsome" appeal and serious ageing potential. 

With only 24 bottles available, the DC Block, with its balance of elegance and weight will appeal to those who appreciate a wine that can deliver both immediate pleasure and long-term complexity. A wine for the real collectors, this is premium McLaren Vale Shiraz at its seductive best.

97 points
“The fruit swoops in on the palate, expansive but serene, with ripples of texture, tannins extracted masterfully, caressing, savoury but not drying, quietly commanding. Brilliant.”
– Marcus Ellis (Wine Companion, August 2024)

96 points
“A historic site of old vines and meager, low-yielding soils. The wines are perfumed and immaculate, with no lack of structural components. They have the capacity to age, but most of all a winning toothsomeness demanding a revisit to the glass.”
– Ned Goodwin MW (JamesSuckling.com, March 2024)
96 points
"A beautiful and distinctive expression of Australian Shiraz. Yes."
- Gary Walsh (The wine Front)

A single block Shiraz from 49 year old vines grown on ancient, dark grey slaty siltstone soils flecked with ironstone facing south-east at an altitude of 108m. The DC Block is named for Don Cant, the previous owner, and was the first single block wine released from the vineyard.

97 points – “Native ferment, with 16 days on skins; maturation in a 2300L oak vat. This with a certain succulence allied with tension, a play of sour cherry spiced with caraway, tart raspberry confiture, red plum, haunting warm spices, orange-fruity coffee grounds, umeboshi, dried mint and bitter chocolate, and all feeling of fruit, of place, the winemaking subservient. The fruit swoops in on the palate, expansive but serene, with ripples of texture, tannins extracted masterfully, caressing, savoury but not drying, quietly commanding. Brilliant.” – Marcus Ellis (Wine Companion, August 2024)

96 points – “A historic site of old vines and meager, low-yielding soils. The wines are perfumed and immaculate, with no lack of structural components. They have the capacity to age, but most of all a winning toothsomeness demanding a revisit to the glass. Notes of rosewater, yet nothing candied. Red and Bing cherries, tangerines, lilacs and dried lavender. It grows in juiciness and sap across a brilliant finish.” – Ned Goodwin MW (JamesSuckling.com, March 2024)

96 points - "Black fruit, black tea, black olive, but also has a lilac perfume, and maybe some ginger snap biscuit. It’s full-bodied, dense and ferrous, rolls like thunder on the palate, with superb inky tannin, a twist of iodine, manages to be dry and savoury while offering ample fruit sweetness, some red, some blue, some black, and the finish is very long, with chamois-like tannin stamping it with the seal of high quality wine. A beautiful and distinctive expression of Australian Shiraz. Yes." - Gary Walsh (The wine Front)

95 points - "The 2021 Koomilya DC Block Shiraz leads with a distinct perfume of roasted meat crust, sweet beetroot, red earth, raspberry pip, pomegranate molasses, red apple and dried herbs. In the mouth, the wine is minty and layered with kirsch and blood orange, persuasions of tapenade and leather, rose petals, granite and black fruit, with lashings of paprika tannins that feel eminently earth derived. This is the pick of the bunch for me here today, with amplitude and grunt in equal measure." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

S.C. Pannell

Quite simply, Stephen Pannell is one of Australia’s finest and most imaginative winemakers. He’s a Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, a McLaren Vale Bushing King winner, a two-time Max Schubert Trophy winner, International Red Winemaker of the Year and Decanter Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Contributors to the World of Wine. Nick Stock described him as potentially “one of the greatest Australian winemakers ever to make wines in our age”.

Steve’s wines are made with modern Australian food and wine culture at the front of mind. The wines come from a range of stunning McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills vineyards, and are made from sustainable varieties that properly suit his South Australian climate. They're built around brightness of fruit and savoury tannin structure, and whatever your poison is Steve has you covered!

He is truly one of the most forward-thinking and inspirational Australian winemakers alive today.

Visionary winemaker Stephen Charles Pannell Discover S.C. Pannell

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