The McWilliams (Brand’s in Australia) Stentiford’s Reserve Old Vines Shiraz 1999.

And it was one of the most interesting and unusual Australian wines I have ever drunk.

I enjoyed it with my friend Kelly paired with some delicious lamb from Lava Lakes Ranch in Idaho.

When they say “Old Vines”, they really mean old vines. Planted in 1896 by Captain Stentiford in the famous terra ross soil of South Australia’s Coonawarra region, today the vines produce a small number of intensely flavored grapes that lead, in turn, to this remarkable wine.

Pretty is not a word I often uses in relation to shiraz.  Big, beefy, peppery, spicy, perhaps, but these are all get-up-an-go, man-of-action wines while the Stentiford’s is blessed with a delightful feminine, drink-me, charm. It’s deceptively soft and gentle, yet vibrates with a finely-focused, juicy intensity.