2023 Clare Valley Nero d'Avola, Mount Horrocks

• Style: Bright, mineral-driven red
• Taste: Cherry, red berries, saline minerality, warm spice
• Food: BBQ & grilled dishes; roast dinners; beef & steak; game
• Occasion: Sunday lunch; date night
• Serve: 16–18°C, decant 15 mins

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Bright cherry and red berries emerge first, cut through by a saline minerality that moves like sea spray across the palate. The tannins are gentle yet present, the spice warm and persistent. At 14% ABV, this wine drinks with unusual refinement, feeling both generous and precise. The 2023 vintage benefited from a cooler spring and later harvest, which stretched ripening and brought acidity and freshness to the fore.

The Winery — Mount Horrocks

Winemaker Stephanie Toole has owned Mount Horrocks since 1993, building a reputation in Clare Valley on an uncompromising approach to vineyard and cellar work. She matches each grape variety to its site's soil and microclimate; this Nero d'Avola grows on red clay over limestone in a northerly-facing block at Watervale. The fruit was hand-harvested and cold-soaked before fermentation in open vessels to build structure. Malolactic conversion occurred in stainless steel; oak aging — 80% seasoned French barriques, 20% new — followed for twelve months. The vineyard is certified organic and biodynamic.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

This is Nero d'Avola the way it should taste when planted far from home. Roasted lamb, beef, and barbecued pork ribs find a natural partner here; the mineral edge makes it surprisingly food-flexible for stews, braises, and game as well. Serve at 16–18°C, decanted for fifteen minutes, and it pairs beautifully with Sunday lunch or an intimate dinner. A wine built with intention, it sits alongside our broader Clare Valley selections as proof that Mediterranean varieties thrive in cool climates. Discover how Australia transforms these grapes into something entirely its own by exploring more of what we've chosen from Australia.