Meet the Black Caviar of red wines

You can’t take your eyes off this wine. It sits in your glass as dark as night, seemingly impenetrable, with its glossy purple-black sheen shimmering, calling for your attention.

“It’s a showstopper,’’ winemaker Elena Brooks says of her Dandelion petite sirah. “It’s like Black Caviar – she passes by and you just have to look.”

While Black Caviar, the champion thoroughbred, raced her way into Australia’s consciousness, petite sirah isn’t exactly a household name when it comes to grape varieties.

But we’re setting sail on a magical mystery tour this week, with Brooks’s eye-catching Dandelion Vineyards Midnight Rainbow of McLaren Vale Petite Sirah 2020 headlining The Australian Wine Club’s carefully selected mixed dozen of what we’re calling “alternate varieties”.

These wines may not be as well-known as shiraz and cabernet, but their charms are well worth getting to know for those of us intent on exploring all the world of wine has to offer.

Brooks and husband Zar nurture a small parcel of petite sirah vines, along with shiraz and grenache, on their Firehawk Farm, a biodynamically run vineyard in the McLaren Vale region, perched on a ridge offering panoramic views across the Willunga escarpment and the Gulf of St Vincent.

“I love the fact we have the petite sirah here,’’ Brooks says. “It is a good blender, helping with tannin and colour, but by itself this wine is incredibly unique.”

The Midnight Rainbow petite sirah, so named for the intensity of its colours, manages to combine delicate aromas of dark fruits and spice with blockbuster flavours. “Having such elegant aromatics in a wine that is so chunky on the palate gives it that uniqueness,” the winemaker says.

You may have come across petite sirah wines in the past going by the name of durif. It was French botanist Francois Durif who created the grape in Montpellier around 1880 by crossing shiraz with an extremely rare grape called peloursin.

“Petite” refers to the small size of the berries, which creates a high skin-to-juice ratio, giving the wine its dark, inky colour and high tannin levels. It has very high levels of the antioxidant anthocyanin.

To achieve finesse in the Midnight Rainbow, Brooks gently basket-presses the wine into French oak barrels – about 20 per cent new, 20 per cent one year old, and the rest older – for at least 18 months’ maturation. Less than 5000 bottles were made from the 2020 vintage.

“You really should enjoy this wine with something like lamb backstrap – it absolutely sings, you need that fat,’’ she says.

Brooks’s personal story has its own unique lines. She grew up in one of Bulgaria’s biggest and oldest wineries, Vinprom Lyaskovets, where her mother worked in marketing. Her father flew Russian-made MiGs as a fighter jet pilot in the Bulgarian air force.

By the age of 12, she was assessing barrel samples with winemakers and by 16 was making her first batches of chardonnay.

After the fall of communism, Elena’s good English meant she was able to act as an interpreter for visiting Australian winemakers flown in to modernise winemaking techniques. One of them encouraged Elena to study winemaking at the University of Adelaide, which she began as a 19-year-old.

Not long after graduating, she met her future husband, Zar, a respected wine judge, at an Adelaide wine show.

Since establishing Dandelion Vineyards together 18 years ago, they have seen their wines win a host of prestigious awards locally and internationally, including “winery of the year” gongs in 2021 at the Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition (US) and the Melbourne International Wine Competition.

As our club president, James Halliday, says: “This is a highly impressive partnership.”

Dandelion Vineyards Midnight Rainbow of McLaren Vale Petite Sirah 2020

A wine with the wow factor: opaque deep purple/black hue glows in the glass. Airy aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg spice open the way to a fine perfume spray of blackberries, mulberries, plum and charcuterie. Concentrated wild blackberry flavours fill the mouth, full-bodied and bold. Chewy tannins call for your favourite roasted meats. Decant for an hour. 96 points, Melbourne International Wine Show. 14.5% alc; RRP $120.

SPECIALS $110 in any dozen; $23.99 in Alternate Reds dozen

Hungerford Hill Hilltops Tempranillo 2022

The popularity of this Spanish native is on the rise here. Trademark cherry, raspberry and vanilla aromas, with darker fruits and smoky, leathery notes. Soft and juicy palate; dark cherries and a hint of black olive lead to a savoury finish. 93 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 13.5% alc; RRP $45.

SPECIALS $39.99 in any dozen; $23.99 in Alternate Reds dozen

Faber Vineyards Western Australian Malbec 2022

The wine made famous by Argentina’s Mendoza. Lifted scents of plums, violets, blueberries and mulberry, with hints of dark chocolate, vanilla, blueberry pie and custard. Vibrant red and blue fruits and juicy acidity pulse through the palate. Hint of garden herbs. Super-drinkable, medium-bodied beauty. 93 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 13.5% alc; RRP $36.

SPECIALS $27.99 in any dozen; $23.99 in Alternate Reds dozen

Hentley Farm Villain & Vixen Barossa Valley Mataro 2023

Chance to get a good look at the third string in Rhone-style grenache/shiraz/mataro blends. Red and blue fruits, cranberry and floral aromatics. Ripe Barossa fruit on the palate, with a vein of licorice and balancing acidity. Herbal, earthy notes. Crowd pleaser. 15.1% alc; RRP $24.50.

SPECIALS $23.99 in any dozen; $23.99 in Alternate Reds dozen

ALTERNATE VARIETIES DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $23.99 a bottle. SAVE $388.

Order by simply clicking the links to our online store or telephone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550. Stockhead is partnering with The Australian Wine Club on this offer.