Coriole Vineyards has been synonymous with Sangiovese in Australia since 1985 — the year they planted the variety in McLaren Vale for the first time, pioneering what would become one of the most convincing Italian-variety stories in the country. Four decades on, those original vines and the blocks that followed have settled into their site, producing fruit of genuine depth and character from what are now some of Australia's oldest producing Sangiovese plantings.
McLaren Vale's warm maritime climate — moderated by sea breezes from the Gulf St Vincent — provides the conditions Sangiovese thrives in: enough warmth to ripen fully and develop structure, enough cool influence to preserve the natural acidity that gives the variety its vitality. The result is a wine that is distinctly McLaren Vale in its generosity, and distinctly Sangiovese in its savoury, red-fruited precision.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep ruby-red with garnet reflections and a clear, vibrant rim.
Nose: Fragrant and savoury — dried cherry, red plum and blood orange are threaded with dried herbs, a suggestion of leather and fine earthy complexity characteristic of mature-vine McLaren Vale Sangiovese.
Palate: Medium-bodied and structured, with natural acidity lifting the red fruit core and fine, supple tannins giving shape without grip. The fruit is honest and clean — cherry-driven, with subtle spice and a savoury underpinning that makes it instinctively food-friendly.
Finish: Dry, savoury and persistent, with Sangiovese's characteristic acid-driven freshness carrying through to a clean, lingering close.
Winemaking
Sourced from 12 blocks across four McLaren Vale vineyards, each harvested to reflect distinct site and clonal expression. Blending is completed in the vineyard, assembling the optimum McLaren Vale Sangiovese across the estate's extensive plantings — a process refined over more than 40 years of site and clone experimentation.
About Coriole
Established in McLaren Vale, Coriole is one of Australia's most important Italian-variety producers. Their 1985 Sangiovese plantings — the first in Australia — transformed perceptions of what McLaren Vale could do beyond Shiraz, and the variety has proven ideally suited to the region's warm maritime character. Today, Coriole's Sangiovese is an Australian benchmark: a wine of genuine regional identity and enduring quality at an accessible price.
