Maxwell Silver Hammer Shiraz 2019 (McLaren Vale)

The Maxwell winery is located on the south-facing slope of a solid limestone hill in the heart of McLaren Vale. This limestone provides excellent drainage, creating an environment perfect for shiraz vineyards of the highest quality. The shiraz for Silver Hammer is sourced from numerous parcels on the Maxwell estate, offering a consistency of style and quality year on year.

McLaren Vale’s 2019 vintage was low yielding but of a very high quality. A very dry winter and a cool spring resulted in poor bud-burst and flowering around October. In December we experienced amazing gusts of wind, which damaged some of the newly formed bunches. Then followed a heat wave which continued to reduce the crop levels. Lower yields have the benefit of increasing colour density and structure, so although the tonnes are less than most previous years, the quality is very good.