Dandelion Vineyards Legacy of the Barossa 30-Year-Old Pedro Ximenez

Many of the Pedro Ximenez vines in South Australia got ripped out years ago as fortified wines struggled to find a market. Thankfully, a few remain and the fruit that goes into this little beauty is grown in the family vineyards of Carl Lindner, one of the Dandelion partners. With vines averaging 30 years of age (and some much older) this is a wine of intensity and power, but at the same time full of charm: a James Bond wine, one might say. Burnt ochre in colour, it has a nose full of nutty goodness that leads on to a plate on which mixed nut, dark Christmas cake fruit, English toffee, marmalade and citrus peel notes are beautiful melded together. This is a deep, dark, mysterious wine; sweet, rich, rancio and complex. A little bottle of deliciousness. I don't score, but if I did, I'd give this 96/100. $27.50 for 375mls. www.dandelionvineyards.com.au.