Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz

In the first week of April, whole bunches of Shiraz were hand harvested before undergoing a gentle crush. Natural fermentation took place in open top fermenters for eight days where the must was hand plunged twice a day. Following this, the must underwent a careful basket pressing into some new, but predominantly older, French oak barriques to finish fermentation. Maturation took place in the same oak, lasting 18 months before bottling.

Dandelion Vineyards is the venture of talented winemaker Elena Brooks, and her husband Zar. Their project makes wines from the Barossa and Eden Valleys, Fleurieu, the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale.

Elena hails from Bulgaria. Her mother worked for a local producer, and so much of Elena’s childhood was spent in a winery. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria’s rich winemaking history attracted visiting winemakers from across the globe. As a result, Elena met many international winemakers visiting her mother's workplace. As the only English speaker, she began interpreting barrel room tastings for these visitors at the age of 12. By 15 she was well-versed in the ins and outs of the winemaking process and by 16 she had made her first wine. After formal study and stints making wine worldwide, Elena eventually settled in McLaren Vale with Zar and founded Dandelion Vineyards.

Nick Stock, one of Australia’s leading journalists, wrote about Dandelion Vineyards saying, “The approach is remarkably simple and sees Elena making wine from a suite of beautiful old vineyards across that blessed curve that runs from the Barossa, up through the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills and down into McLaren Vale.”

The ‘blessed curve’ Nick refers to, is at the heart of what Dandelion does. Elena’s ‘Lionheart of the Barossa’ is a classic Barossa Shiraz.