Ironscraper Shiraz is made from grapes grown on the Hare’s Chase vineyard at Marananga, the important Barossa subregion on the western edge of the valley floor.

Hare’s Chase is the side-project of former Penfolds senior red winemaker Peter Taylor and Adelaide businessman Mike de la Haye and their families. When they purchased the 16ha property in 1997 it was a ‘fruit-salad’ of inappropriate varieties. Extensive replanting with now mature vines is what has made it possible, from 2013, for Taylor to make Ironscraper Shiraz.

It is an elegant rather than overtly fruity style but remains an authentic, deeply-coloured Barossa Shiraz with concentration, richness and length of flavour. It is made distinctive by a small injection of Cabernet Sauvignon that elongates the palate, chiselling it perfectly into shape – just the sort of thing you’d expect from a Penfolds-trained winemaker.

The name references the tough life of the hares living on the block, who must excavate their shallow scrapes, or forms, in the hard, iron-rich soil.