The Empty Quarter is a Shiraz/ Mourvèdre/ Grenache/Touriga co-ferment.  Glossy purple fruits, mulberry and dark cherry, sweet sage flower lift balanced with savoury notes of aniseed, cured meats, with some white pepper lift. The palate is juicy to start with blue and dark fruits, plum and blueberry, a little dark cocoa, fine and long tannins,  supple and succulent.

It should come as no surprise that Peter and Duncan Lloyd are making wine in the McLaren Vale, South Australia. After all they’re the sons of Mark Lloyd, owner of Coriole Wines. There, through many an hour working away in the kitchen, they were introduced to the concept of pairing food with wine and how the right wine can turn a meal into a whole-other experience all together.

Now the brothers have Dune, a vineyard located in the sandy soils of Blewit Springs (a subregion of McLaren Vale), where they are producing their own vibrant wines. Dune represents an exciting project where they get to implement and showcase all that they’ve learnt in the industry so far. For instance, Duncan’s time spent in the Mediterranean is evident by the planting of grape varieties such as Negroamaro, Nero d’Avola and Cinsault. Don’t be bamboozled by the names, rest assured they all taste great! But be sure to have a read on the back of the bottle as you’ll find suggestive food pairing from the brothers, and it is here you’ll discover the true meaning of wine’s relationship with food.

The brothers farm organically, although being a new project they are yet to be certified. Each section of the vineyard is treated differently in order to maximize the potential of each grape variety. Achieving this might involve different pruning techniques, varying times for harvesting or in the way they treat their grapes pre-ferment, be it whole bunch, destemmed, crushed the list goes on. It is clear to see that both Peter and Duncan are taking every step in ensuring they’re wines live up to their own lofty ambitions.