2024 S.C. Pannell Single-Vineyard Nero d’Avola

Steve Pannell has been banging the drum for Mediterranean red varieties in Australia for years, firmly believing they make far more sense for our climate and lifestyle than traditional French staples. His fascination with heat-hardy, late-ripening grapes consistently results in some of the country's most compelling alternative reds.

This release marks a serious step up for his work with Nero d'Avola, pulling fruit directly from his own Olivers Road vineyard. While the Sicilian variety is often treated as a simple, slurpy thirst-quencher in Australia, this single-vineyard bottling was grown to prove that Nero can translate a specific site and carry genuine structural weight.

Driven by the grape's natural ability to handle summer heat while retaining sharp acidity, it drinks almost like a heavily built Grenache. Flavour-wise, it's all dark cherry and wild berry, cut through with bitter orange peel, baking spices, and a dusty, baked-earth edge. Straight to the top of the pile of Aussie Nero.