Region: Barossa Valley
Sub Region: Ebenezer – Hoffmann Dallwitz Vineyard
Variety: Syrah
Country: Australia
Vintage: Multi-Vintage / NV
The Wine
Little Wine #15 is the latest evolution of Fraser McKinley’s extraordinary multi-vintage Syrah project. It combines material from 11 seasons, led by 2025 (43%), 2024 (24%), 2023 (16%) and 2022 (9%), with 2019 contributing 4%, 2020 another 2%, and small amounts of 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 completing the blend.
The wine comes from five parcels within Hoffmann’s Dallwitz Vineyard, including vines planted in 1996, 1995, 1994 and 1927 and the ancient pre-1912 material. The final assemblage amounted to just 6,387 bottles.
McKinley’s approach gives different generations of wine different jobs: the young material supplies lift and vibrant fruit, while older casks contribute savoury depth and softness. The broader Little Wine élevage can span anywhere from months to years in Burgundian pièces before final blending, with the wine bottled unfined and unfiltered.
#15 is particularly expressive: satsuma plum, blueberry, boysenberry and blackberry move into tapenade, raspberry pip, pastis, spice and dried citrus blossom. Fine, kinetic tannins and mineral acidity run underneath, making this a surprisingly energetic wine despite its depth.
Cellared Says
The most immediately delicious of these back-vintage Little Wines. There’s real substance here, but #15 is less about brooding power and more about flow and detail. If you’re new to Sami-Odi, this is a very good place to start; if you already collect the wines, the eleven-vintage blend makes it an especially interesting chapter in the series.
Reviews
“Superb depth of fruit, silty-fine kinetic tannins and a seam of fine, minerally acidity; it’s in the finest of form.”
97 Points – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
Region: Barossa Valley
Sub Region: Ebenezer – Hoffmann Dallwitz Vineyard
Variety: Syrah
Country: Australia
Vintage: Multi-Vintage / NV
The Wine
Little Wine #15 is the latest evolution of Fraser McKinley’s extraordinary multi-vintage Syrah project. It combines material from 11 seasons, led by 2025 (43%), 2024 (24%), 2023 (16%) and 2022 (9%), with 2019 contributing 4%, 2020 another 2%, and small amounts of 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 completing the blend.
The wine comes from five parcels within Hoffmann’s Dallwitz Vineyard, including vines planted in 1996, 1995, 1994 and 1927 and the ancient pre-1912 material. The final assemblage amounted to just 6,387 bottles.
McKinley’s approach gives different generations of wine different jobs: the young material supplies lift and vibrant fruit, while older casks contribute savoury depth and softness. The broader Little Wine élevage can span anywhere from months to years in Burgundian pièces before final blending, with the wine bottled unfined and unfiltered.
#15 is particularly expressive: satsuma plum, blueberry, boysenberry and blackberry move into tapenade, raspberry pip, pastis, spice and dried citrus blossom. Fine, kinetic tannins and mineral acidity run underneath, making this a surprisingly energetic wine despite its depth.
Cellared Says
The most immediately delicious of these back-vintage Little Wines. There’s real substance here, but #15 is less about brooding power and more about flow and detail. If you’re new to Sami-Odi, this is a very good place to start; if you already collect the wines, the eleven-vintage blend makes it an especially interesting chapter in the series.
Reviews
“Superb depth of fruit, silty-fine kinetic tannins and a seam of fine, minerally acidity; it’s in the finest of form.”
97 Points – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
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