Poppelvej 2019 Somewhere Syrah (McLaren Vale)

This is a relatively new small-batch label from Danish sommelier-turned-winemaker Uffe Deichmann. Fermented in concrete egg, this Syrah echoes those made similarly in the Southern Rhône with their fruit purity, ferrous nuances and unique tannin structure. It's open and lucid, with heady scents of fresh raspberry, sour cherry, cut flowers, Aussie bush herbs, dark chocolate and furniture polish, all of it from the fruit and not from oak. Chalky, bone-dry tannins cinch tightly on the crunchy, medium-weight palate. Drink now slightly chilled with tangy meat or veggies (think beef jerky or balsamic-marinated portobellos). Christina Pickard