Cracker Barrels is made up of a 52% / 48% blend of four barrels. The colour is excellent, and the wine brings it all to the table: black and purple fruits, dark chocolate, peppermint, warm spices, French oak and ripe tannins. It does all this within the overall context of a juicy, medium-bodied wine that has excellent balance. Its life span will very likely exceed your patience.

The 2016 vintage was a very strong year in the McLaren Vale. After 6 months without rain, it had 40mm in the first week of February. This slowed down the baumes and allowed the acidity to catch up, therefore giving the fruit fantastic flavour equilibrium. Berry numbers were high due to an even veraison, which lead to the highest quality crops and tonnages this millennium.

This is the final blend each year. When tasting through the barrels, we always find one that stands out. Over the past few years Paxton have been keeping these barrels aside - whether it be a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Jones Block Shiraz or even an EJ barrel. In 2016 the blend worked as a Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon and we ended up with four Cracker Barrels!

Recently awarded a staggering 96points at the James Halliday Wine Competition in May 2019.