SC Pannell

The only surprising piece of background is that it took (an admittedly still reasonably youthful) Stephen Pannell (and wife Fiona) so long to cut the painter from Constellation/ Hardys and establish their own winemaking and consulting business. Steve radiates intensity, and extended experience has resulted in wines of the highest quality right from the first vintage. The Pannells have purchased two vineyards in McLaren Vale,the first planted in 1891 with a precious patch of 3.6ha of shiraz. A second property was purchased in 2014, lifting the estate vineyards to a total of 20ha. Stephen manages the vineyard with the aim of generating full flavour ripeness as close to 13% as possible. The future for the Pannells is limitless, the icon status of the label already established. JAMES HALLIDAY