Ox Hardy, McLaren Vale

"I suspect this country has not seen a new release of such pedigree, such depth of history and such sheer and effortless magnificence since the very launch of Hill of Grace itself in 1958.” Tyson Stelzer

We are incredibly proud to be in direct partnership with Ox Hardy and to introduce the range to the UK for the first time. Read about the estate and our partnership in more detail here.  

2021 Ox Hardy Adelaide Hills Chardonnay - 6x75cl

  • White
  • 2023 - 2027
  • Ox Hardy
  • 6x75cl
  • Mclaren vale, Australia
  • Available Now
Pricing
£88.97 In Bond £126.00 Duty Paid inc VAT

  • Goedhuis, January 2023

    This Chardonnay comes from the cooler Adelaide Hills and offers crisp citrus and honeydew melon notes atop delicate mango skin, peach and passion fruit. The focus here is on bright, vivid fruit thanks to vinification in stainless steel. Winemaker Ox also uses a very small proportion of second fill barriques which suffuses all these crystalline flavours with a delightfully supple texture without imparting any obvious oak influence. White blossom, fresh fennel and tingling minerals add delightful complexity to the impressively concentrated fruit, leading to a long, mouth-watering finish. Drink 2023-2027.

  • Matthew Jukes, January 2023, Score: 18

    2021 Chardonnay Adelaide Hills draws on fruit from Oakbank and Mount Torrens, and this is an excellent combo of two parcels - one machine harvested and one hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed. Only old oak and steel are used, and with ten months of maturation, the winemaking job is done. There is beguiling balance and lift here and ridiculous complexity bearing in mind the twenty-quid price point. I can hear Burgundians blushing as I write these words, and so they should.

Need help? Call +44 (0)20 7793 7900 or email wine@goedhuiswaddesdon.com.

2020 Ox Hardy Slate Shiraz - 6x75cl

  • Red
  • 2025 - 2037
  • Ox Hardy
  • 6x75cl
  • Mclaren vale, Australia
  • Available Now
Pricing
£201.47 In Bond £261.00 Duty Paid inc VAT

  • Goedhuis, January 2023

    The Slate Shiraz is a remarkable wine that is made using the same original slate open fermenters, that Thomas Hardy himself used one hundred years ago. The 2020 is impossibly good, its perfume a delightful medley of rich red, blue, and black fruit imbued with smoke, cracked pepper, camphor and dark rock. Beautifully vivid floral notes of violet, lavender and eucalyptus emerge with time in the glass. The open slate fermenters work magic on the tannic structure of this wine, and the velvet-like fruit spreads itself in mouth-watering layers of delicious intensity. The shining, sumptuous fruit, while enveloping, is never heavy, supported by a sleek freshness. The pillowy finish reveals soft balsamic and minerals. This is one to lay down and forget about for a while. Drink 2025-2037.

  • Wine Advocate, September 2022, Score: 93

    Very good. This 2020 Upper Tintara Vineyard Slate Shiraz has all the polish and intensity of the Upper Tintara Shiraz, but it is mineral and detailed as well. It is a very fine expression of McLaren Vale Shiraz. There are notes of pink peppercorns, salted licorice, raspberries and black tea. Sensational stuff. Drink 2022-2032.

  • Matthew Jukes, January 2023, Score: 19

    2020 Slate Shiraz McLaren Vale comes from the Moreton Bay Block (there is a fig tree in the vineyard). Old-style winemaking, destemmed, handplunged, old barriques for 18 months and Bob’s your uncle. But what you don’t know while you are going through the motions is that this is one of my favourite discoveries since my last 100 Best back in 2019! This is sooty, skin-influenced, slate-soaked wine with a deep purple Moreton Fig glossiness that gives it a character like no other wine I have tasted! This is a heroic red that is so serious and impressive that it defies convention. I imagine it would be sensational without the slate fermenters, given that the fruit is so intense and aromatic, but this is pure magic with the slate!

Need help? Call +44 (0)20 7793 7900 or email wine@goedhuiswaddesdon.com.

2013 Ox Hardy 1891 Ancestor Vine Shiraz - 3x75cl

  • Red
  • 2023 - 2043
  • Ox Hardy
  • 3x75cl
  • Mclaren vale, Australia
  • Available Now
Pricing
£245.00 In Bond £303.61 Duty Paid inc VAT

  • Goedhuis, Janaury 2023

    The jewel in the Ox Hardy crown, this remarkable Shiraz comes from a tiny 1.4 hectare low yielding vineyard planted in 1891 by Thomas Hardy. 2013 is a classic McLaren Vale vintage which has quintessential Shiraz. The 2013, intense and complex, offers incredible firmness and precision. Seemingly endless layers of flavour, and the fruit still so fresh and pure, there is so much going on here. Earthy, spiced, mineral and simply impossible to spit, the tannins are melting, and finely detailed dark black and blue fruits are tinged with wild lavender, thyme, and dried flowers. Drink 2023-2043

  • Wine Advocate, Janaury 2023, Score: 96

    This 2013 Upper Tintara Vineyard 1891 Ancestor Vines Shiraz is now (in 2022) nine years old and decries that in its color and aroma. The wine presents far younger. Aromatically, it is spicy and resinous, with charred star anise, raspberry, salted licorice, tobacco leaf, graphite, peppercorns and more. In the mouth, the wine continues as if there was never a break and flows across the palate. The tannins are incredibly silky—silken, in fact—and shape the wine through the finish. This has it all. If Benjamin Button drank wine, this would be a good match. There's still 20 years left in this with ease. Super impressive. Drink 2022-2042.

  • Matthew Jukes, January 2023, Score: 19+

    2013 Ancestor Vines Shiraz McLaren Vale (14.5%), again, shows an absurdly beautiful nose, and this perfume links its DNA to the family of ‘Ancestor Vines’ wines. At nine years old, it has settled into its character with a posh but not formal attitude. The perfume is a result of an early pick, and the depth is a result of the post-maceration, so this is a wine with non-stop action from the tip of its nose to the ends of its toes. This is sensational, intuitive winemaking carried out by touch and feel, years of experience, and unrivalled taste buds. The potential here is absurd because even at nine years of age, this is a youthful, firm wine.

Need help? Call +44 (0)20 7793 7900 or email wine@goedhuiswaddesdon.com.

More About Ox Hardy

This McLaren Vale estate has become revered for its small-production Shiraz. They are deeply impressive wines, and as leading wine critic Matthew Jukes says, “No self-respecting wine collector can declare their cellar complete without a few cases of these wines in their racks”.

Ox Hardy is the personal passion project of winemaker Andrew ‘Ox’ Hardy, formerly chief winemaker at the cult estate Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills. Twenty years ago, he began making tiny amounts of wine for the family to drink from cherished old vines, some first planted in the 1800s by his great great grandfather Thomas Hardy. Since its first commercial release in 2019, Ox Hardy has already left an indelible mark on the Australian wine scene and we are delighted to bring these hugely exciting wines to the UK as a direct partner.

Pricing

  • IN BOND prices exclude UK Duty and VAT. Wines can be purchased In Bond for storage in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse, or for export to non-EU countries. Duty and VAT must be paid before delivery can take place.

  • RETAIL prices include UK Duty and VAT. Wines for UK delivery can only be purchased this way.

Additional Information

  • Duty Paid wines have been removed from Bond and cannot subsequently be returned to Bond.  VAT is payable on Duty Paid wines. These wines must remain Duty Paid but can be purchased as such for storage subject to VAT.

  • En Primeur wines can only be purchased In Bond. On arrival in the UK these wines can either be stored In Bond in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse or delivered directly to you. When you decide to take delivery, Duty and VAT at the prevailing rate become payable.

Tax status

  • IB: In Bond. These wines have had no UK Duty or VAT paid on them. Wines can be purchased In Bond for storage in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse, or for export to non-EU countries.

  • DP: Duty Paid. Wines for immediate UK delivery must be purchased Duty Paid. VAT is payable on Duty Paid wines. Wines which have been removed from Bond cannot subsequently be returned to Bond. They must remain Duty Paid but can be purchased as such for storage subject to VAT.

  • EP: En Primeur. These wines are lying in the Domaines’ cellars until shipping. They can only be purchased In Bond. On arrival in the UK these wines can either be stored In Bond in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse or delivered directly to you. When you decide to take delivery, Duty and VAT at the prevailing rate become payable.