2015 Menagerie of the Barossa GSM, Dandelion Vineyards, Barossa Valley
TN for the Shiraz: Elena Brooks has come a long way in a short time. Born in Bulgaria, she discovered a love of wine as a teenager when she helped out at the winery where her mother worked, translating for the new winemaker who had arrived from Australia speaking no Bulgarian. She soon decided wine was her calling and, making the most of her new contacts, landed a place on the famed winemaking course at the University of Adelaide. She hasn’t looked back. After graduating and working at wineries in Australia, Italy and Spain, she set up Dandelion Vineyards with her husband. Working with both their own vineyards and carefully selected growers, they produce wines like this classic Barossa “GSM” blend (standing for the grape varieties Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro, known as Mourvèdre in France). It’s ripe and powerful, but perfectly balanced. Exactly why Elena won Winemaker of the Year at the 2014 Barossa Wine Show.