The ‘cream of the crop’ the Family Selection wines represent the very best fruit, hand selected from the three Zema vineyard locations for intensity of flavour and varietal definition.

Bigger and bolder than the Estate range, the Family Selection has richness and complexity, structure and depth of fruit, with a cellaring potential of at least a decade. This wine was fermented under controlled temperature for 7 days with part barrel fermentation to enhance complexity.

Maturation in new and one year old French and American oak barrels for 24 months has assisted the development of the complex fruit characters, producing a vibrant rich wine with attractive fruit and oak flavours.

An intense palate of juicy Shiraz varietal flavours including dense black fruit, vanilla and spice are perfectly balanced with toasted vanillan oak.

Reviews

"There's good substance to this release. It's bold with ripe plum, redcurrant and boysenberry flavours, and both peppercorn and toasty oak notes only add to this theme. Tannin plays a modest role but the flavours hold good shape from start to finish. A creamy aspect to the mouthfeel is an attractive finishing touch." - Campbell Mattinson, 94 Points James Halliday Wine Companion 2024
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"The Family Selection range of wines from Zema Estate sees their best fruit parcels brought together to express and highlight their patch of Coonawarra dirt. This Shiraz was singing after a decant highlighting its ability to age. Layered with interest, think generous plummy fruit, red berries, black fruits and licorice. Initially firm, it softened beautifully over a couple of days of tasting. Puffs of earth are flanked by ripples of spice in the form of Moroccan spices and native bush pepper. A fabulous drink with a gloriously long and persistent finish, decant to enjoy now or enjoy for over a decade." 93 QWine, Feb 2024
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"Nowadays, Coonawarra and Cabernet seem inextricably linked, but there was a time when the grape that starred in this region was Shiraz. This wine shows just why. Open fermenters for small batches, hand plunging followed by basket pressing, fermentation was finished in a combination of new and older French oak hogsheads. A further two years maturation before barrel selection was made for the final blend. A wonderful vintage. A vibrant blood red colour here. A truly beautiful nose, offering alluring notes of chocolate, blackberries, dried fruits, herbs, soy, aniseed and violets. There is a fine focus here, in a well-crafted example of what this grape can do in this region. Beautifully balanced, this is seamless, offering serious length and with the silkiest of tannins. A cracking Coonawarra Shiraz which will drinking superbly for a decade. These guys fly under the radar far more than they should. Never a bad wine and plenty of stunners, like this one. If you are not familiar, time you sought them out." 95 points Winepilot, Ken Gargett 2024