Stephen Pannell held a tidy quiet tasting this afternoon at his unfolding take on the winery he bought from Rob Gerard in McLaren Vale last year. It had been Merrivale, then Tapestry; now it's dead serious S. C. Pannell, Winemaker. It's beside the formidable Jones Block vineyard (source of the Castagna Shiraz cuttings) and offers dreamy views over the western slopes of the Vales and the Gulf St Vincent, patron of viticulturers. 
As his lovely wines are distributed by Cellarhand, Stephen invited them to display some of their sharper imports. Not that Cellarhand imports any blunt ones. There was a suite of handsome German Rieslings, of which I thought the Heymann-Lowenstein Schieferterrassen 2013 perfect for the day. But Dr Loosen was on the bench, too, with Koehler-Ruprecht and many other goodies.
Drinkster never passes a Moric Bergenland Blaufrankisch, for example. Sheesh!
Then came Steve's current suite of S. C. Pannell: smart, racy, polished wines with a sense of humour and a great deal of gastronomic intelligence. I shall pay them proper attention in the coming weeks ... all photos Philip White
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