Who makes it?

Majella Sparkling Shiraz is one of the benchmark Sparkling Shiraz wines in Australia. And for good reason. It is a wine that winelovers should try at least once in their life. How fortuitous was it that Brian Lynn did an assignment about the local Coonawarra wine industry in Year 12? It was all the inspiration that a family needs really.

In 1968, vines were added to the family Merino sheep farm. The rest is history. Majella has some excellent additions for the cellar or they are also good young. While the family’s focus is on red wines, Majella Chardonnay and Riesling wines are also worth searching for.

The red wines are often top of mind for Coonawarra wine lovers. Including The Malleea which is a Cabernet Shiraz blend. It is a well priced wine at that. 

To read more about Sparkling reds & why you should be drinking them, click here.

How do they make it?

The Majella Sparkling Shiraz is a traditional method sparkling wine. This means that the base wine will go through a second ferment in a bottle. The same bottle that the wine is sold in. 

In the case of this wine though, the wine is made as a typical red wine. The base wine matures for around five months in old oak before bottling. After the second ferment, the wine goes through disgorgement to remove the lees. The lees are the dead yeast cells remaining after the second ferment.

To add additional dimension and to balance the wine, the wine receives a dosage of vintage port.

To read more about lees, please click here to read ‘What are lees?’ 

What does it taste like?

This wine is a rich mouthful of cherry and blackberry fruit. The fruit has plenty of chocolate, liquorice and spice to accompany it. The wine has a slug of sweetness coming from that port to balance the acid and tannins. This results in velvety tannins, and a fuller body red fizz.  It is a wine that unfurls in your mouth and lasts a long while. 

What to drink it with?

Wines such as these sparkling reds go very well with black bean beef, or a burger, or venison sausages. They go particularly well with ham and eggs, or bacon and eggs too. The Majella Sparkling Shiraz also goes especially well with truffle chips, and unsurprisingly, chocolate chip biscuits. These wines are versatile. 

Cheese

Enjoy with cheddar.

Quickie review « Welcome to a taste sensation that is all Australian! »

Country of Origin:  Coonawarra, Australia
Tasting Date: August 2025
Price:  UK £23 | AU$40 
Drink: now – 7+ years 
Needs food: no
Source: tasting

If you like Sparkling red wines, why not check out:
Bleasdale Sparkling red
d’Arenberg Peppermint Paddock

Visit majella for more.