Dandelion Vineyards is the venture of talented winemaker Elena Brooks, and her husband Zar. Their project makes wines from the Barossa and Eden Valleys, Fleurieu, the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale.
Elena hails from Bulgaria. Her mother worked for a local producer, and so much of Elena’s childhood was spent in a winery. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria’s rich winemaking history attracted visiting winemakers from across the globe. As a result, Elena met many international winemakers visiting her mother's workplace. As the only English speaker, she began interpreting barrel room tastings for these visitors at the age of 12. By 15 she was well-versed in the ins and outs of the winemaking process and by 16 she had made her first wine. After formal study and stints making wine worldwide, Elena eventually settled in McLaren Vale with Zar and founded Dandelion Vineyards.
Nick Stock, one of Australia’s leading journalists, wrote about Dandelion Vineyards saying, “The approach is remarkably simple and sees Elena making wine from a suite of beautiful old vineyards across that blessed curve that runs from the Barossa, up through the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills and down into McLaren Vale.”
The ‘blessed curve’ Nick refers to, is at the heart of what Dandelion does. Elena’s ‘Lionheart of the Barossa’ is a classic Barossa Shiraz, and offers remarkable value, while the ‘Menagerie of the Barossa’ is an opulent, Grenache-dominant, field blend. Moving up into the Eden Valley, the ‘Red Queen’ is the wine for which Elena has been crowned ‘Winemaker of the Show’, while the ‘Wonderland’ Riesling, from a gnarled and venerable vineyard, is outstanding. Both the 2016 and 2022 vintage of this wine were included in Matthew Jukes’ 100 Best Australian wines.
The McLaren Vale wines show the tremendous generosity and freshness that marks out this fine region. The ‘Lioness of McLaren Vale’ has impressive purity of fruit, while the ‘Lion’s Tooth’ is given more vibrancy by including Riesling in the blend. The ‘Pride of Fleurieu’ Cabernet has lovely berry fruit and is a reminder of how undervalued this variety is in Australia. Like all Dandelion Vineyards wines, the extremely old ‘Legacy of Australia’ Pedro Ximénez is a real treat.
