South of Adelaide, this region was known in the 1950s for its ‘ferruginous’ reds, so iron-rich, in fact, that they were shipped (in great volume) to the UK and prescribed by physicians as a ‘tonic’ to ladies of delicate disposition. I kid you not. ‘No Complan for you Madam, but perhaps a little Emu Burgundy?’ Well, things have changed, and now 90-plus producers till small plots and make some of Australia’s most astounding Rhône-like wines. Cabernet does well here, too, with the issue being over- not under-ripeness, the tempering sea breezes helping deliver that critical balance, as they do in the Clare. Grenache, in particular, takes to the dust like a Dodge Ram, and there has been a focus on Dryland-style expressions, where brave viticulturists eschew much-needed irrigation and produce wines of sweet fruit intensity from low-yielding vines.