Since 1979, family owned Maxwell Wines, with its forty acre estate vineyard, has built a reputation for producing hand made, rich and robust reds that combine exquisite fruit quality with structure and finesse. The signature Lime Cave Cabernet and Ellen Street Shiraz are acclaimed for their cellaring potential and purity of expression. The white wines achieve freshness and superb varietal character via slow, cool ferments that capture the delicacies of the grapes.

Their estate vineyards are some of the most favourably positioned in the McLaren Vale district. Situated on solid limestone, in proximity to the moderating effects of the Gulf of St Vincent, the conditions in the vineyards are ideal for producing small quantities of intensely flavoured grapes.

The oldest vines on the property were planted in 1953, directly below where the Winery now stands. Known within the Winery as the "Max Flat Block", these Shiraz vines always produce some of the best fruit on the estate, providing the base for the Ellen Street Shiraz. This block consists of alluvial red-brown clay over limestone, and is typically one of the earliest ripening Shiraz blocks in the region.