Three varieties which develop their most complex flavours in warm regions are the three that make up blends referred to as GSM’s.
Barossa winemakers have no doubt been blending varieties since the first table wines were made in the 1840s yet no distinctive style was created which took on common use and thus passed into the modern era.
As local interest in table wines developed from the 1950’s so did the desire of winemakers to understand how blending could be used to increase wine quality.
Shiraz was blended with Cabernet in the 1940s and in the 1950s Veritas for example created a distinctive blend of Mataro with Shiraz. By the 1980s this had evolved into using the three heritage varieties, Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro in a triple blend which normally made Grenache the dominant variety.
The Three Hares blends use these three heritage varieties in various combinations.