WHITE WINE
Barossa
Australia’s oldest, most famous and internationally renowned wine growing region located a short distance from Adelaide, South Australia, the Barossa Valley contains the sub district of the Eden Valley, and is home to some of Australia’s, and the world’s oldest Shiraz vines. The Barossa Valley’s viticultural history extends back to the early 1800’s when English and Prussian immigrants founded vineyards, enterprises and wineries still family owned to this day. The British gentry was led by George Fife Angas (Angaston), Joseph Gilbert (Pewsey Vale), Samuel Smith (Founder of Yalumba in 1847) and William Salter (Saltram 1859). On the other hand a significantly more numerous population of Lutheran’s migrated fleeing the reformation in Prussia, pioneering viticulture and agriculture, numbering among them were names synonymous with the most established wineries in Australia including Johann Gramp (1847), Joseph Seppelt (Seppelt, 1851) and William Jacob (1854). Many of these original families continue in the wine business and own vineyards. The growers of the Barossa have weathered two world wars, drought, flood, bushfire, erratic swings in market preferences from red wine to white (1970’s), the Vine Pull Scheme of the 1980s whereby 130 year old, priceless, low yielding vines were removed due to lack of demand, to emerge stronger than ever, the one constant it’s ancient weathered vineyards and stoic population.
Principally a red wine growing region, historically the varieties planted were Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro (Mourvedre) alongside Pedro Ximenez and Frontignac for the production of fortified wine. The climate is warm and dry, with cool nights and warm to hot days. The Barossa Valley contains a complex typography of valleys, hills slopes and soils. The soils vary widely though the dominate composition is a clay loam and in areas low fertility sandy soils. Although red grapes are more pervasively planted, there are small quantities of white varieties including Semillon, which is often unwooded, with bright lemon zest notes and moderate acidity. Barossa Chardonnay tends to be richer and more generous with Melon and ripe peach notes and is quick to develop and best consumed young. Riesling which are also of a more broad and generous style, though many Barossa based wineries produce more zesty examples from Clare Valley and Eden Valley fruit. Small quantities of Viognier are cultivated, used primarily for blending with Shiraz, though some outstanding mono varietal bottling’s are available, Yalumba Virgilius in particular.
Of the Red varieties Shiraz is king with considerably more planted than Grenache or Mourvedre. Significantly, many of these vines are older than Shiraz or Syrah vines planted in Europe, the Barossa being fortunate enough not to encounter the devastations of phylloxera. Typically Barossa Shiraz is full bodied, lush with notes of blackberry, plum, medium acidity and high, but soft ripe tannins. They are traditionally aged in new oak imparting flavours of graphite and cigar box (new French oak) and coconut and vanilla (new American oak), the wines are renowned for their depth and longevity. The shift in the mid-1990s towards producing blockbuster wines that were high in alcohol fuelled by high Parker scores that then pushed the prices of the wines in America and Asia to new levels encouraged some winemakers to follow suit. The pendulum has now begun to swing in the other direction, led by a new generation of producers committed to making elegant, full to medium bodied Barossa red articulating individual vineyard character.
Many of Australia’s most famous wines are made in the Barossa and some of the most recognised producers include Penfolds, Peter Lehman, Yalumba, Wolf Blass and Henschke. The quintet of Penfolds Grange (mainly old vine Barossa shiraz aged in new American oak), Penfolds RWT Shiraz , Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz (100% single vineyard), Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon and Penfolds St Henri Shiraz) are all highly sought after wines. And Henschke’s iconic single vineyard ancient vine Hill of Grace is considered by many to be the equal of Penfolds Grange in terms of both quality and as wine investment. A recent resurgence has seen many smaller artisanal wineries producing outstanding wines on small scale, including Spinifex, Teusner, Ruggabellus, Standish, Kalleske and Head Wines to name a few.
Less pervasively planted are Grenache, Mourvedre and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon prefers a slightly cooler climate and tends to be better in cooler years and the use of French Oak is more common than American. Grenache and Mourvedre are often blended with Shiraz in a traditional Rhone Blend, though also bottles as mono varietal wines. Grenache from the Barossa tends toward sweet fruits, raspberry, with hints of spice and soft tannins. Outstanding producers include Spinifex, Kalleske, Charles Melton and Rusden.
Sources:
The Oxford Companion to Wine, (ed) Jancis Robinson
James Halliday's Wine Atlas of Australia, James Halliday
Australia & New Zealand Complete Book of Wine, Compiled by Len Evans
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Michael Hall Barossa Valley Roussanne 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021RoussaneAustralia349$46.00 As low as $41.40 -
Geyer Wine Co. Barossa Noir Blanc 2022The 2022 growing season was one that started looking like somewhat of a throwback vintage, with a return to a 'wetter' winter, with milder days leading into spring and summer. We did however suffer a catastrophic hail event early in the growing season, with some of these vineyards sustaining some severe damage. The majority bounced back with the cooler summer days ripening everything nice and gently. The Barossa vineyards were picked anywhere from Januray 30th to Feb 15th,
while Eden Valley was mid Feb to mid March.
100% hand picked grenache, immediately whole bunch pressed to stainless steel to undergo natural primary fermentation before being roughly racked into one single puncheon and aged with minimal sulphur. At bottling this puncheon was racked as lightly as possible and bottled with no additional sulphur, unfined and unfiltered.2022Australia349$37.00 As low as $33.30 -
Turkey Flat Marsanne Roussanne 2022It’s grippy, it’s richly flavoured, and just when you think it’s going to stop – the flavours continue on. This saw a proportion of new oak and it shows, but the overall profile remains elegant and then there’s that length. Citrus, stonefruit, cracked wheat and smoky bacon characters do a delicious job here, so too the honeysuckle notes. Give it another 12 months in bottle and it will be better again. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front
It’s a funky, struck match affair, honey and smoky stuff, pear and lemon zest, a juicy apricot sort of flavour, plenty of grip and texture, wheaty (yes it is), with a chalky lemon zest finish of good length. Rugged. Full of personality. It’s excellent. GARY WALSH
SPECIAL VALUE - A Rhône-inspired white blend of marsanne and roussanne from the Turkey Flat vineyards in Bethany and Stone Well; whole-bunch pressed with some skin contact and a portion aged in new oak. Pale straw with some intriguing struck flint and cordite notes layered above the juicy white peach, lemon and apple fruit base. Hints of nougat, toasted almonds, crème fraîche, white flowers and ginger complete the picture. Dry with a lovely textural component, a minerally acid line and excellent clarity on the finish. Great complex, zesty drinking. JAMES HALLIDAY’S WINE COMPANION
With a light yellow hue, it has a very smoky bouquet combining barrel and reductive aromas with spices and a hint of smoked chicken, the palate multi-layered and entertaining, medium bodied and soft-but-dry in its balance. A lovely wine with a really engaging set of flavours, and a long and satisfying follow-through HUON HOOKE
The bold and the beautiful, plenty to love here with lots going on and it delivers on it all in this beautiful package with punchy fruit, great length, plenty of nuance and detail, a long, fruit laden and citrus cut finish that serves to engage those old taste buds and stir them to life. Stimulating! It’s one of those wines that leaves you feeling refreshed, it isn’t thirst slacking, or quenching, as bright, clear and upbeat as it is, because you immediately go back for a second glass and then the bottle is gone and it’s a work day tomorrow and you have to talk to people about wine… you know what I mean? Very hard to stop drinking, which makes it dangerous mid week. Fortunately Danger is my middle name, Roscoe Anthony Danger Halligan-Rose… not sure why my mum thought that was appropriate.
This is so damn good it’s hard to keep a straight face while writing this review. It’s not a wine to take too seriously, but its seriously banging. ROSCOE
2022Marsanne, RoussaneAustralia349$27.00 As low as $24.30 -
Cirillo 1850 Semillon 2019More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020SemillonAustralia349$33.00 As low as $29.70 -
Chaffey Bros Dufte Punkt 2023A funky field blend of co-fermented riesling, gewürztraminer and kerner from the Fechner vineyard.
Light straw in the glass with heady aromas of citrus, peach skin and poached pear along with hints of Turkish delight, mineral salts, pressed wildflowers, clotted cream and almond paste. Über-slinky and textural on the palate with citrus and yellow plum fruits expanding then contracting with a tight flex of nervy acidity propelling long, perfumed and savoury on the exit. DAVE BROOKS, winecompanion.com2015Gewurztraminer, RieslingAustralia349$29.00 As low as $26.10 -
Chaffey Bros Wine Co Salvis Gratia Semillon 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022SemillonAustralia349$32.00 As low as $28.80 -
Schwarz Wine Co Chenin Blanc 2023Schwarz Wine Co has for some time been at the forefront of contemporary Barossa winemaking, crafting site,s and vintage transparent wines of perfume, structure, and finely etched detail. The family vineyards provide the backbone of the label, though Jason Schwarz's relationships with talented growers are paramount to an enviable cache of old-vine fruit sources. Touch the fruit lightly, don't pick too late, keep oak use in check - the house style here is pure, vibrant and we love it!
Another little ripper from Schwarz & Co. here and you know that we are a bit partial to chenin here at Prince. Green apple, quince, white tree fruits, and touch of quartzy, salty spice emanate from the glass. This is summer in a bottle with a breezy, airy disposition and wonderful fresh cut. It's all about purity of fruit which zips along a long and zesty palate, almost too easy to drink with a lovely saline line that runs through from start to finish.
2023Chenin BlancAustralia349$23.00 As low as $20.70 -
Orbis Fiano 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022FianoAustralia349$39.00 As low as $35.10 -
Sons of Eden 'Freya' Eden Valley Riesling 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023RieslingAustralia349$25.00 As low as $22.50 -
Spinifex Miette Vermentino 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023VermentinoAustralia349$26.00 As low as $23.40
