Barossa Vally 2013

Had the chance to go to the Barossa after spending some time in McLaren Vale...

Rockford

Hard to go back Rockford when you're looking for an iconic Barossa producer.  Consistent quality each year with a killer price.  Their Basket Press always sells out each year and basically immediately sells for more than retail on auction....

My personal opinion has always been, BP is always really good...but very clean?  It is made up of fruit from like 17 different regions of the Barossa which means it loses a bit of its personality...but makes up for it for having the strength of each of the regions.

I've also always tended to dislike some of their lineup which I think is odd but that is just how it is.

Rockford White Frontignac 2012
A much better wine than it is given credit for.  A lot of nice floral notes, very good acidity, nice citrusy flavors.  A tad bit of residual sugar to give it a little sweetness but it is far from a sickly sweet white.   This is one of their cheaper wines (17?) but probably one of their better ones overall.  It must be because Aussies tend to not like sweet wines or think they're not as good which is really far from reality.

Rockfod Rod and Spur 2010
A Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz blend, this is generally quite good.   A  bit fruit forward but done very much in Rockford style.  Very clean, well made.  Good middle range blend.

Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
One of the nicer Cabernet Sauvignons you'll find in the Barossa.  Clean fruit, reasonably good depth.  Doesn't have strong varietal characters of Cabernet Sauvignon but I don't think anything in the Barossa really does....Not quite the depth of the BP but still a pretty reasonably good buy.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2010
One of Australia's iconic Shiraz.  Consistent year in and year out.  The 2010 is probably one of the most approachable and ready releases in a long time..if not ever according to many.  Big fruit but not too big.  Really nice complexity with a variety of red and dark fruits coming through.  A tad bit of mint, herbs and umami flavors.  Fruit is really shining through though.  These wines are definitely nice...I really do crave a bit more acidity and for me, the BP is too "clean" but it is hard to really complain about it..it is just really well made and looking very good.

Rockford Black Shiraz (Sparkling).
Made from different vintages of Basket Press and topped up with a bit of fortified, I really do enjoy a young Black Shiraz.  Really nice  depth, a tad bit of sweetness as well...Probably one of the nicest Sparkling Reds I've had, if not the nicest.  I've had ones with an older disgorgement date but I didn't really think it gained a lot in the bottle..although I've been told they do.  This one had  depth, freshness and really nice pop.  I think the only thing you have to look out for is historically, this wine tends to have a lot of dodgy corks...I'd drink it young..and with how this one is looking, why not?

Artisans of  Barossa
7 Different winemakers (brands) have joined forces to build a single Cellar door.  I really like this concept, I actually wish more places did it.  Not only is it convenient from a visiting standpoint, but you tend to get more resources, more wines, more enjoyment overall.  It consistently becomes a place to drop by to because you know you're going to get different styles and different stuff all the time.
John Duval
Hobbs
Messena
Spinifex
Sons of Eden
Teusner
Schwarz

I'm a big fan of John Duval stuff and have been for awhile...Great line up that keeps expanding.  I've also quite enjoyed stuff from Spinifex, Sons of Eden and Teusner in the past.  Hobbs to me has never been my style of wine and they're incredibly expensive.  I've had a few things from Schwarz and Messena but this was a good opportunity to try some other stuff for them.

They have one of the most impressive Cellar Doors in the Barossa and have a really 1st Class operation going.  I actually think the only thing I dislike is they definitely need more tasting room space or a bigger tasting bench...a lot of space is used up for other stuff which is nice..but I can see it getting crowded if there were a ton of people there...

John Duval Plexus White 2012.
Marsanne Rousanne Viognier.  Really nice balance and depth.  Reasonably good acidity, nice citrus and cream with a tad big of apricot and herbs on the palate.  Really nice white Rhone blend...Definitely one of the better ones in Australia....

John Duval Plexus Red 2011.
Consistently one of the best GSM (SGM in this case) blends in the Barossa and Australia in general. Excellent balance, plums, dark fruit, herbs, meat and leather on the palate.  Very clean fruit with a tad bit of confectionery sugar on the back of my throat..but it is actually quite nice.  Better acidity than some previous vintages.

John Duval Entity Shiraz 2011
Probably my favorite out of his entire lineup each year...For me it seems to be in a bit of an awkward  spot.  I like the style which is medium bodied compared to most of the Barossa...clean fruit...generally quite good depth...For me though, something was missing..Previous vintages I generally preferred by quite a margin...maybe this just needs more time..I'm not really sure...

Hobbs Gregor 2010
Hobbs wines to me have always been big fruit bombs...and the Gregor is even more so because it is made in an Amarone style...Huge fruit, good complexity, big mouth feel.  Reasonable decent acid but I'm not sure it is enough.  A bit crowd pleasing wine but really a bit much for what you're getting.  I haven't been overly impressed with how Hobbs wines cellar..they're not bad...but I actually think they seem to be best drunk very young...

Spinifex Taureau 2009.
Nice dark and red fruits..a bit of a fruit bomb but with good acidity and structure.  Good depth to this...a crowd pleaser but one for the wine geeks as well.  A blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon.  A pretty good buy IMO. 


Seppeltsfield
We came here mainly for the fortifieds...They do have some wine here but to be fair, I think the wine here is pretty ordinary...

I DID get to try a good number of really nice fortified wines...Including the 100 year....

All of the lower end fortifieds are rather simple in my opinion.  Alcohol, sugar, some flavor but no  depth...Probably not worth buying unless you just want sugary alcohol.

When you get to their Solero series..which is around 30-32 dollars, you start seeing real depth in flavor...real complexity.

Their Para series is what they're known for..specifically they have stuff that was in barrel for 100 years...I had the chance to try the 1913 100 year old...and let me just tell you, it is amazing...AMAZING.  Layers and layers and layers of complexity..you literally could sit there and sniff it all day and not get bored...I actually licked my tasting glass to get every last bit of it out.  How much does that cost?  Oh..about 1,000 a bottle....I also had a chance to try the 30 year old one which is also VERY good.  That'll run you about 100 dollars but it definitely gets somewhat close to the 100 year...they're both amazing.

If you have a chance to go to Seppeltsfield, there is a fee to try the 100 year old..but it is something you should definitely try.  It is on a lot of people's Wine bucket lists...it is really quite extraordinary. 

Peter Lehmann

They had everything for tasting...all the way up through their HV, District Line, Masters line, and the VSV Line and the Stonewell...They really do have a good lineup top to bottom.

Futures Shiraz 2010...A lot better than what it was selling for (23)...some of that is because it had higher acidity (which I preferred)....drinking very nicely now...I'm not sure it has the tannin structure to age but it does have good acidity so it would be interesting to see...nice red fruits on the palate, great mouthfeel.  This drink like like a 30+ dollar bottle easily...

Margaret Semillon 2008– Normally this is pretty good. It is still good but I don't think the current release will age all that well...The acid is just too soft at this stage IMO. I actually thought the H&V Semillon was far better..
H&V Semillon 2012 - Really nice acidity and good development for such a young semillon.  The fruit is definitely show more depth, a bit more like a slightly aged Hunter semillon.  It'll be interesting to see where this goes in 5+ years. 

Wigan Riesling  2008– This is always really good..and it continues to be very good..IMO, year in, year out one of the best Rieslings in Australia...Good development, great depth, great acidity...

The VSV and District Lines were all really interesting in their own way. A good way to taste the different regions and the winemakers interpretation of each one.

Stonewell is really nice for this release (2008).  Not what I think of when I think of a Barossa Shiraz..and nothing like it was a few vintages back...Fruit, complexity, balance...very nice...


Turkey Flat
I've always been a fan of their Grenache and Shiraz...where they have some of the oldest Shiraz vines in Australia (and the world).  

Turkey Flat Butcher's Block Red 2011 - Turkey Flat's GSM blend.  A pretty good GSM blend at a reasonable price (22.50).  Well made, solid, good fruit.  A good buy..but a tad simple.

Turkey Flat Mouvedre 2010
Another good Mouvedre out of the Barossa.  Nice medium body...good acidity...meaty but a bit of fruit.  These have all been quite nice and a nice change of pace in the Barossa.  This would be a good food wine.

Turkey Flat Grenache 2010
Nice deep dark fruit.  Good depth.  Nice overall balance.  Probably one of the nicer Grenaches in the Barossa and a great buy at 25 RRP.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 2011
I wasn't that impressed with this.  Reasonably good shiraz but missing some depth that I normally see from their shiraz.  Not a bad wine by any means and really I'm probably not giving it enough credit...I think my expectations were higher though.

Two  Hands
Two Hands has always made a lot of pretty good wine all with different regional flare.  To me they've always been on the very fruit bomb side of things..highish alcohol, big fruit.  Pretty good balance though..they're definitely all very well made.

Two Hands Angels Share 2011
I've always had mixed reactions to this.  Some years it is pretty good, some years not so good.   This was better than some previous vintages I've had.  Good fruit, very McLaren Vale...reasonably good acidity..very fruit forward but quite enjoyable.  A pretty good effort and reasonably good value.

Two Hands Max's Garden 2010
With fruit source from Heathcote.  Really nice fruit...some spice, earth but really nice balanced fruit.  Heathcote has some pretty good stuff and this is definitely pretty good.  A bit on the pricey side, I'm not sure it has the complexity I want for 60 RRP but it is very solid.

Coach House Block Shiraz 2010
Very big shiraz...really feels like a bit of a fruit bomb but does have some reasonably decent acidity.  Really nice depth and complexity with big dark fruit, spice, herbs and a bit of earthiness.  This really is a big fruity wine though.  Well made, really enjoyable but maybe not the style I want.  Not sure it is worth 100RRP...

Two Hands Ares Shiraz 2009
Big fruit, big oak, big fruit....Pretty good balance but this is a fruit bomb of a wine. The alcohol is definitely in check and this seems to have better acidity than I've seen in the past.  To me this one feels like it'll age better than some of the stuff we've seen before it.  Deep dark fruits with layers of more dark fruit.  Tannins are definitely nowhere near overpowering but you can tell they're there to provide structure.  At 165RRP I'm passing though....