Pepperjack Barossa Valley Shiraz 2017

Pepperjack Barossa Shiraz is a blend of Shiraz parcels sourced from premium vineyards throughout the Barossa. Parcels selected for Pepperjack Barossa Shiraz have bright, rich fruit concentration with a range of flavours from red berries to rich plums and a hint of savoury notes.

The fruit is fermented for up to ten days depending on the parcel of fruit, then aged for 12 months in a mix of American and French Oak. Individual parcels of fruit are matured separately to maximise the blends complexity through a staged selection process. The resultant wine is soft and plush with lots of flavour, balance and a fine tannin structure.

The Grail Of Lisa McLaren Vale Old Vines Shiraz 2017

Sourced from a small vineyard from a block aged 60 years plus. Small bunches ensured fruit purity and intensity, which is a key requirement for this wine. The fruit is picked and crushed into old vats where fermentation began via the addition of wild yeasts found on grape skins. Careful extraction and short post ferment maceration is followed by basket pressing. The wine under went malolactic fermentation in American oak and then was aged in the same oak with some skins added back to add further fruit character and ensure the fruit flavour was as intense as possible to ensure it was not over whelmed by oak but complimented by it. Bottled with minimal filtration or fining. 

A wine which will benefit immensely with time in the cellar to settle and develop. It will have a great lifespan of around 10 years.

Normans Chais Clarendon Barossa Valley Shiraz 2017

Fermented in small open top stainless steel, these fermentors ensure we maintain strong fruit flavor from skins. Hand plunged twice daily for seven days then transferred into American and French oak barrels for the remainder of ferment then spent 14 months to allow full flavor development.

Icon Of Barossa Shiraz Cabernet 2016 Cleanskin

The fruit for this blend was sourced from two vineyards one old vineyard in the Marananga and the other from the Seppeltsfield region just up the road in the Barossa Valley. Both vineyards were severely pruned and as a result of this and minimal water they produced just one and a half one to the acre. The grapes were all hand picked and a small selection from the most western edge of the Shiraz block and a small selection from the dead centre of the Cabernet block were isolated by the winemaker and vigneron as they had such outstanding quality. The grapes were transported to the winery in the early hours of the morning to avoid the summer heat where they were again sorted then de-stemmed and crushed before being co-fermented in large wooden vats after extreme cold maceration. The wine had their malolactic in new French oak, and is thereafter in the same oak although a small parcel went into new French barrels for aging. The best barrels were then selected after 24 months in oak to be used in the final blend and bottled with minimal filtration.

Allow wine to open up if opening and consuming now, alternatively it will last for at least another 10 years.

Mary Davine Wines Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Planted in 1970 (48 years ago) Only local knowledge, a firm hand-shake deal and an outrageous cash exchange allowed us to secure a small parcel this sumptuous fruit. And even then I have to keep it secret. If the other producers find out the vineyard owner will be in trouble and that the end of the fruit.

The unique micro-climate ensures long slow flavour development. Delivering an intensity of concentration and length rarely found anywhere else in the Barossa.

The fruit is harvested in the cool of the night to retain flavour and freshness before destemming and inoculation with specific rare yeast – a Italian strain that specifically ferments at cool temperatures.

It only serves to enhance the natural fruit flavours.

The ferments are undertaken in traditional 1 ton open fermenters for 8 days, each day the fruit is hand plunged pushing the skins under the fermenting juice to assist in great colour and flavour development of the wine. Once a day the juice is drained from the fermenter and then returned over the skins. With approximately 2 Baume the fermenting wine is drained from the fermenter and the skins basket pressed by hand. Total extraction is limited to a maximum of 500 litres per ton – extremely lower compared to an industry average of 750 litres per ton.

The fermenting wine is gravity transferred into a mixture of new and 3 year old French and American hogsheads to complete primary fermentation and malolactic fermentation. Upon completion the wine is racked and returned to mature for a minimum period of 21 months.

The Colonial Estate Exile Barossa Valley Shiraz 2016

2016 was a stunning vintage we were blessed with perfect conditions, which ensured excellent quality fruit, despite yields being well below average. The bulk of the fruit was sourced from an old vineyard in Marananga, which is dry grown and includes a block of vines over 110 years in age. The vines that make up Exile were pruned severely and received a run of green harvesting finally producing just one and a half tonne to the acre maximum. The fruit was basket pressed and fermented in small 1 and 2 tonne fermenters, it was hand plunged daily, the wine was matured for an extended period on lees to maintain the fruit profile and ensure it’s a pure reflection of the vineyard. We matured the wine in Hogheads and Puncheon barrels for 24 months prior to being bottled with minimal filtration.

Simon Hackett Hills View McLaren Vale Shiraz 2015

The Simon Hackett story goes back well before the establishment of Simon Hackett  Wines. Four generations of the Hackett family followed agricultural pursuits in South Australia. In 1860, Simon’s great uncle attended the esteemed Roseworthy Agricultural College whilst Simon’s father was a graduate in the inaugural Oenology Course at the college in 1938.

Simon grew up in an atmosphere steeped in wine, spending his boyhood in the Barossa Valley alongside his father, who was General Manager and a Director of the giant Barossa Valley Distillery, Tarac International. The family home was situated next to the sprawling Saltram Winery outside Angaston. Given this environment, it was not surprising that Simon, at the age of eighteen, elected to follow a career in winemaking and joined the team at the neighbouring Saltram Winery.

Serving his apprenticeship under the watchful eye of master winemaker, Peter Lehmann, Simon progressed through the ‘Saltram ranks’. In 1970 he completed a vintage in the Hunter Valley Region of New South Wales, before returning to the Saltram Winery for another two years.

In 1973 Simon decided to move to McLaren Vale thus his association with the region began and continues today. Simon’s first vintage in McLaren Vale was at the Southern Vales Co-operative Winery, where he worked with the outstanding winemaking team of Grant Burge and Ian Wilson. After eight years he was appointed Senior Winemaker at Southern Vales Co-operative Winery, now known as Tatachilla Wines.

In 1984, Simon decided to leave Southern Vales Winery and concentrate fully on establishing his own boutique winery situated in McLaren Vale.

Once out on his own Simon quickly re-established his links with the Barossa Valley and now crushes grapes grown in McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills regions of South Australia at his own winery at the gateway to the McLaren Vale vineyards.

Today, Simon Hackett is a boutique wine maker in every sense of the word. He produces a selection of red and white wines under his own, very distinctive label. Having established his own company in late 1984, Simon’s dream was not to create an ‘empire’ but to remain small, producing limited stocks of wine each year for semi private use. Luckily for us he decided to launch the company as a full time project after only a few years. 

The Simon Hackett brand has gone from strength to strength and production is now around 20,000 cases per year. The last few years have seen Simon introduce a stunning limited release Sauvignon Blanc from the Adelaide Hills.

Simon’s winery, originally a disused cellar on a hill overlooking the beautiful McLaren Vale, is situated on the last rise as you enter the McLaren Vale region from Adelaide, easily visible and just off Budgens Road. The cellar door is light, bright and magnificently appointed with a long arched veranda looking out over the surrounding vineyards and countryside.