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  • Country ranking ?

    135
  • Producer ranking ?

    5
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Lamb

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The Story

Robert O’Callaghan’s Rockford Basket Press Shiraz encapsulates traditional and contemporary winemaking philosophies and embraces the inherent qualities of old vine Shiraz: the physicality of winemaking where muscle and personal touch transform process into an artform; the traditional tools of trade (a 1910 petrol-driven old Bagshaw destemmer, basket press, open fermenters) and the complementary nuances of American and French oak maturation.

Robert O’Callaghan is one of the most important figures in contemporary Australian winemaking. He was early to recognise the future of regional definition, the importance of heritage and the conservation of both physical and viticultural resources. Chris Ringland, who worked at Rockford for around 18 years, said “working with Robert was to present an extraordinary opportunity in gaining an understanding of the traditional Australian wine trade. Just as he had learned the winemaking elements of previous generations, so we were to use the distillation of this experience in establishing winemaking philosophy at Rockford. The techniques were simple, the principles sound.”

O’Callaghan’s commitment to labour-intensive techniques for the sake of going the extra mile in quality makes Rockford Basket Press the quintessential hand-made wine. The fruit, from 60-140 year-old vines, is sourced from local growers in the Barossa including around Kalimna, Ebenezer, Moppa Springs, the Eden Valley and Central Barossa giving fruit of tremendous colour, power and richness.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz is made in the classic mould with strong, ripe, blackberry and fine chocolate fruit characters, underscored by well-seasoned American and French oak and ripe tannins. The wines are beautifully balanced and have a reputation for freshness and aging. They develop paneforte/ dark chocolate aromas and further richness and complexity on the palate.

Rockford Basket Press is very traditional and stands very much apart from the compressed and monumentally rich Barossa Shirazes favoured and championed by elements of the cult wine scene. It has an understated power, balance and minerality that evoke the character of the fruit and the vintage. The oak is never at the fore. Rockford Basket Press is a maturation style reminiscent of Barossa wines made during the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s. The overall freshness, buoyancy and suppleness reflect contemporary winemaking philosophy.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz has been produced every vintage since its inaugural release in 1984. More than any other wine Basket Press Shiraz represents what Rockford is all about.

It has much in common with other handcrafted quality produce in that it draws heavily on the wisdom and shared knowledge of previous generations of Australian winemakers and recognises that at the heart of every great wine is a great vineyard.

Full-bodied Australian Shiraz has now taken its rightful place amongst the great wines of the world and Basket Press Shiraz is considered one of the benchmark styles of Barossa Shiraz.

 

 

 

 

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Vintage 2002

Australia 2002 was a cold year with plenty of winter and spring rain to support the vines for the year. Summer and fall were completely dry. The summer was the coldest on record. Fall had one of the warmest endings. All of this meant that we had very low yields of grapes and produced high quality wines. The grapes had a very good scent (nose and taste, more floral than usual), good concentration and good acidity. A great year for whites and maybe a few reds. However, it was important to pick the grapes very ripe and keep the nitrogen to a minimum.

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Tasting note

color

Deep, Ruby red and Healthy

ending

Long, Extensive and Pure

flavors

Blackberry, Pepper, Vanilla, Coffee, Meaty and Leather

nose

Intense, Fresh, Generous and Refined

taste

Balanced, Well-Integrated, Complex, Full-bodied, Firm, Round and Vigor

Verdict

Transparent and Impressive

Written Notes

Good looking normal size bottle, is in a excellent condition and has bottom neck level. Colour is ruby red, and looking healthy and deep. On the nose it is intense, wide, refined, fresh and generous. The taste is round, fragrant, vivid, firm, refined, vigor, full-bodied, with complex, balanced and well-integrated structure. On the palate it is layered and has pepper, leather, blackberry, mineral, meaty, spice, tropical fruits, vanilla and coffee flavours. The finish is long, extensive, pure, spicy and vibrant. This wine is transparent and impressive. Perfectly stored bottles are still very worthy and will last well for another 20-30 years and decant at least over 4h before tasting.
  • 95p
2002 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 100 points /Deep colour. Aromatic and complex with redcurrant, herb garden, praline aromas with savoury, graphite, smoky notes. Hint of earth. Lovely wine with saturated redcurrant, dark plum, roasted chestnut, praline flavours, superb mid-palate richness, fine chewy textures and plenty of mineral length. Builds to a crescendo. Long tannin plume at the finish. A dramatic Rockford Basket Press. From now to infinity – or at least 2050!
  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Barossa Valley, South Australia

Other wines from this producer

Vine Vale Riesling

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