News
It's the day that all Australian winemakers hold their breath for... the release of the new James Halliday Wine Companion and his associated scores...
We're certainly no exception & eagerly logged in (with the rest of Australia, temporarily bringing down the site - oops!) - we can say we're very happy with what we found, being listed in the top 100 wineries of Australia, and the top 10 of the Barossa just the tip of the iceberg...
THE SCORES:
2012 SHIRAZ
Deep colour; the backbone of this wine comes from the vines planted in 1847 on the Bethany Road Vineyard, some of the oldest shiraz vines in the world; French oak was used at the end of the fermentation and subsequent maturation; everything it should be from '12, with layers of black fruits, licorice, tannins and cedary oak.
96 points Drink to: 2042
2012 BUTCHERS BLOCK RED
An estate-grown 45/30/25% blend of shiraz, grenache and mourvedre. This is one of the best Barossa Valley blends of this ilk, shiraz providing both structure and depth to the seductive array of red and black fruits on the bouquet and medium-bodied palate. Truly exceptional value.
95 points Drink to: 2019
2012 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
A particularly harmonious medium-bodied cabernet; the wine had extended post-ferment maceration on skins before spending 20 months in French oak; the fruit is fully ripe, but stops well short of overripe or dead notes; the gently savoury tannins and integrated oak tie the bow on the parcel. (Available late 2014, 2011 vintage on sale now)
95 points Drink to: 2022
2013 GOBBLE:GOBBLE
A co-fermented blend of 60% whole bunch shiraz, 40% crushed grenache and (through some sleight of hand) 25% new oak. It was released on 28 Feb, available online for 1 day only, but sold out within an hour. An incredibly clever marketing exercise from start to finish, the wine itself delicious, and ready for consumption the hour it was released.
94 points Drink now
2012 GRENACHE
The grapes predominantly come from the 100+-year-old vines on the home vineyard. Very concentrated and rich, it is in the mainstream of Barossa Valley style, but a very good example of that style, packed with confit red fruits, oak providing a touch of structural complexity.
93 points Drink to: 2022
2013 BUTCHERS BLOCK WHITE
An estate-grown blend of marsanne, viognier and roussanne; barrel fermentation and maturation in used French oak produces year-in, year-out what is arguably the best example of this blend in Australia, the flavours coalescing into a single stream of flavours in the stone fruit spectrum, none in the citrus spectrum.
93 points Drink to: 2018
Congratulations must go to all Australian wineries - the Companion just keeps getting bigger & bigger each year, speaking volumes of the high quality of wine being produced here.
Now we're off for a cheeky little celebratory drink - join us, won't you?
Cheers!