Winery & Vintage Info
The Barossa has a core of traditional growers of German Silesian descent, dating back five generations, staunchly continuing on the traditions of their forebears. Occasionally one or two parcels of fruit of overwhelming quality come over the weigh bridge; this is such an example.
This wine is sourced from up to 70-year-old, low-yielding shiraz vines from a selection of historical grower vineyards at Tappa Pass and Light Pass, growing in low-fertility Neoproterozoic soils more than 542 million years old, that range from red-brown earths to terra rossa. These vineyards provide shiraz fruit from both the Eden and Barossa Valleys of the Barossa zone, vinified in traditional open-top fermenters.
A moderately wet winter combined with average spring conditions meant that vines grew well in the mild weather. Ideal flowering conditions in late spring/early summer lead to the potential for near-average yields. Late December became warm and dry and assured for healthy canopies with low disease pressure. The summer months of January and February were typically hot and dry but extreme heat periods were shorter than in recent memory, characterised instead by well above-average overnight temperatures. March and April provided the light and warmth which lead to full and balanced maturity being achieved across all grape varieties. All in all, the 2018 vintage will be considered a standout of this decade, fittingly so in the year we celebrated our 150th anniversary of family winemaking.
