ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz - Barossa Valley 2018 Bottle

Description

Basket Press Shiraz from the renowned winery captures the essence of Australian winemaking traditions, showcasing the outstanding vineyards that lie at its core. This exceptional wine is crafted using equipment from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing a meticulous approach to production. The 2018 vintage, praised for its striking depth and character, benefitted from a dry season that allowed the Shiraz to flourish without excessive heat or rain. Vinous awarded it an impressive 95 points, noting aromas of kirsch, blackberry, and spices, with a palate rich in sweet red and dark fruit flavors and refined tannins. Jancis Robinson rated it 16 points, highlighting the complex profile from ungrafted vines, aged for two years in seasoned oak. This beautiful wine promises to mature gracefully and reach its full potential within a decade.

*****

Perhaps more than any other wine, Basket Press Shiraz represents the style of wine we make. 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 are great vineyards.

Basket Press Shiraz is made using equipment from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before aging in a collection of seasoned American and French oak hogsheads and large casks for two years. After bottling the wine is sealed under the highest quality cork. This approach enables us to make the kind of traditional, soft, deeply coloured, earthy Australian red wine that Robert O’Callaghan first became fascinated by as a budding winemaker in the 1960’s.

2018 was one of those years when things just fell into place. Despite the season being one of the driest in many decades, it lacked any prolonged heat waves or significant rainfall events, much to our relief. Shiraz throughout the region flourished and Eden Valley Shiraz was a standout, it reveled in the warm dry conditions. The resulting wine has striking colour, outstanding structure and a rich, soft mouthfeel endless depths of gently spiced, complex meaty, dark satisfying fruit notes with beautifully textured tannins.

The wine will continue to soften and mature in bottle and will certainly show its best with a decade of age under its cork.

VINOUS 95 points
Opaque violet. Intense, perfumed kirsch, blackberry, violet, incense and baking spice scents, along with savory hints of olive paste and botanical herbs. Shows impressive depth as well as energy to the appealingly sweet red and dark fruit preserve, fig paste and licorice flavors. Hefty but shows unlikely finesse as well, finishing impressively long and smoky, with the floral and spice notes repeating. Raised in used French and American oak hogsheads. - Josh Raynolds

JANCIS ROBINSON 16 points
Vines up to 140 years old, ungrafted. Fruit sourced from vineyards scattered throughout the Barossa and Eden Valleys. The oldest grapes are from a small vineyard planted in the 1880s. A very dry vintage. Grapes are hand-forked into their 1880s Bagshaw destemming/crushing machine, open fermented in slate tanks and gently basket-pressed (the oldest press was built in the 1890s). Matured for 2 years in seasoned oak, American and French, 300-litre hogsheads and large 2,500-litre vats.
Deep garnet. Sweet fruited with a hint of prunes suggesting very ripe grapes. Leathery and ripe on the palate. Late picked, or because of the dry harvest? Not very refreshing though the acidity shows on the finish. Firm, smooth tannins. (JH)