The Art of Blending

Barossa Super 100 Classification – Wines over $100

With over 100 wines featured in the Classification the list represents the depth of collectable wines of distinction being made in Australia’s most famous wine region.

96 Points - James Halliday

Made in the same way as Clos Otto other than 9 days on skins and maturation in American oak (50% new). The American oak is much more assertive than French, its signal soaring on the first whiff, likewise the first sip. It works well here, tipping its hat to Grange, the flavours coating every corner of the mouth, yet doesn't overstay its welcome. And it pays no attention whatsoever to its alcohol.

91 Points - Jay Miller (erobertparker.com)

The 2006 John Speke GSM is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Shiraz, and 20% Mourvedre sourced from vines over 60 years of age. Dark ruby-coloured, it has an enticing nose of spice box, scorched earth, forest floor, cherry, and blueberry. Velvety-textured and elegantly-styled, this savoury blend conceals enough silky tannin to evolve for 2-3 years and will be at its best right up to 2020.

Exclusive to The Vinorium

96 Points - Sam Kim (Wine Orbit) "It is irresistibly expressed on the nose showing dark berry, raspberry, dried herb, toasted almond and olive characters. The palate is equally engaging and gratifying with sweet berry flavours and multi-layered mouthfeel, finishing superbly long and flowing. Sophisticated, comforting and stunning. At its best: 2019 to 2027."

Winemaker "This incredibly fragrant and elegant wine is from our relatively cool site in Bannockburn in a cool growing season resulting in a wine with great tension and incredible layers of red fruit, spice and earth. The aromas are both intriguing and complex: fresh berry, wild game, gun smoke, baking spice and wild thyme. The palate is long and bright with cherry, blackcurrant, cardamom, and delicious savoury undertones. Silky fine tannins compliment the vibrant acidity, giving the wine length and memory. This wine is drinking beautifully at release and will continue to do so for at least a decade."

94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck "A wine that always seems to deliver, the 2016 Shiraz Bella's Garden comes from the Barossa Valley and saw a touch of whole clusters and 18 months in roughly 20% new French oak. Blueberries, black raspberries, vanilla bean, spice, and toasted bread notes all flow to a full-bodied, ripe, opulent Shiraz that has sweet tannin, a balanced, clean profile, and a great finish. It’s a knockout bottle of wine to enjoy over the coming 5-7 years."

This is a sumptuous wine, defined by its aromatic complexity and finesse. Predominately grown in the Red/Brown earth of the Barossa’s western ranges, the soil profile creates masculine tannins and richness through the palate. Lower yield limiting soils provide a large fruit concentration. This label’s colour reflects the red soils of the Barossa’s western ranges where all the best Two Hands vineyards are located.

 UK Exclusivity

Top Rated Shiraz at the 2020 Halliday Wine Companion Awards

  Decanter World Wine Awards: Platinum 2018 

98 Points - James Halliday "From two old vineyards in McLaren Vale with an average age of over 80yo, wild yeast open-fermented, plunged, basket-pressed. Deeply coloured, this plum, blackberry and dark chocolate wine has countless layers of tightly wound fruit, the gently savoury finish providing flavour and texture balance beyond compare. Oak? Yes, it's there somewhere."

16.5 Points - Jancis Robinson "Classic ‘crushed ant’ and coffee with a mocha note. Deep and refined palate, this feels classic and very well put together. For Maclaren Vale it has quite an elegance, and it carries itself very well. (AC) 15.5% Drink 2019 – 2027"

91 Points - Jay Miller (erobertparker.com)

My favorite of the Garden Series is the 2007 Shiraz Lily’s Garden from McLaren Vale. Purple-colored, it has an enticing perfume of balsam wood, lavender, incense, pepper, bacon, and blueberry. With excellent grip and balance, this smooth-textured, savory Shiraz will improve over the next 2-3 years and drink well through 2020.

95++ Stuart McCloskey “Great colour and a suggestion of its age however, both the nose and palate prove otherwise. The nose interplays beautifully between brulée, ripe orchard fruit, spiced pear to nervy minerality. The palate is broad, textural, far too moreish and deeply satisfying. Age has been this wines friend – The fruit is decadent and creamy but overall, it shows bags of finesse. The freshness is outstanding, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is drinking fabulously in another ten years. There isn’t much to add beyond the fact that this wine seriously over-delivers at every level and one wine which should be served under blind conditions to simply highlight the outstanding quality and value. Utterly faultless for the money.” Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware

95 Points - James Halliday "There is definite synergy in the blend, even it if it's the Yarra Valley that provides most of the flavour and the glue; grapefruit is in the driving seats, but there's a special texture to the mouthfeel, part fruit, part oak-derived."

Orin Swift 8 Years in the Desert 2017 displays heady aromas of brambly raspberry, black fig and peppercorn dominate; time in glass exposes more—dark chocolate, fennel and High Sierra forest floor. The palate is lush and opulent with blackberries, dark plums and currants. More flavors add to the quality of the blend—a visceral minerality and fresh Herbs de Provence. Fully integrated with puckering tannins, the wine bows out with finesse.

Dave Phinney (Winemaker) - It’s hard to believe that this fall will be my twenty first harvest in the Napa Valley. Some of those vintages I remember fondly, others I’d like to forget. What may be harder to believe is that this harvest also marks the twentieth year that Orin Swift has been in business. Twenty years. It makes me feel old. But I love it, maybe now more than ever. As many of you know, the first commercial wine I made for Orin Swift was Zinfandel. But none of you have ever tried it. None of you have tried it because it was never bottled. I sold it on the bulk market. I would argue that Zinfandel may be the most difficult varietal to tame. But when you get it right it rewards you like no other. If winemaking is a series of challenges Zinfandel has them all in spades. So, in 2009 I took a break from Zinfandel and its challenges. It would end up being an eight-year break. Eight years in the desert. It was never if but when would we make Zinfandel again. That when is now.

So, with no further ado, we proudly give you 8 Years in the Desert. A blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah and small percentages of other red varietals. 

97 Points – James Halliday "100% McLaren Vale from 106yo vines in Upper Tintara and from McLaren Flat. Open-fermented with pneumatic pigeage/punch down, 3 days cold soak, 14 days on skins. The vivid, deep crimson-purple hue tells of an intense mix of blackberry and blackcurrant flavours, with breathtaking texture, the ultimate fist in an iron glove. A 25-year life span is extremely conservative."

94 Points - James Halliday

A fragrant bouquet with multiple oriental spices defying precise description; light- to medium-bodied, with silky mouth feel, bright red fruits running through to a long finish uncluttered by tannins. Barossa Valley Grenache/Shiraz/Cinsault/Mataro/Carignan.