Rockford 'Basket Press' Shiraz 2006

"In 1971 I purchased an 1850's stone settler's cottage and outbuildings on five acres of land in the village of Krondorf, which sits in the shadow of the Barossa Ranges, in the heart of the Barossa Valley. The courtyard shaped winery which grew from this was built in the same style and from the same materials as the original buildings. The vintage shed is equipped with plant from the pioneer era - I collected these valuable pieces when they were discarded by other Australian wineries as they modernised. This allows Rockford to carry on the traditional Australian winemaking techniques, but more importantly the winery is the same scale, age and pace as our growers' vineyards."

"To me the winery is not just a building but a large piece of sculpture with Barossa wine running through its veins, hopefully when you walk into the courtyard you'll instantly feel a sense of all that it represents." Robert O'Callaghan - The Founder/Winemaker.

Deep garnet in color, the 2006 Basket Press offers a very earthy nose to begin with underlying notes of espresso, raw meat, pencil lead, nuts, mulberries and kirsch plus an emerging hint of blackberry preserves. Medium bodied, elegantly fruited and firmly structured in the mouth, it has a medium to firm level of chewy tannins and crisp acid supporting the concentrated, muscular fruit, finishing long with a pleasant hint of dried herbs. Delicious now, it should cellar to 2022+. 93/100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parkers Wine Advocate.