Grape Variety: Primitivo

Every Wednesday evening as the sun was setting, my family used to walk a well worn path across an empty paddock behind our house to our friends house for dinner. One night over a glass of wine, the property owner suggested we plant this bare land to vineyard so they didn't have to keep maintaining the area. At the turn of the century we planted on this site some varities that are new to the Barossa such as Primitivo, Tannat, Saperavi and Petit Sirah as well as some old favourites Mataro and Cinsaut.

Sub Regions: Southern Moppa

Winemaking: Primitivo from dry grown vines on the rose quartz soils of our Dadd’s Block is hand harvested to ensure the grapes are delivered to the winery in whole clusters. Partially destemming into open top fermenters, around 30% whole clusters are included in the ferment, which is allowed to start naturally. In contact with skins for around 12 days with daily pumpovers early in ferment followed by punching down as the ferment finished, ensures gentle and controlled extraction. The wine is moved to bottle after only six months ageing, to capture its vibrancy and energy.

The Wine: Raspberry, black pepper, dried oregano and tobacco leaf make this a dry red that is atypical for the Barossa climate with its high end aromatics. The sweet, soft and round tannin palate bring back the familiarity of this warm climate and early released wine. Flavours of bright red fruits, wild herbs and bright acidity ensure that this wine is best enjoyed at the lunch or dinner table and drunk with friends in abundance without any pretentiousness.

Cellaring: Up to seven years

Awards: 93 Points The Real Review