Collection: Rockford Basket Press Shiraz

"Rockford can only be described as an icon, no matter how overused that word may be. It has a devoted band of customers who buy most of the wine through the cellar door or mail order (Rocky O'Callaghan's entrancing annual newsletter is like no other). Some wine is sold through restaurants, and there are two retailers in Sydney, and one each in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Whether they will have the Basket Press Shiraz available is another matter; it is as scarce as Henschke Hill of Grace (but less expensive)." - James Halliday

THE STORY

Robert O’Callaghan’s evocative Rockford Basket Press Shiraz is a tribute to the Barossa’s 19th and early 20th-century heritage.

Made from grapes sourced from 60 to 140-year-old dry-grown vineyards (most from independent growers) across a range of Barossa soils, altitudes and micro-climates, the wine represents a rare and important post-colonial Australian aesthetic.

This soft and medium bodied style, with an earthy quality showing through bottle age, echoes the landscape of the Barossa and references the great mid 20th-century wines of legendary winemaker Colin Preece.

Labour-intensive winemaking practices, a culture of craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail culminate in one of Australia’s greatest and most-loved wines

THE WINEMAKING

Fruit is hand picked then vinified using classic Barossa techniques including a 19th-century wooden Bagshaw crusher, open fermentation and basket pressing. Matured primarily in seasoned 300-litre French and American oak hogsheads and 2500-litre vats for two years.

THE WINE

Neatly juxtaposed between powerful and elegant, the Rockford Basket Press Shiraz is beautifully tensioned with exquisite dark berry fruits, inky complexity, underlying roasted chestnut notes and long, muscular but precise tannins.