Mount Barker

Mount Barker

Cabernet Sauvignon

This comes from vines planted in 1972. There is a marvellous vital purity here displaying all the varietal virtues of this variety. It was given 40% new oak, and all were barriques. There is structure with distinctive blackcurrant and leafy black olive characters. There’s a bit of rusty, gravelly loam character here, adding some textural complexity. It’s a perfectly poised...

Mount Barker

Malbec

A wine that captures much of the malbec character. It has a big block of red ripe fruit with a slightly vegetal character that adds rather than detracts from the wine. This is a very small production and, until three years ago, was blended. This has a brightness and energy about it with punchy red fruits that burst from the...

Mount Barker

Shiraz

Here is a classic Mount Barker shiraz from this cooler year. Gets 40% new oak and is gently extracted with some whole bunches kept separate until blending. It’s quite a bright and brilliant wine with vibrant colour. Had 18 months in French oak. Has a brambly black fruit character with a dark plummy prune-like character, adding palate richness. There is...

Mount Barker

Pinot Noir

The colour is brilliant with a crimson red-pink colour. It was a slightly cooler vintage than previous vintages. About 30% whole bunches have been included, and then a week of cold soaking before being left to ferment with wild yeasts. There is a nice sour cherry and strawberry aroma here, and it’s had about 24% new oak. The palate is...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

This was hand-picked and whole bunch pressed. It’s a mix of 50 and 38-year-old vines right in the middle of the vineyard. There are two picks to provide blending options. It’s all 100% barrel fermented on full solids, and about 50% new oak barriques were used. The nose shows a distinctive struck match character with some nice stone fruit. There’s...

Mount Barker

Riesling

Opens with a faint lemon aroma and some subtle bath salt characters. It was a hot year, but they managed to avoid the heat spike at the end. The fruit in the end was of exceptional quality. There is power and intensity here, and a remarkably pure and vibrant minerally crunchy basalt character. It’s very long and is all free...

Mount Barker

Pinot Noir

A silky smooth and elegantly crafted pinot from this outstanding vineyard. A burst of sour cherry and raspberry, mixed with an assortment of red fruits, greets the nose initially. A slight lifted floral, violet-like character adds further complexity. Into the medium-to-light-bodied palate, bright red fruits emerge, supplemented with subtle, spicy, earthy truffle-like notes for added interest. Smooth and seamless, with...

Mount Barker

Pinot Noir

This is a vibrant and bright medium-bodied pinot, made to express the beautiful, pretty fruit characters of this variety from this region. The oak influence is minimal, with only larger-format oak used. You’re greeted on the nose with a burst of cherry and raspberry, while the palate reveals lovely textural, bright fruit character, loaded with red fruit and a subtle...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

You’re immediately struck by the complexity and intensity on the nose. After picking and whole bunch pressing, it was fermented and then matured with indigenous yeasts in a mix of small and large French oak. The nose shows minerally, slightly struck-match characters, with roasted cashew, distinctive lemon, and a hint of vanilla. On the palate, that crunchy, vibrant, steely minerality...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

Chardonnays from this hot season have emerged quite strong, and this is another fine example. From the Mount Barker region, it underwent some natural ferment before being matured for an extended period in older French oak to deliberately downplay overt oak influence. The result is a wine of brightness and elegance, with fine, pure minerality and light citrusy melon notes,...

Mount Barker

Riesling

One of the great joys in wine is drinking mature rieslings, and this one is excellent, really only just beginning its journey. It still has some primary fruit, but it’s starting to develop those slightly toasty lime characters that become so appealing with mature rieslings. It retains good primary fruit characters on the palate, and the fine, persistent acidity will...

Mount Barker

Riesling

Here's a wine of tensile precision that says so much about its relatively higher altitude region near Mount Barker. On the nose, there's a sort of bath salts, minerally, floral note, while the tension and minerality on the palate say so much about the vineyard and the variety. It's fine, it's precise, and yet there is a subtle textural component...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

An incredibly powerful and layered chardonnay showing some distinctive winemaking artefacts that have been well managed with the quality fruit. On the nose, a struck match aroma lifts. A light lees influence and some malolactic fermentation have enhanced the palate feel. Lemon, savoury brioche characters and a little honeycomb on the palate with a dry minerality defining the finish.

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

A very tidy chardonnay that comes from three different sites on the Forest Hill Vineyard and Highbury Fields, with a combination of Gin Gin and Bernard clones. Richness and texture have been built in but have not been overdone. Instead, it creates a complexity of savoury fruit characters and a slightly minerally chalky character, accentuating the dry finish. Very nice...

Mount Barker

Shiraz

What a mighty good wine this is from a wonderful vintage. It captures the power of the fruit from the vintage, yet delivers it with a degree of elegance. A contributing factor has been the use of larger format oak, so as not to dominate, along with foudres. Rich, dark plummy licorice aromas with a dollop of chocolate. The palate...

Mount Barker

Shiraz

This excellent block has been dry grown since being planted in 1985. A little more hands-on here compared to the standard shiraz with hand plunging daily. Once again, it has been put into a larger format oak, which helps strike such a precise oak and fruit balance. It’s an elegant wine with bright red fruits displaying some quite exotic spices...

Mount Barker

Cabernet Sauvignon

I’ve been waiting for this wine to emerge from the shadows of the cellar. This is a great vintage, and the result is one of the best wines, if not the best, yet from Forest Hill. This is a single dry-grown bock planted in 1975. This is cabernet in its most beautiful, structured and dominant form. Light leaf over blackcurrant...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

Rosenthal Collector chardonnay 2024 ($90) This is the top chardonnay from Rosenthal. It’s been sourced from Mount Barker and displays the typical power and complexity of previous vintages albeit on a slightly lighter frame. Moves into a distinctive savoury zone with creamy stone fruit and brioche character emerging. The oak integration is superb, allowing the fruit to fully express itself....

Mount Barker

Riesling

It was a warm year, yet this has turned out to be a delicate and quite restrained riesling. It was picked early and shows lovely high-end florals on the nose with subtle lemon scents. The palate has a grainy textural purity with a fine lingering acid holding a tight line to a long finish. A fine minerally thread defines.

Mount Barker

Shiraz Blend

This is a beautifully drinkable blend from Mount Barker. Loaded with ripe red and black fruits. Plummy blackcurrant and a trace of chalk dust across the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with good intensity. Strikes a fine oak and tannin balance that doesn’t dominate. An attractive current drinking wine with short-term cellaring potential.

Mount Barker

Shiraz

A soft and supple shiraz from Mount Barker in this slightly cooler season. Cooler, yes, but the wine has certainly developed some nice flavour intensity. More in the dark fruits spectrum with an earthy licorice nuance. Has a nice grainy mouth feel with supple fruits wrapping around the fine tannin and subtle oak treatment.

Mount Barker

Riesling

Another first-rate riesling from this small Mount Barker producer. From the start, riesling has been a consistent standout, and even in this very season, the quality is excellent. It is one of the best rieslings I have tasted from this vintage. Fine and linear with a lively energised aroma and palate. Lemon zest and spicy bath salts with a crisp...

Mount Barker

Cabernet Blend

This is 65% Block 7, which produced the prettiest fruit on the property, and about 35% old vine malbec, off vines that are 25 years old. Deep dark colour. The nose has a slightly turned earth and meaty aromas with bright red fruits. Dark fruits in the middle palate with tremendous depth and concentration but it’s smooth and seamless. A...

Mount Barker

Cabernet Sauvignon

What a sensational wine. Perfumed and powerful with tremendous concentration and power. Used some concrete fermentation and stainless steel. Has beautiful elegance and weight through the palate with fine chalky tannins and fine-grained oak influence. Has such an ethereal aroma of violet and red berry. Tremendous power here yet it’s elegant and pretty. This is 100% cabernet.

Mount Barker

Cabernet Sauvignon

Highly fragrant and perfumed, Coes from Blocks 5, 6 and 7 and has a little bit of malbec. There’s a mix of old vine cabernet. The long season was perfect for cabernet contributing to a long hang time on the vine. It’s got structure and poise with firm chalk tannin and a very long palate profile. Has a lot of...

Mount Barker

Shiraz

This is a single site grown in 1985. It is a difficult site to pick. This is a powerful wine but retains its vibrant medium body. It’s about 10% while bunch and wild fermented, which has contributed to a more complex palate. Matured in 600l demi muid barrel with no new oak. Such a beautiful texture and fruit flavour, with...

Mount Barker

Shiraz

Bright and brilliant. It reflects the new style of less oak and using about 80% in big foudres and the balance in 500 and 600-litre barrels. It was a very late season and sat on the vine for ages, It has a beautiful cherry and plummy perfume with such energy and vibrancy. The palate is medium-bodied but there is plenty...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

This is a powerful statement of chardonnay. It’s all Gingin clone and about 25% new oak. There is a mealy character here with a nutty roasted cashew. Handpicked and wild fermented and the best barrels go into a blend. There is an intensity here with stone fruit and white floral notes. A most attractive wine with savoury characters carrying the...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

This is a blend of Block 8 and about 30% Burgundian clones then the rest is Block 9 with some younger vine Gingin clones. All wild fermented in Burgundian oak in largely 500l with about 20% new oak. Has a nice balance of citrus and nectarine with a slight sea spray character. The citrus lift on the finish is very...

Mount Barker

Riesling

This was picked a month earlier than 2023 and comes from the younger vines and includes some of the Geisenheim clones. Has a distinctive beeswax aroma with plenty of bright talcy bath salts character. Has good depth and long flavours with a fine acidity sustaining the finish. Has a lovely bright fruit character to it.

Mount Barker

Riesling

A more fragrant and lively wine that was planted in 1975. First made in 2018 as a result of pushing riesling further with more texture based on the Germanic style. Has a nice line and minerality. It gets about 15 to 20% fermentation in an oak foudre. The aim is to get a little productive funk into it. Very attractive...

Mount Barker

Riesling

Lightly perfumed and delightful aromas of lime and light talc. It was a very good year, and it was a late season allowing the fruit to build up easily. It’s stainless steel fermented but has an extended time on lees. The palate is the key. It’s powerful with texture and talcy threads with liberal spices. It has a slightly limey...

Mount Barker

Riesling

This has turned out to be a delicate and restrained riesling, but the linear intensity is still evident. Slightly talcy bath salts aromatics open with a faint lemon zest influence. The palate is fine and delicate structure with a precise lingering acidity sustaining a long finish.

Mount Barker

Cabernet Sauvignon

A really impressive cool climate cabernet from what was an early but intense vintage, especially for red varieties. The nose exudes all the blackcurrant varietal character you could want with deeper dark plum and a little mulberry. A subtle leaf and a trace of black olive add further notes of complexity. Structured with fine tannins and infused oak. It’s still...

Mount Barker

Pinot Noir

This is a deliciously appealing pinot noir off the Langton Vineyard near Mount Barker. Deep aromas of dark cherry and strawberry open. The palate is so plush and generous with supple red fruit flavours supported by lightly sinewy tannins and a little oak. It’s silky but deceptive as the palate builds in intensity to a sustained purposeful finish.

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

A leaner and tighter expression of chardonnay than was the norm under this label previously. Its all about freshness and energy. Citrus and melon with a muted cashew character on the nose. The palate is finely balanced with penetrating finish promoted by a crisp chalky acidity. Has a little white flower and lime influence adding complexity.

Mount Barker

Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

A zesty and bright blended white that just asks to be drunk in the next 12 months. Bright tropical and grassy characters with a little cut grass and light snow pea. Finishes crunchy and lively with a crisp acidity.

Mount Barker

Riesling

Tight and tense riesling from this vineyard just on the outskirts of Mount Barker. Minerally and quite spicy aromas with a citrus lime character dominant. The palate is tight with that tension building before releasing into a long precise finish. Retains a refreshing crunchy palate feel.

Mount Barker

Nebbiolo

One of the trickier varieties to produce in Australia, with the tannin balance and management the key. In this case it’s been expertly handled. Typical red fruits on the nose with the raspberry, rose petal and strawberry nuances capturing the variety. The palate is light in colour but there is plenty of engine room grunt here as it drives to...

Mount Barker

Pinot Noir

Such a pretty, yet powerful statement of Mount Barker pinot. It is clearly as good as any yet from 3 Drops, with the season providing the ideal base for its creation. Aromas of dark cherry and a perfumed strawberry nuance with an array of spices adding allure. The palate captures the variety. There is a soft plushness here, yet there...