The land

The Barossa Valley sits 35 miles northeast of Adelaide in South Australia. The valley floor is warm and dry, ideal for Shiraz, Grenache, Mataró (Mourvèdre), Cabernet Sauvignon. The adjacent Eden Valley, at higher elevation in the hills to the east, is significantly cooler and produces some of Australia’s most respected Riesling, alongside cooler-climate Shiraz. The region was settled by Silesian Lutherans in the 1840s — a heritage still visible in the place names and traditional foods.

Old vines

Barossa has the oldest continuously-producing Shiraz vines in the world. Because phylloxera never reached South Australia (state quarantines are strict), pre-phylloxera ungrafted vines from the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s still produce fruit today. The ‘Barossa Old Vine Charter’ formalizes old-vine recognition: Old Vine (35+), Survivor Vine (70+), Centenarian Vine (100+), Ancestor Vine (125+). The best Barossa Shiraz typically comes from these old-vine plantings.

Style of the wines

Barossa Shiraz: rich, dark-fruited, full-bodied, often with sweet baking spice and chocolate from the warm climate plus the savory depth of old-vine concentration. Alcohol routinely 14.5-15.5%. Top examples are less jammy than the Barossa stereotype and show real structure. Barossa Grenache from old vines is one of the great hidden categories. Eden Valley Riesling is bone-dry, lime-and-citrus, with bright acid and excellent aging potential — comparable in seriousness to top dry Mosel Riesling.

Vintages to know

2021 — outstanding for both colors. 2018 — exceptional. 2016 — superb. 2010 — legendary.

Producers we know

Penfolds (especially Grange, the historical Australian icon), Henschke (Hill of Grace from an Eden Valley vineyard planted in 1860), Torbreck, Yalumba, Rockford (Basket Press), Glaetzer, Two Hands, Standish, Charles Melton. Eden Valley Riesling specifically: Pewsey Vale, Mesh, Henschke, Penfolds.