Rockford Shiraz Cabernet is one of the icons of Australia and of the Barossa Valley with its bold deep ruby colour and powerful tannins adding layers of complex texture and taste to a wine that drinks well now with dark berry flavours and will evolve into a wine with smoothness, spicy notes and black olive depths over time in the bottle.

Rockford Wines' legacy

Rockford Wines is an icon itself and a relatively new one, established in 1971 by Robert O'Callaghan, who has forged a reputation for preserving winemaking tradition and saving many of the world's oldest grape vines from being pulled up in the Australian Government's vine pull schemes of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Rockford vintage shed houses equipment from 50 to 100 years ago, which was discarded by other wineries as modernisation took over. 

Family owned Leeuwin Estate is one of the five founding wineries of the now famous Margaret River district of Western Australia.

 In 1972, legendary Napa Valley winemaker, Robert Mondavi, identified the future site of the Leeuwin vineyard as being ideal for the production of premium wine and provided early mentorship to Denis and Tricia Horgan in the transformation of their cattle farm into Leeuwin Estate. Enjoying its first commercial vintage in 1979, Leeuwin was thrust into the international spotlight when Decanter Magazine gave its highest recommendation to the 1981 “Art Series” Chardonnay. 

This is Shiraz is part of the same art series, from Margaret River in Wetern Australia. This is classic Shiraz with an abundance of bursting blackcurrants, boysenberries and mulberries balanced by sweet, toasted spices.

The culmination of our pursuit to tirelessly perfect small-batch Shiraz making is here; meet our new-look Barossa Shiraz hero, Synonymous. Off the back of our recent trophy for Best Shiraz at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, we felt the timing was right to introduce our most important Shiraz release to date. The new look packaging coincides with the best vintage yet, a product of the benchmark ideal ripening cool season 2021 vintage.

We hear all the time that Synonymous plays more like a wine twice its price thanks to the judicious fruit selection, careful yet minimalist winemaking and fastidious barrel selection - we taste through hundreds to select and make this delicious Shiraz.

It is undoubtedly our best bang-for-buck red wine!

Winemakers: Daniel Chaffey Hartwig + Huon Fechner + Theo Engela
Varietal: Shiraz
Region: Barossa
Alc/Vol: 14.5%
pH: 3.6
Acidity: 5.9

Commercial description

The late Greg Trott saw many of his unusual dreams realised at Wirra Wirra. Yet one vision eluded him - to build a medieval siege machine, or trebuchet. Why? To use as a catapult to bomb neighbouring wineries with bottles of wine of course. This wine is part of a range, the RGT collection which remembers the pioneering spirit of Richard Gregory Trott.

Colour - Rich mulberry with plum-purple at the edge.

Bouquet - Lovely fresh plum and raspberries with notes of cinnamon, cocoa, clove, cardamom, nutmeg and dried ginger. A warm, vibrant and inviting nose. 

Palate - A delicious offering of blueberries, raspberries and plums are layered with patisserie-like notes of baking pastry, vanilla bean, butter biscuit and spice. The palate is generous with f lavour and supplies an ample measure of tannin that is smooth and fine, with mouth coating persistence. 

Vinification Fruit was gently crushed and destemmed en route to fermenter. Early temperatures were maintained at 20-22 degrees, rising to 25-28 degrees at peak of ferment. In general, ferments were pumped over two to four times daily to assist flavour and colour extraction, as well as spreading heat through the cap and body of the ferment. Nearing completion and having achieved the desired flavour and tannin extraction, pump-overs were reduced to once or twice daily to keep the cap moist. Close to dryness, wine was drained from the fermenter and the remaining skins were pressed via tank or basket press. Wines completed their secondary malolactic fermentation in tank then filled to oak with barrel selection and maturation times tailored to each parcel – those showing a more powerful structure receiving a longer maturation time in oak before blending.

Oak Maturation - Approximately 70% French and 30% American. A combination of new and seasoned oak is used, blending to about 20% new oak in the final wine.

Drink - Drink now to 2030 Food Match Eggplant involtini  

Pure Eden is a bold expression of Shiraz from a single vineyard site in the Eden Valley, which was planted by Charles Angas in the 1890s. The vineyard was later owned by the Shiltons from 1911 to 1926; Meakins 1926 to 1929; Roeslers 1929 to 1961; Andretzkes 1961 to 2011 and, now, by the Lindner family. This wine is a reward of these guardians’ efforts for more than 100 years.

This wine is a beautifully ripe Shiraz with rich blackberry  and blueberry flavours and aromas of black olive, cedar, earth and white pepper. Velvety tannins add structure and texture to this wine. Ageing was for 24 months in French oak, 47% new and the balanced pre-used oak. 

Langmeil is owned by the Lindner family, which has been making wine for six generations in the Barossa Valley.

This is one of Australia's premier wines, comparable to Penfolds Grange with its cult status and commitment to excellence. Hill of Grace is made entirely from pre-phylloxera Shiraz vines, planted by early European settlers in the mid 1800's. This wine is capable of ageing for 20+ years.

"Deep crimson with purple hues. Sweet, fragrant, exotic aromas of spicy red and black berry fruits, supported by plum, anise, tar and truffles and a hint of cedar. An elegantly fruited palate shows rich, complex flavours of forest fruits and cassis with underlying notes of black pepper spice, while the surprisingly restrained powdery tannins provide layers of texture for a long and luscious finish." - Winemaker's notes.

Commercial description 

We named this wine after Robert Strangways Wigley, a noted South Australian eccentric and state cricketer who established Wirra Wirra back in 1894. Each vintage we take pride in producing a flagship shiraz that befits McLaren Vale’s reputation as a first class producer of this varietal and home to some of the oldest shiraz vines in the world.

Colour - Rich mahogany tones around a youthful, deep core of black plum.

Bouquet - Rolling waves of deep, glossy McLaren Vale shiraz. Fruits are scented with mulberry, dried figs, cinnamon, and clove. The swell of brooding spice, charcuterie, and rich black fruit is held in place by an undertow of fine French oak and dark chocolate.

Palate - The palate contrasts ripe, generous fruit with linearity and purposeful structure. Deep satsuma plums, French polish, and vibrant acid line are signature in style. Powdery tannins leave a lengthy finesse.

Vinification - Parcels from each vineyard were picked in small batches and fermented separately in twoton open fermenters to maintain their distinct vineyard character. In some, a small amount of whole bunches was included. Each batch were tasted daily to determine the level of hand plunging and maceration required during fermentation. At the desired level of tannin and fruit extraction, each ferment was basket pressed with winemakers making the press cut at the first sign of tannin hardness. Pressed batches were transferred to a tailored selection of French oak barriques and puncheons in which they completed malolactic fermentation. Following MLF and several times thereafter, individual wines were racked and returned. At the end of this program

Oak Maturation - Vineyard batches were matured separately, each in their own individual selection of French oak barriques and puncheons. The final blend comprised approximately one-third new oak, the balance coming from largely two and three-year-old barriques and puncheons.

Drink - Can be enjoyed upon release, but will develop up to 2036 years with careful cellaring.

The older Barossa Valley vineyards typically yield fruit of concentrated flavour and soft, supple and velvety tannins that set them apart from the younger stuff. The Ebenezer block gives this wine its dark core and its muscle, with the fruit from Williamstown providing elegance, fragrance and spice. There’s plenty of blackberry, black satsuma plum, black cherry and cassis with great intensity and length.

Great collectible, highly clearable age worthy Shiraz from vineyards in upper Victoria; home to Brown Brothers Wines. Named after Patricia, the late matriarch of this family owned winery.

Pure Eden is a single site wine, made from an Eden Valley vineyard planted by Charles Angas in the 1890s. Later owned by the Shiltons 1911 -1926; Meakins 1926-1929; Roeslers 1929-1961; Andretzkes 1961-2011 and now the Lindner family. This wine is a reward of these guardians’ efforts for more than one hundred years.

An alluring bouquet of red and blue fruits leap from the glass with savoury herbs and hints of black olive, cedar, earthiness and white pepper. A medium to full-bodied wine with juicy Satsuma plum and raspberry fruits with plenty of velvety tannins adding structure and texture to the wine. Sweet and briary spices balance the juicy fruit with a subtle cedar note carrying through to the finish.

-100% Shiraz from Flaxman Valley, Eden Valley,
-24 months in 47% new French oak and 53% seasoned French oak

Vineyards and vines: small parcels of selected fruit are sourced from various vineyards on our farm Kalmoesfontein, the Swartland area and the greater Paardeberg mountain.

Grapes: Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Verdelho, Grenache Gris, Clairette Blanche, Semillon and Palomino.

Vinification: The vinification is quite straight-forward when you are working with fantastic grapes from old vineyards – whole-bunch pressing of cool grapes, this juice is then transferred to old casks; very old casks for fermentation and maturation. Some of the juices are blended during this time which what we like as the components really integrate then. A small percentage of the grapes are picked a bit earlier for some acidity but the rest are picked at what we reckon is a good ripeness and flavour.

Maturation: We only use old 1200l foudres and one 3000l foudre for the fermentation and maturation of 15 months. After this the wines are racked and blended in a single concrete tank with all their unsulfured lees and left for another 6 – 8 months before bottling.

Analysis: Alcohol 13.4 vol% Residual Sugar 2.6 g/l pH 3.45 Total Acidity (Tartaric) 5.56 g/l Total sulphur 80 ppm

The final makeup of the blend varies slightly each year. This is because of the vagaries of the vintage. We feel that Chenin Blanc is best suited to be the heart of the blend and that is why it forms the biggest portion of the blend. The aromas are very complex and change considerably in the glass. Perfume, spice, tea, stone fruit and citrus blossoms are some of the notes that can be detected. In the mouth the texture and ripeness and gentle tannins result in a wine that has incredible length and complex flavour profile. The wine also has wonderful fruit volume characterised by stone fruit and mineral flavours.

The finish is long and has slight phenolic edges supporting the fruit through the entire length of the wine.

Only 6400 bottles produced

The vines from this Shiraz are believed to have been planted in 1843. The original plantings still survive and are some of the oldest and rarest vines in the world. This is a rich and complex wine worthy of extended ageing. The nose is intense with notes of plum, coffee and oaky spice. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and sweet spices. Freedom Shiraz is full-bodied with a long and fruity finish.

"The 2021 Paulmara Estates Marananga Shiraz is a powerful and opulent expression of Barossa Valley’s renowned Marananga subregion. Deep and concentrated, this Shiraz bursts with aromas of blackberry, dark plum, and blueberry, intertwined with notes of dark chocolate, spice, and well-integrated oak. The palate is rich and full-bodied, offering velvety tannins and layers of black fruit, licorice, and espresso, leading to a long, lingering finish.

Paulmara Estates, founded by Paul and Mara Georgiadis, is known for producing wines that reflect the strength and character of their vineyard sites. With a focus on small-batch winemaking and meticulous craftsmanship, they create wines that are both bold and elegant."

-Quoco Wines

Savitar is one of the great Shirazes from McLaren Vale, made with grapes grown on the Lopresti Vineyard's Chinese Block, located at the south end of McLaren Vale, about four kilometres east of the coastal town of Port Willunga. The vines struggle here, producing low yields of fruit with tiny berries which are full of black fruit flavours with dried herb, black olives and an earthy structure of dark smokiness, making this a power packed wine. 

It's named after a mythological dragon like creature, in homage to this wine's bold flavours and powerful length. It's an impressive wine for now and will undoubtedly age for the long haul - think a decade at least. 

The winemaking

Grapes for Savitar Shiraz are selected by hand from the Lopresti Vineyard in McLaren Vale, a site where they struggle and deliver in small volumes. This is regarded as outstanding raw material. They are fermented and the wine pressed before being transferred to oak barrels where it remains on light lees for 18 months before blending.