Barossa Valley – Our First Anniversary – Part 2

Our next visit was to Rockford (they don't have a website!), an old boutique winery where many of the winemakers we love got their start. The wines aren’t our favorites (very earthy, old vines, traditional style) but they’re famous for their Basket Press Shiraz and have a lovely vineyard. We got a great tour of the old casks and equipment. It’s hard to believe they still use equipment from so many years ago! Sarah Chipman (Chippy’s wife) did our tasting for us – you might be starting to see how incestuous the BV really is by now! ;) We really enjoyed the SVS Hoffman from 2002, but you can only purchase it at the cellar door. Their tawny port is wonderful1. Ben Radford, the winemaker loves tawnys and has casks of them scattered all over the winery to age. There were 4-5 casks above our heads in the rafters of the tasting room. Sarah said that one of their favorite days at the vineyard is when they top-off the tawny barrels – it rains tawny from the rafters on that day! :)

Our dinner at 1918 was lovely. The food was the highlight (along with the company!) and the walk was easy. The town is completely asleep by 8pm. I forgot what it’s like to live in such a sleepy small town!

Our last day started out at Torbreck (http://www.torbreck.com/). Torbreck has a great marketing strategy. They’re still relatively small but feel more commercial and well resourced than many of the boutique wineries in the region. Dave Powell, the winemaker has been recognized all over the world for his skill. His sons (only 13 and 16) are following suit! They have about 15 wines in their repertoire. Our favorites are The Steading (GSM), The Struie (2007), The Celts (2007, made by the young sons!), The Factor (100% Shiraz – one of David’s favorites), The Descendent (2007, my favorite. Shiraz/viognier blend). The Run Rig (high end multi-vineyard Shiraz) and the Les Amis (made from grapes found while on a walk in the bush!). For dessert wine, we loved the Bothie – its 100% Muscat. Not too sweet but a lovely finish to a meal. We’ll definitely explore more of the Torbreck range in the future!

Our final stop of the trip was at Standish (http://www.standishwineco.com/). Dan Standish, winemaker and owner did the tasting and tour for us. Standish and Massena, their sister winery are both very small. They only produce 2000-4000 cases per year depending on the quality. Their style is more natural and raw. The wines are a bit earthy for our taste but it’s wonderful to see how passionate and skilled Dan is at his trade. The Relic is our favorite (Shiraz and viognier blend) and we tasted the 2009 Borne Bollene from the barrel which was wonderful!

Our anniversary dinner was as Wanera in Angaston. We were the only people in the whole restaurant! The food, ambiance and company were wonderful. A fireside dinner was a perfectly romantic way to celebrate our first anniversary. We had such a lovely trip!

We used the Red Rocket to get around all weekend and joked that David could lie on the ground and stretch from one end of the car to the other – I’m surprised we both fit comfortably!

We can’t wait to go back and explore more of the Barossa Valley!

~LAA :)