{"product_id":"rockford-basket-press-shiraz-2010","title":"Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2010","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Rockford can only be described as an icon, no matter how overused that word may be.\"  James Halliday\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRockford Basket Press Shiraz, like Penfolds Grange, is one of Australia’s most collected and most cherished red wines. Fruit is sourced from \u003cspan\u003esome of the best old Barossa vineyards with vine age from 60 to 130 years.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"This benchmark wine from an iconic producer is laden with vibrant purple and black fruits, floral notes, earthy complexity and well executed oak handling; the palate is juicy, direct and layered, with fine-grained tannins providing an armchair ride for the vibrant and plush fruit that is on board. This will age tremendously well, but many will enjoy it without giving it that chance.\"  Ben Edwards\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003ca rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Rockford Wines\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jFYNZtmnYLY\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"margin-bottom: 16px; float: none;\" alt=\"Rockford Wines\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/3098\/1873\/files\/RockfordVideo_480x480_b0c28750-4781-45d5-9748-93e3ce6ae176_480x480.jpg?v=1747716497\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca title=\"Rockford Wines\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jFYNZtmnYLY\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eExpert reviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Deep garnet with a purple hue; this benchmark wine from an iconic producer is laden with vibrant purple and black fruits, floral notes, earthy complexity and well executed oak handling; the palate is juicy, direct and layered, with fine-grained tannins providing an armchair ride for the vibrant and plush fruit that is on board. This will age tremendously well, but many will enjoy it without giving it that chance. Drink by 2030.\"  \u003cstrong\u003eBen Edwards, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Trademark tarry characters: Old-truck-engine-oil and blackberry-fruit aromas. The spices are discreet and there are background, earthy nuances. The palate is full and rich with a core of ripe, dark-blackberry fruit flavors and yet more tar: all very integrated and settled here. Even-paced, convincing, understated, smooth tannins unfurl through to an unctuous, sweet-leather and dried-dark-berry fruit finish. Exotically spiced meats and dark chocolate to close. Delicious wine and right on form. Drink in 2018.\"  \u003cstrong\u003eJames Suckling, Jamessuckling.com - 96 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"An excellent bottle, bright, youthful and vigorous, and just sarting to drink really well, with many years left to go. Savoury bouquet of smoky cedary dark-chocolate and roasted characters, the palate full-bodied and dense, rich and beautifully balanced, the tannins abundant and yet supple. Still shows a lot of primary fruit. A very smart vintage of this classic red. Drink Now-2035.\"\u003cstrong\u003e  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 95 points\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the winery\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Rockford Winery\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/3098\/1873\/files\/Rockford_1024x1024.png?v=1696560445\"\u003eRockford Wines is a small boutique wine producer based in South Australia's Barossa Valley. They produce high quality traditional wines made from some of the best old Barossa vineyards. Rockford is best known for their Basket Press Shiraz and Sparkling Black Shiraz, which are produced in limited quantities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFounder and winemaker, Robert O'Callaghan, purchased an 1850s stone settler’s cottage and outbuildings on five acres of land in the village of Krondorf in 1971. He then gradually built a courtyard shaped winery in the same style and from the same materials as the original buildings. O'Callaghan starting making wine in 1984 and Rockford was born.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"During the twenty years prior to establishing Rockford, I worked for several Barossa winemakers. This allowed me access to many of the finest Barossa growers, so by the time I started Rockford, I knew exactly the kind of wine I wanted to make and precisely which vineyard would give me the grapes I needed. It also allowed me to continue the established tradition of winemakers building long-term partnerships with growers rather than owning their own vineyards.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany of the growers have vines that were planted on their own roots, sixty to one hundred years ago. The partnership not only gives Rockford access to exceptional grapes from ancient vines but also provides consistency and reliability that is not possible from a single vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vintage shed is equipped with plant from the pioneer era – I collected these valuable pieces when other Australian wineries discarded them as they modernised. This allows Rockford to carry on the traditional Australian winemaking techniques, but more importantly, the winery is the same scale, age and pace as our growers’ vineyards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have always lived in and feel most comfortable with the warm Mediterranean climate of the Barossa where grapes ripen easily. My preference is to make the wine by hand with traditional methods, attitude, and equipment to produce rich, earthy, soft, generous wines that will age; the kind that I drank in my youth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy grandparents on both sides and my parents were grape growers, so my childhood was spent in their vineyards. My parents moved to North Eastern Victoria where my Father managed a vineyard for Australia’s then-largest family winemaker, Seppelts. In 1965 I followed a natural path and started as a trainee winemaker at Seppelt’s Rutherglen winery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was a wonderful apprenticeship in the old, ordered, slow and gentle Australian wine trade. The wines I drank, the winemakers from previous generations with whom I associated and everything I absorbed in that period had a major influence on the way Rockford is today. Although I’ve spent all my life in vineyards and wineries, the pleasure I derive from walking through rows of vines or casks filled with wine has not diminished.\"  Robert O'Callaghan\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobert O'Callaghan belongs to a genre of visionary winemakers that include Max Schubert, Peter Lehmann, Jeffrey Grosset, Brian Croser and David Hohnen. His protégés include Chris Ringland and Dave Powell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRockford Wines has had a profound influence on winemaking philosophy and wine style in the Barossa. Providing the inspiration for a whole generation of winemakers 'the Rockford school' embraces the inherent qualities of old vine Shiraz: the physicality of winemaking where muscle and personal touch transform the process into an art-form; the traditional tools of trade (basket press, open fermenter) and the complementary nuances of American and French oak maturation. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Canterbury Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47941760778481,"sku":null,"price":320.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/3098\/1873\/files\/Rockford-Basket-Press-Shiraz-2010.jpg?v=1782874058","url":"https:\/\/canterburywines.au\/products\/rockford-basket-press-shiraz-2010","provider":"Canterbury Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}