NEWS PRESS

93 points for Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Cabernet

12/10/2015

From Wine Enthusiast, December 2015:

Cellar Selection; 93pts

From a vineyard planted in 1981 in the hills above what became Silicon Valley, this shows soy sauce, sesame, black olive, dill, beef jerky and the darkest of black fruits on the nose. The palate continues the Asian flavor theme, with teriyaki, Chinese five spice and hoisin sauce as well as blueberry paste, dusty leather and crushed rocks, framed by strong structure and bright acidity. Drink 2017–2027.

 

Wine Advocate Visits Sami-Odi in Barossa

11/30/2015

One of the most exciting new producers I tasted during my recent Barossa visit in September this year was Sami-Odi. Started in 2006 by New Zealand husband and wife team, Fraser (the winemaker) and Andy (a practicing veterinarian) McKinley, this is a straight-up tiny operation built on diligent, thoughtful winemaking that is true to both the terroir and the couple's vision. And refreshingly, these guys are not trying to be too clever with their approach, which is quite simply about taking no short-cuts and making the best possible Shiraz from a small but very great vineyard.

 

When Fraser first moved to the region, like many young winemakers with high quality aspirations he did a stint at Torbreck. Then in 2006 he began by looking after just 1/3 of a vineyard in the Ebeneezer sub-district of the Barossa, owned by the locally famous grower, Adrian Hoffman. It was four rows only then, all organically farmed, from a section planted in 1995. In 2007, Fraser made the first Sami-Odi wine from this fruit and expanded vineyard area and production slowly from there.

 

During my visit, Fraser opened for me a bottle of every wine he had ever made under the Sami-Odi label, even those very first experimental years. "In the beginning it was about not wanting to add water to wine and wanting to make light, elegant wines. But it also didn't make any sense to make anything too light and pink from the Barossa," Fraser candidly explained. "I found where I was comfortable around 2012." Those early 2007 and 2008 vintages labelled '0.354' (in reference to the vineyard size) are a little rough around the edges, while the 2008 'MCMXIIP' label made from older vines in the vineyard is far more interesting and later vintages - 2012 and 2013 in particular - more interesting still... in fact downright brilliant.

Fraser McKinley at Sami-Odi

All the Sami-Odi wines are 100% Shiraz, all from that same single vineyard, albeit a larger section of it. Fraser now manages 2.8 hectares of this Hoffman (Dalwitz) vineyard in Ebeneezer. The oldest section has vines that were planted somewhere between 1888 and 1912, the youngest was planted in 1996.

 

Fraser explained that he keeps the production small because he likes to be able to do everything himself. There is nothing fancy or unusual about the winemaking except perhaps the inclusion of 100% whole cluster in every year but 2008, when the grapes were hand destemmed.

 

Two wines are now released each year: a "vintaged" wine and a blend of vintages called "Little Wine". The vintaged wine is composed of the best barrels and the NV is a blend of three vintages. 2011 was the catalyst for making a "second" wine - "Little Wine" - as Fraser declassified the fruit that year opting not to make a vintaged wine. From 2008, each year the vintage Shiraz release is given a new name and label. The non-vintage "Little Wine" label continues to be a blend of vintages from declassified lots that don't make the cut for the Sami-Odi vintage wine.

 

Given the vineyard size and ancient age of some of the vines, as you may guess yields and production are very small and were especially small in 2014. 2014 and 2013 were heavily frosted. 2013 produced yields for Fraser of just 11 hl/ha and 2014 was a minuscule 5.7 hl/ha. Therefore, in 2014 Fraser produced just 250 cases of the Sami-Odi 'XIV' Shiraz.

 

After my visit, it occurred to me to email Fraser and ask him what the rather unusual Sami-Odi name meant. Here was his reply:

"The name 'Sami-Odi' is derived from a series of found objects - in a similar way that Marcel Duchamp used found objects in his collection of 'Readymades'. It is a name that means little to most but has plenty of substance for my wife Andy and I. 'Sami' is derived from a small wooden boat that Andy shot (she is a skilled yet humble photographer) whilst we were travelling across the southern coast of Turkey in 2001, in Üçagiz to be exact. 'ODI' is the title chapter of an antique book printed on beautifully stained and worn paper that we found strewn across an old table in a Roman market the same year. It appealed to me as many of the pages contained little or no text which leant plenty of space for me to sketch and draw as we travelled (see the 2009 label which includes a 'detail' sketch of the Museo del Prado in Madrid). Both the 'Sami' photo and images sketched on 'ODI' paper have adorned the walls of our numerous kitchens and living rooms over the last 14 years and are a constant reminder of our journey thus far and where this turn in our lives began."

 

 

Burgo Viejo - Wine Spectator Wine of the Week

09/10/2015

Wine Spectator has named Burgo Viejo Rioja Crianza 2012 its wine of the week.  This 90% tempranillo and 10% graciano wine gets fermented in stainless steel tanks before being aged for 12 months in American oak.  The review gives it 90 points and states, "Fresh and focused, this lively red delivers crunchy flavors of black cherry and red plum, backed by vanilla, toast, floral and mineral notes. Well-integrated tannins and citrusy acidity lend structure. Drink now through 2025." This is an incredible value for the quality!

McLaren Vale Wines to Shout About Wine Advocate

08/31/2015
Noon Eclipse, Noon Reserve Shiraz, Ochota Barrels, Vision Wine Brands, McLaren V

2013  Noon Eclipse Proprietary Red McLaren Vale/Langhorne Creek
A Proprietary Blend Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 97
Drink 2017 - 2030

 

Medium garnet/purple, the 2013 Eclipse Proprietary Red McLaren Vale/Langhorne Creek is scented of cherry coulis, raspberry pie and red currant jelly with nuances of cinnamon stick, toast, mandarin peel, potpourri and white pepper. Full-bodied, very elegant and packed with red berry, spice and earthy layers, the tannins are velvety and the acidity provides plenty of freshness, especially on the long finish.


 

2013  Noon Shiraz Reserve
A Syrah Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Langhorne Creek, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 97
Drink 2017 - 2032
Cost: $0

 

Medium to deep garnet/purple, the Shiraz Reserve has a youthfully mute nose exuding crushed blackberries and wild blueberries dotted with notes of cloves, pepper and anise. Big, voluptuous and full-bodied in the mouth, it has tons of spice, black fruit and savory flavors that are shaped by firm, grainy tannins and a long finish.


 

2014  Ochota Barrels 186 Grenache
A Grenache Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 93+
Drink 2015 - 2019

 

Sourced from Blewit Springs bush vines, the pale ruby/purple 2014 186 Grenache is intensely scented of roses, red cherries and raspberries with lavender and cinnamon stick hints. Medium to full-bodied, soft and seductive, it has a perfumed palate with intense flavors and a very long finish.


 

2014  Ochota Barrels A Sense of Compression Grenache
A Grenache Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 92
Drink 2015 - 2019

 

Very pale ruby with hints of purple, the 2014 A Sense of Compression Grenache opens to a nose of baked raspberry, kirsch, potpourri, white pepper and mandarin peel. Medium to full-bodied, soft and velvety in the mouth, this is very elegant with spicy and earthy flavors and a long finish.


 

2014  Ochota Barrels Fugazi Vineyard Grenache
A Grenache Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 93
Drink 2015 - 2021

 

Pale ruby with hints of purple, the 2014 Fugazi Vineyard Grenache offers pronounced aromas of kirsch, potpourri, violets, roses, red currants and anise. Full-bodied, the palate is soft, rich and seductive with great elegance and finesse. It finishes long.


 

2014  Ochota Barrels The Green Room Grenache Syrah
A Proprietary Blend Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 93
Drink 2015 - 2022

 

Pale vibrant ruby, the 2014 The Green Room Grenache Syrah is a blend of 88% Grenache and 12% Syrah that reveals lifted red cherry, crushed raspberry and red plum nose with spice box, roses, potpourri and peppery hints plus a waft of dried herbs. Light-bodied, fresh, silky and multilayered, the palate shows beautiful elegance. This wine defies your conceptions of McLaren Vale


 

2013  Zonte's Footstep Chocolate Factory Shiraz
A Syrah Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 89
Drink 2015 - 2018

 

Medium to deep garnet/purple, the 2013 Chocolate Factory Shiraz opens to aromas of crushed blueberries, blackberries and chocolate covered cherries with menthol and cloves hints. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shows good intensity and freshness with ripe, rounded tannins and good length


 

2013  Zonte's Footstep Z-Force Shiraz / Petit Sirah
A Proprietary Blend Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Langhorne Creek, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 90
Drink 2015 - 2018

 

The deep purple/black, the 2013 Z-Force Shiraz / Petit Sirah presents attractive baked berry, dried plums, crème de cassis, licorice, espresso and black loam. Very big, rich and full-on full-bodied, the palate has firm, rounded tannins and a long finish with spices and Christmas fruit cake notes

Ochota Barrels in Wine Advocate

08/31/2015
Ochota Barrels, Vision Wine Brands

2014  Ochota Barrels A Forest Pinot Noir
A Pinot Noir Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 90
Drink 2015 - 2015
Cost: $0

 

Pale ruby with a touch of purple to the color, the 2014 A Forest Pinot Noir has quite a stemmy, herbal and leafy nose with a core of kirsch, cranberries and underbrush. Light-bodied, elegant and silky, the palate has good intensity and a long, earthy finish.


 

2014  Ochota Barrels Home...Pinot Noir
A Pinot Noir Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 90
Drink 2015 - 2015
Cost: $0

 

Very pale ruby colored, the 2014 Home...Pinot Noir starts off with stemmy, herbal notes enveloping a core of wild cherry and strawberries with lavender and fragrant earth hints. Delicate and light-bodied, the herb-laced palate is fresh and has a long, earthy finish


 

2014  Ochota Barrels I Am The Owl Syrah
A Syrah Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 90
Drink 2015 - 2015
Cost: $0

 

Medium ruby/purple, the 2014 I Am The Owl Syrah opens to fragrant black berry and red cherry aromas dotted with dried herbs, earth, aniseed and black pepper. Light to medium-bodied, the velvety palate has great freshness plus a very peppery, earthy and long finish.


 

2014  Ochota Barrels The Slint Vineyard Chardonnay
A Chardonnay Dry  White Table wine from Australia , , Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #220 (Aug 2015)
Rating: 91
Drink 2015 - 2015
Cost: $0

 

The 2014 The Slint Vineyard Chardonnay presents delicate white peach, lemon curd and yuzu notes with a yeasty undercurrent. Light to medium-bodied, the palate is very fine and elegant, shows nice freshness and has a long, mineral finish.


Food and Wine Ochota Barrels

08/31/2015
Food and Wine, Ochota Barrels, Vision Wine Brands

 

 

 

12 Wolf Wines from Chicago's Matty Colston

BY MEGAN KRIGBAUM | POSTED AUGUST 28, 2015 AT 2:37PM EDT

 

 

If there were a human barometer of the deliciousness of a wine, that human would be Matty Colston. Colston, of Chicago’s Parachute restaurant, is an effusive, soulful champion of what he and his friends like to call "wolf wines."

“I didn’t coin the term,” says Colston. “That was my good friend Greg Powell, who works for Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. When he told me about it, I just connected with it instantly. I knew exactly what he was talking about. It’s a wine that makes you want to howl. You know, it has this direct line straight into your pleasure zone; it’s not contemplative. You wanna drink the hell out of it, but it’s still significant.”

 

8.  2014 Ochota Barrels The Green Room Grenache/Syrah 
“I got to hang out and taste with Ochota’s winemaker, Taras Ochota, when he was in from Australia last week. He’s an old punk rocker and told me a story about how a few months ago he jammed with Mick Jagger at the winery, and the Australian media found out about it and now everybody in Australia want his wines. He’s a surfer, so the name Ochota Barrels isn’t just a reference to barrels of wine, but barrel waves in surfing. All of his single vineyard wines are named after punk bands, like Fugazi and Slint and Shellac—and the wines are great—especially the Fugazi Grenache. But I find myself ignoring these upper-tier wines for the table wines that these people are making—wines for drinking. I just brought on the Ochota Barrels The Green Room. It’s mostly Grenache, and Syrah. Whole stems. Unfined and unfiltered. It looks sort of like a rosé in the glass. And there are all these chunky bits in the bottom of the bottle. Australia, man. They’re doing cool stuff. And they’re making Grenaches with the same kind of finesse as Pinot. I’ve never thought of Grenache as being like Pinot, but my mind is changing.”

Domaine Grand Veneur Chateaneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes

08/26/2015
Grand Veneur Chateaneuf du Pape, Organic Wine, Vision Wine Brands

"Even more impressive and certainly one of the top 3-4 wines in the vintage, the Grand Veneur 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes offers up spectacular density and depth, with big structure, chewy tannin and brilliant purity of fruit. A blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah, it offers loads of blackberry, licorice, roasted meats, bouquet garni and pepper to go with a full-bodied, layered and perfectly proportioned profile. It too will have 15-20 years of longevity. Drink 2015-2032. "
Wine Advocate (Jeb Dunnuck, issue#209, October 2013), 97 pts

Burgo Viejo

08/26/2015
Burgo Viejo Rioja Crianza 2012, Wine Spectator, Vision Wine Brands

"Fresh and focused, this lively red delivers crunchy flavors of black cherry and red plum, backed by vanilla, toast, floral and mineral notes. Well-integrated tannins and citrusy acidity lend structure. Drink now through 2025. 10,000 cases made.—T.M."
- Wine Spectator (September 30th 2015), 90 pts

Basket Range Wines Adelaide Hills - Australian Gourmet Traveler

08/12/2015
Jauma, Lucy Margaux, BK Wines, Ochota Barrels, The Other Right, Gentle Folk.
A small community is making a big impression with some of the hottest wine labels in the country, writes Max Allen.

Open the wine list in almost any trendy restaurant and look at the wines by the glass. Chances are that at least two - and a few more bottles on the list - will come from a tiny enclave of the Adelaide Hills called Basket Range.

Lucy Margaux, Jauma, Ochota Barrels, BK Wines, The Other Right, Gentle Folk - these are some of the hottest labels in Australian wine right now, at the forefront of the natural, low-intervention, minimal-additions trend. And the winemakers behind these labels all work - and in most cases live - around the corner from each other: a small community making a huge impression on the Australian wine scene.

There have been moments like this before: when the right people converge at the right place at the right time and take Australian wine culture in a new direction. It happened in the 1960s, when visionaries such as Max Lake established new boutique wineries in the Hunter Valley; it happened in the '70s when a group of vine-mad doctors dreamed up a wine culture in Margaret River; in the '80s when Peter Lehmann and others revived the Barossa's fortunes.

This time, what's drawn these people together in the wild hills of the Basket Range is a roughly shared philosophy of how wine should be made - with wild yeasts, as little added or taken away as possible, lots of skin contact, no filtration, and just the barest addition of sulphur at bottling. All the winemakers share this sensibility to varying degrees, even though the wines seem different - the perfumed precision of the Ochota Barrels Weird Berries in the Woods gewürztraminer is a world away from the autumnal funk of Lucy Margaux's Domaine Lucci Wildman Pinot Noir.

One of the group's biggest supporters is Campbell Burton, sommelier at Melbourne's Builders Arms and the organiser of Handmade and SoulFor Wine festivals. He speaks for many in the trade when he raves about the group.

"I'm so excited about what's going on in that little pocket of the hills," he says. "There's a progressiveness up there: everyone is having a crack, searching for how to make more delicious wine more simply, and sharing what they've learned with each other."

Importantly, Burton says, this isn't just a bunch of hippies flying by the seat of their tie-dyed pants. There's a lot of intellectual firepower and life experience behind these winemakers' decisions to throw away the rule book: Anton van Klopper of Lucy Margaux was a standout student at the University of Adelaide's winemaking course and worked in a large winery before planting his own vineyard; Jauma's James Erskine studied soil science and was named Gourmet Traveller Sommelier of the Year before establishing his wine business; Gentle Folk's Gareth Belton is doing PhD research into seaweed when he's not making wine and cider; The Other Right's Alex Schulkin is a scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute.

Basket Range is a secluded, tree-filled bit of the Adelaide Hills, and although a few vineyards have been planted here since the '80s, the crumpled topography prevents too much development. Some of the local winemakers have their own plots of vines: Anton and Sally van Klopper's house and winery sheds overlook a biodynamic pinot vineyard; Taras and Amber Ochota have a patch of gamay vines on their block. But most of the winemakers buy their grapes from vineyards across the wider region and further afield. Brendan Keys from BK Wines, for example, cherry-picks chardonnay, pinot, syrah and other varieties for his tangy, textural whites and reds from vineyards in various pockets of the Adelaide Hills such as Lobethal, Lenswood, Piccadilly. James Erskine sources grapes for his outstanding Jauma grenaches from top sites in McLaren Vale such as the Wood vineyard, while Alex Schulkin's wild The Other Right Fire Head grenache comes from a vineyard at Vine Vale in the Barossa.

Anton van Klopper is arguably the most influential character in the Basket Range group, his own approach helping to inspire others - Erskine, Belton and Schulkin in particular - to establish their own wine businesses.

"When I started 10 years ago, I did the opposite of everything I was taught at winemaking school," says van Klopper. "I was fighting for a cause: making wine in a wild way that was sound, that had structural integrity. I helped others get started because I wanted people doing interesting stuff. And now the cause is here."


Australia Barossa

07/10/2015

2014  Ochota Barrels Shellac Vineyard Shiraz
A Syrah Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #219 (Jun 2015)
Rating: 93+

 

Coming from 40-year-old vines that are two tractor widths between the Torbreck Decendant vineyard and Greenock Creek on Roennfeldt Road, the 2014 Shellac Vineyard Shiraz has a vibrant medium-depth purple color and equally vibrant nose of red and black cherries, crushed black raspberries, mulberries and roses with hints of yeast extract, pepper, cinnamon stick and dusty earth. Medium-bodied and almost Pinot-like in it elegance if not flavors, it fills the palate with spiced cherry compote flavors supported by fine-grained tannins, finishing with great length and lift. Not your typical style of Barossa Shiraz but it is very, very delicious.


 

2012  Rusden Grenache Christine's Vineyard
A Grenache Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #219 (Jun 2015)
Rating: 91+

 

Pale garnet colored, the 2012 Grenache Christine’s Vineyard reveals notes of kirsch, stewed tea, mulberries and redcurrants with hints of dried herbs and orange peel. Full-bodied with tons of red berry flavors and a solid backbone of chewy tannins and lively acid, this is a well-structured, serious Grenache with great intensity, lots of character and good aging potential.


 

2006  Rusden Sandscrub Shiraz
A Syrah Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #219 (Jun 2015)
Rating: 93

 

Medium to deep garnet-brick colored, the 2006 Sandscrub Shiraz displays a gorgeous, mature Shiraz nose of Chinese five spice, sandalwood, licorice and leather over a core of dried mulberries, prunes and blackberry preserves. Full-bodied and multilayered on the palate, it has a lot of spice and dried fruit on offer, though the tannins have already gone powdery, it finishes a tad warm and the acid stands out so I’m not entirely sure where this might go. But it is delicious to drink now!


 

2012  Rusden Shiraz Black Guts
A Syrah Dry  Red Table wine from Australia , , Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia,

 

Review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
eRobertParker.com # , #219 (Jun 2015)
Rating: 92+

 

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Shiraz Black Guts has a nose of blackcurrants and prunes with suggestions of coffee grounds, dried herbs, earth and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a very pleasant herbal lift injecting extra freshness to the abundant black fruit flavors, plus a good foundation of rounded tannins and lively acidity, finishing long and elegant.

Pages