If not for a typo on a registration form, the world-famous Barossa Valley wine region in South Australia would have been spelled like the place it is named for in Andalusia, Spain: “Barrosa,” for the Barrosa Ridge. That misplacement of two letters likely didn’t make much difference, though. English and German settlers still would have populated the area, and it still would have become what it is today: arguably Australia’s most prestigious wine region.
Grenache and mourvedre are prominent red grape varieties in the Barossa Valley, as is cabernet sauvignon, but by far the most notable grape in the country’s most-known region is shiraz. Cabernet sauvignon makes its way into varietal bottlings, and is also blended with shiraz for a uniquely Australian wine. Same goes with the country’s famous “GSM” blends (for grenache, shiraz, mourvedre, borrowing the Rhone Valley formula), but single varietal shiraz is Oz’s marquee wine style.
Shiraz, known to a good portion of the rest of the world as syrah, is the country’s signature red grape — if not signature grape of any color — and the Barossa is its wheelhouse. There, producers generally turn out wines that could include elements of plum, blackberry, other dark fruits, herbs, tobacco, leather, smoke, anise, eucalyptus, spice, coffee, vanilla, chocolate and the grape variety’s signature closer, black pepper. These big red wines are great partners for big foods such as beef, lamb and game, and if that meat comes with the smoke and char of a barbecue preparation, even better. They love the “barbie” in Australia, and their homegrown shiraz is a perfect partner for it.
Barossa shiraz is often big and fruity and instantly likeable, like so many of the country’s wines, and that is one more reason that the Barossa is so eminently Australian. You could say that Barossa Valley shiraz is to Australian wine as kangaroos are to Australian animals. Home to more than 150 wineries today, the Barossa Valley, about 40 miles northeast of the city of Adelaide, is dotted with 28,000 acres of vineyards, the first of which were planted in the 1830s, around the time the state of South Australia was established. Scads of old vines remain, some well past the century mark.
The region’s 80/20 ratio of red to white grape varieties speaks to the favorable growing conditions of the warm and dry valley floor, and the cooler hillside spots — all of it ranging from about 800 to 1,200 feet in elevation. Roughly half of all Australian wine comes from the state of South Australia, the country’s de-facto wine capital, and much of that South Australian wine is produced in the Barossa Valley, which, with the neighboring Eden Valley region, comprises the larger Barossa zone. The Barossa Valley produces not only significant amounts of the country’s wine but also some of the best, and the wines are fairly easy to find.
For an Australian bottle to carry a single varietal label, the wine must contain at least 80 percent of the named grape variety. For a bottle to list a region on its label, the wine must be made of at least 80 percent of grapes from that region.
Below are notes from a recent tasting of single varietal Barossa shiraz. The wines are listed in ascending order according to price.
2014 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa Shiraz Plum, herbs, baking spices, vanilla, chocolate and spice characterize this wine, which was aged in French and American oak barrels for up to 18 months. $13
2015 Barossa Valley Estate Barossa Valley Shiraz Aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, this wine offers blueberry, dark cherry, bright acidity and 14 percent alcohol. $17
2014 Peter Lehmann Portrait Barossa Shiraz Plum, toast, cherry, dark chocolate, herbs and forest floor contribute to this full-bodied wine’s mouth-filling decadence and lushness. $19
2014 Schild Estate Barossa Valley Shiraz Plum, fig, black cherry, herbs, leather and chocolate lead to a fresh and lively, lip-buzzing spice and black-pepper finish that lingers. $20
2013 Yalumba Family Vignerons Patchwork Barossa Shiraz Ripe blackberry and cherry, earth, leather, spice, licorice and an almost-sassafras quality all layer into this easy-drinking wine’s silky texture. $20
2014 David Franz H.P. Hydraulic Press Shiraz Plum, dark berries, wood smoke, earth, mushroom, spice and mint join bright acidity, tobacco and chocolate on the finish of this wine. $28
2015 Hentley Farm Barossa Valley Shiraz Baked fig, plum, blackberry, bright acidity, savory notes, spice, tobacco and a long, layered black-pepper finish sum up this single estate vineyard wine. $28
2014 Langmeil Barossa Valley Floor Shiraz Raspberry, blueberry, caramel, coffee and chocolate are balanced by bright acidity in this elegant wine made of grapes from new and old vines. $30
2015 Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Barossa Valley Shiraz Blackberry, plum, spice, herbal qualities and bright acidity lead to a chocolatey finish in this wine, which clocked in at 14.2 percent alcohol. $30
2014 Torbreck Vintners The Struie Barossa Shiraz This one starts with plum and continues with baking spices, vanilla, sweet blackberry, smoke and leather — a rich blend from the Barossa and Eden valleys. $35
2014 Tim Smith Wines Barossa Shiraz From vines of 20 to 130 years old, this medium-bodied wine offers coffee, plum, blueberry, fig, cedar and sweet spice in a silky and lush package. $38
2014 John Duval Wines Entity Barossa Shiraz Minerality, plum, tobacco, cedar, spice and sweet blackberry all conspire in this soft, round and lush old-vine wine with a black pepper finish. $40
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