Wines from Barossa Valley

Often seen as the epicentre of Australian wine, the Barossa Valley, measuring just 20 miles north to south and around 4 miles across is actually small, and lies about 40 miles north of Adelaide. Characterised by very hot summers and coolish winters and annual rainfall that is scarce and captured in tanks and reservoirs dotted around the valley. The soil here is loam, sand and some limestone, hence the valley is a patchwork of different grape varieties, almost all using drip irrigation.

Whilst there have been a lot of new vine plantings here, the Barossa is still home to some of Australia's oldest grape vines, with Grenache and Syrah (here called Shiraz) around 120 years old. The use of such prized older vines, with smaller, more concentrated berries, add a richness, depth and concentration to some of the most sought after of all Aussie reds.

The Barossa make a lot of wine, with styles ranging from fruity, jammy reds all the way to stonking big bruising wines, almost all featuring increased alcohol levels as well as an abundance (some would argue an over-abundance) of ripe sweet black fruit , black pepper, minty, earthy flavours and a generosity that is almost beguiling. Whites tend to be scarcer now, due to the acknowledgement that the heat diminishes freshness and vital acidity - so Barossa whites tend to be richer dry whites made from Chardonnay or Semillon, or sweeter wines made from the ubiquitous Sultana grape or Colombard.