Schwarz Wine Co. / Barossa Valley, Sa

As always, evocative of the pinks of Southern France.  Talc and pumice-stone minerals lead the nose, alongside red apple and plum skins and cranberry.  In the mouth, those savoury mineral elements speak louder than fruit; not a bad thing in the broad church of dry rosé styles.  Behind the stony minerality is watermelon, ultra savoury cranberry and blood orange, and a pithy edge to the minerality which will see this absolutely sing alongside food (charcuterie/seafood/barbecues/just about anything).  Thoughtful and well composed.

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Two parcels vinified separately, one macerated five hours and the second given four days on skins to enhance flavour and structure, both fermented and raised in seasoned French hogsheads.

An expressive release. Popping aromatics of yellow apples, lemon curd, citrus pith, with a bit of washed rind Brie. Palate-wise, weighting is spot on, with just enough flesh and stuffing to balance its lively acid spine. Red, yellow and green apples, flecks of finger lime and grapefruit, lemon meringue pie, and some rock-salty minerality at the finish. Plenty of allure.

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An inviting and friendly release – aromas mirror flavours of boysenberry, fruitcake, dark chocolate/cocoa, cake spice.  Fleshes out on the palate further with a creamy oak/almond paste note, and a dot of olive tapenade for savoury balance.  Pretty classic Barossa Shiraz flavours, stands apart with a fresh spine of acid giving lift and life.  Richness meets energy,

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56% Grenache, 40% Shiraz and 4% Mataro.  10% whole bunches, and just over a third of the juice aged in tank versus seasoned oak to keep freshness.

The all-round crowd pleaser of the Schwarz stable, 2023 is an immediately appealing, comely release.  Forward aromas of sarsaparilla, raspberries, fresh soil, and a dark caramel/toffee note.  Medium bodied in the mouth, abundant flavours of raspberry, blackberry, and black cherry flavours which pull between sweet, sour and savoury fruit impressions, indeed it’s this balance which defines this cuvée.  Rosemary, thyme and garden herbs appear at the edges to give further complexity, rounded out by bright, washy tannins.  There won’t be many red wine drinkers who don’t find something to love here; this has to be one of the most straight up guzzlable releases of this wine in recent memory.

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Brightness plus though has some flesh on its bones, leaps out the glass with roasted beetroot, blood plums, cherries, and a charcuterie/dried meats note.  The well-poised palate offers up cola, turned earth, dried orange, cherries and a shake of baking spice.  Tannins are fine and have a succulence, a lovely red of mid weight and broad appeal.

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As fine and elegant as ever, a Grenache for Pinot drinkers. Deep ruby in colour, leading with beetroots, stewed rhubarb, Turkish delight, and the whole bunch component contributing peppercorns. A little talc mineral in there too, plus elements of cola and raspberry lollies. Light and bright on the palate with fine succulent tannins, easy to drink but maintains its presence, with nice length on the finish giving it an air of seriousness.

“Wonderfully complex and engaging, the bouquet shows dark berry, bay leaf, cured meat and toasted almond notes, leading to a gorgeously supple palate that’s expansive and persistent. Well supported by refined texture and fine-grained tannins, finishing long and structured.” 95 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

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Hand picked, wild yeast, 26% whole bunch, unfined and unfiltered.  13.8% alc. 208dozen produced.

Big time aromatics here, varietal black cherry over pepper and some alluring meaty/bacon character.  An array of black fruits on the palate, a sweet and saline interplay, brambly even but ultra fresh.  Maintains fineness of persona over so much fruit power, with a fresh acid driven finish over fine ripe tannin and stony mineral.  Wines such as this show just what an exciting and pleasurable variety this can be.

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Typically the most structured of the Shiraz wines made by Schwarz.  Elegantly complex, a broad spectrum of aromatics and flavours here – beef stock and pan juices, coffee and cocoa, and a Bouquet Garni herbal thread from the whole bunch component.  Fruit-wise, firmly in the blue fruits spectrum of blueberries and damson plums (Schwarz assure the label colour is incidental rather than deliberate power of suggestion!  Eden Valley fruit has a big hand in this.)  There’s a gentle but persistent tannic framework, a slightly finer release than some vintages.  Brains over brawn here, but no lack of concentration or length, and a definite air of sophistication.

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The Meta Grenache Blanc comes from Jason’s family’s block in Bethany, Barossa Valley, grown by Mark and Pauline Schwarz.

Smells of Provence herbs, sea spray, a doughy thread, yellow peaches, and orchard fruits. On the palate, it builds with nuance rather than dominance—yellow apples, peaches, citrus fruits and zest, a stony minerality come through, alongside a subtle note of wild fennel.

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The wine where it all began – Jason approached his father to buy some of his Nitschke Block fruit in 2001, producing two hogsheads.  This dry grown vineyard produces intense and clear flavours, maximized here by smart winemaking and a restrained use of oak. Schwarz’s most classically styled Barossa Shiraz, though the house style of freshness, fineness and balance reigns supreme this release.

Power meets vibrancy.  Aromas of blackberry jam, warm earth, prosciutto/charcuterie, which leads into a further suggestions of saline notes, via brine and soy sauce.  Has great focus on the palate, black fruits, mulberry, that saline/umami component giving balance; a decent fist of tannin here but they’re ripe and fine.  Creosote/tar, and sweet blueberries reveal further with air in the glass.  For me, still Schwarz’s most classically Barossan expression of Shiraz, though maintains the house style of freshness and approachability.   Fabulous release here.

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Pours an inviting shade of ruby.  Aromatically dense though restrained with fresh and stewed raspberrries, star anise and clove, and a poke of vanillin and raspberry tea.  In the mouth, poised and crisp.  Previous vintages have elicited comments of a Nebbiolo-esque tannic structure which is certainly showing here, firm but not at all dominating.  Flavour-wise, gentle raspberry and cherry fruits wash through with cola, nicely integrated oak and the tiniest hint of turmeric and cardamom.  Gentle yet persistent and well defined.

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Jason stumbled on this plot of 400 Shiraz vines planted by Carl August Otto Schiller, dated to around 1881.  Earmarked for bulldozing, Jason’s offer to buy the fruit would see these ancient vines remain in the ground.

“Stick your nose in the glass here, and could it be anything else but Barossan? Circa 1880s-planted vines too, no less. Deep, plummy fruit tones with hints of dark chocolate, fruitcake spice, a wash of oak, sour cherry, blackberry conserve, licorice and earth. Full bodied and packed with powdery tannin before a chocolatey, spicy finish that has a slow fade.”

94 points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

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