Schwarz Wine Co. / Barossa Valley, Sa

70% Grenache and 30% Mataro, from vines planted 1969 and 1974 respectively. Pours a particularly inviting shade of orange-tinged coral. Not such a fruity nose, more crushed stones and flint, dried thyme, with some tangerine peeking through. Lots going on once drinking though, mandarin and tangerine with the full spectrum of summer berries, boosted with an interesting creamy textural note fleshing out the palate. The stony mineral underpins decent length, and while unquestionably a dry expression, there’s plenty of fruit and flavour here to hold interest. Thirst slaking for sure, but more than enough presence to pair with food, would absolutely sing with slow-barbecued pork ribs and the like.

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The lone white of the stable, very much in keeping with Jason’s approach of freshness and drinkability, weighing in at a most modest 12% alcohol.  Gentle, crisp and refreshing, this release sees some mouthfilling texture. Green apples, honeysuckle, hay and pear, with nice length and concentration. A wine which goes strength to strength with every release.

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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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