South Australia is to Australia what California is to the United States, and the Barossa Valley is to South Australia what the Napa Valley is to California. For many wine lovers, Bordeaux wine is very serious, even "sharp". Bordeaux is always cold and rainy, while the Barossa Valley is full of sunshine, and the wine is just like the local inhabitants, optimistic and full of vitality.
The Barossa Valley is one of Australia's most popular wine tourism destinations. For example, you can eat along the "Butcher's, Bakery and Winery Trail" and drink fine wine, accompanied by local bread, bacon and a variety of local specialties.
The "Barossa Heritage Route" connects many historical monuments and deep cellars, almost all of which are built in historical buildings, full of a strong sense of culture...
1. History of the Barossa Valley: Made his fortune by the old vine Syrah
The Barossa Valley dates back to the 1840s, when the first inhabitants were German-speaking immigrants from prussian silesia, and the lifestyle and culture of the inhabitants here still have a strong German flavor.
The Barossa Valley may owe much of its place today thanks to a repressive campaign in the 1970s and early 1980s, when Australia shifted the focus of its wine industry to the more popular Cabernet Sauvignon red wines. Silas, who had been abandoned at the time, survived (because customs control in South Australia was very strict, the Barossa Valley was not damaged by grape phylloxera), resulting in the later Barossa Valley leaving a lot of old Syracuse vines.
After that, the Barossa Valley appeared several wineries specializing in the production of old vine Syrah single wines, and the Barossa Valley rose to fame and went international, becoming the birthplace of Australia's famous wines.
2, the age of the old vine is more important than the production area
The Barossa Valley is located northeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, an hour's drive away.
The Barossa Valley has a continental climate with hot, dry, sunny summers and many low-fertile, sticky soils in the region. However, the Balossa Valley has a hot and arid summer that requires water diversion for irrigation, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to solve the drought problem due to the rapid evaporation of water.
This environment is actually very suitable for the hot-loving Syrah grapes, so there are many Syrah vines planted in the appellation from the beginning. Later, a large number of treasures were left for the locals - the old vine Syrah, among which there were many old vine Syrahs who were more than 100 years old.
Ever since the production of the Old Vine Syrah wine in the Barossa Valley, winemakers have been most attracted to the grapes of the low-yield old vine. The most important thing is the length of the tree, the older the vine, the more concentrated the flavor of the grapes produced (of course, the yield is also less), and the geographical differences between the regions are not the main influencing factors.
3. Barossa Valley winemaking characteristics
In the blazing sun, the grapes of the Barossa Valley ripen quickly. To maintain good acidity and fresh fruit aromas, grapes are usually harvested earlier. The barossa valley has a wide temperature difference between day and night, allowing the grapes to have sufficient acidity even when they mature to produce up to 15% alcohol. Some Barossa Valley winemakers ferment wine in American oak barrels to make the finished wine sweeter and smoother.
Another popular winemaking trend is to let the Syrah and the white grape variety viognier ferment together to increase the aroma and stabilize the color of the wine. This method is currently used throughout Australia, but is most common in the Barossa Valley.
4. What wines are available in barossa Valley?
(1) Shiraz
As the signature of the Barossa Valley and australia, the Balossa Valley Sira Red Wine is one of the most recognizable wine styles in the world.
The most typical Barossa Valley Syrah red wines are rich and concentrated, with rich aromas of ripe blackberries, drycurrants and mocha coffee, with hints of clean tobacco and earth. In addition, these wines have distinct meat, black pepper and fruit aromas, tannins are not hard, and the particles are generally small.
Due to the abundant sunlight, the wines here have a high alcohol content, mostly reaching 14%-15% or more. Overall, many of the fine Barossa Valley Syrah red wines have decades of ageing potential.
Some of the top Syrahs are produced in ebenezer, northeast of the Barossa Valley, where the old vines of Syrah do not require irrigation and produce the most complex flavors. However, most of the vineyards here belong to growers, not wineries.
Represents wine
Chris Rylandsilla dry red
chris ringland dry grown barossa ranges shiraz
This is Australia, and at the same time the most expensive Syrah dry red in the world. New Zealand-born Chris Ringland founded this premier worship winery in South Australia in 1994. The winery's Syrah's dried red is made from centuries-old vines, and although it is not as famous as Penfolds Gramsch, the yield is very, very low, resulting in its price being higher than that of Gramsch.
Tobres main red wine
torbreck the laird, barossa valley
This is the 2nd most expensive Syrah in Australia. Produced only in the best vintages, the wine currently has only 6 vintages, but has already received 2 Parker perfect scores (2005, 2008).
Torbreck is not very old but has some ancient vineyards in the appellation. Torbreck runrig shiraz - viognier, barossa valley (torbreck runrig shiraz- barossa valley) is a blend of 80-140-year-old vine syrah and vioni, and is the highest level in the Langton classification, which shows its benchmarking position in the Australian wine industry.
Double Palm Winery My Double Palm Syrah Dry Red Wine
two hands wines my hands shiraz, barossa valley
Coming from the prestigious Two Hands wines, the wine has been called "the pinnacle of Australia's emerging wine industry" in just 16 years of history, and Parker has praised it as "the best winery in the Southern Hemisphere".
(2) Cabernet Sauvignon
The Barossa Valley mainly produces single varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah blends, usually with a thick body and distinct chocolate aromas, not as complex as Coonawarra wines in terms of layered complexity and not as heavy as Margaret River wines.
The world's oldest grape-producing Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in Kalimna block 42 at the Penfoldsa Winery in the Barossa Valley, Australia, where the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon was planted in 1886, 130 years ago.
Greeno Clenfeld Road Cabernet Sauvignon dried red
greenock creek roennfeldt road cabernet sauvignon, barossa valley
This is the most expensive Cabernet Sauvignon in the Barossa Valley and the 14th most expensive wine in Australia.
Greenock Creek is a red five-star winery in the Barossa Valley, founded in 1978. The wine has received parker's highest scores on several occasions, including 2 out of 1998 (1998, 2002). In the Barossa Valley, a region famous for its silas, Greenock was able to produce such a Cabernet Sauvignon, showing the world the high quality of cabernet sauvignon.
(3) gsm blended with red wine
GSM blends in the Barossa Valley are also popular, as they are blends of grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (locally known as mataro), with a higher proportion of Syrah in general.
Grenache can bring soft and spicy berry flavors to wine, and can make the wine taste more rounded; Syrah adds smoked meat, black pepper, olive sauce bread flavor to the wine, making the wine more structured and more wild; Muhoe white brings the smell of soil and game, increasing the pigment and tannin content of the wine.
(4) White wine
Although the Barossa Valley has a hot climate, there are also some white wines that perform well. First and foremost is the very adaptable Chardonnay, where Chardonnay white wines, with their pleasant peach flavours and deep aromas, bring some spicy flavours and sophistication to the wines through the restrained use of oak barrel fermentation and aging.
This is followed by semillon, a region in which the skins of the Semillon grapes are pink and the resulting wines are very rich, fruity and long-lasting.
(5) Strengthen the wine
Before the 1960s and 1970s, fortified wine was the mainstream of Australian wine, so the Barossa Valley, like many appellations, focused on the brewing of fortified wines, producing both rich and thick styles like brown port and light and fresh like sherry.
Today, these account for only a fraction of the total production of the Barossa Valley, and Seppeltsfield is one of the best. Founded in 1878, Château Sharp is a pioneering producer of enhanced wines in Australia for more than 150 years, founded by German immigrant Joseph Seppelt. The winery is currently the only one in the world to release wines that have aged for more than 100 years. Chateau Sharp's best practice is port and sherry, and their cellars hold port wines from 1878 to the present.
Shappura 100 years brown port style enhanced wine
seppeltsfield para centenary 100 year old vintage tawny port, barossa valley
This is not only australia's most expensive wine, but also one of the world's 10 most expensive fortified wines, with ws not including tax averaging $42,509 per bottle.
It is also one of the 21 Premiers in the Australian Langton Wines Classification and the only enhanced wine to be selected for the Supreme Class. The wine has received Parker's 100 out of 100 points several times, such as 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1913.
5. How is the market performance of Barossa Valley wines?
1, Penfolds, Hefu, Jackass to drive the fame of the production area
In terms of scale, Barossa Valley wines are in the hands of large groups. For example, the well-known penfolds and wolf blass are the brands of Australian wine giant Treasury wines estates; Jacob's creek is a brand of Pernod Ricard; and Yalumba is the largest family group in the Barossa Valley.
These large groups have high production, stable quality, and strong funds to do brand building and marketing, which has greatly enhanced the visibility of the Barossa Valley in the world.
2. The wines of the Barossa Valley are expensive
On ws, Australia's top 3 most expensive wines are all from the Barossa Valley, and 5 of Australia's 10 most expensive wines are from the Barossa Valley. Among them are the world's 10 most expensive fortified wines and the world's most expensive shiraz dry red. These noble wines are also highly rated, such as Sharp, Tobrey, and Greenock wines, which have received full parker's score many times.
The old vine Syrah of the Barossa Valley is rich and strong, the output is small, the aging potential is also high, of course, the average market price will not be low.
3. The Barossa Valley is paying more and more attention to the subdivision of the production area
The most revered Syrah comes from ebenezer, tanunda, moppa, kalimma, greenock, marananga, and stonewell in the northwest and central Barossa Valley. The vineyards of the Barossa Valley are mostly owned by growers, so there is an inextricable link between the price and quality of the grapes.
More and more wineries want to discover more personality behind the wine, so they mark the region, vineyard, etc. on the wine label. Perhaps one day, the Barossa Valley will also have a more detailed division of appellations, as in Burgundy.
4. The new look of the Barossa Valley: niche varieties and new styles
There are also many family wineries in the Barossa Valley, large and small, for whom wine has a special meaning, a continuation of the traditions of their ancestors, who focus on quality rather than just making quick money.
Today, the Barossa Valley welcomes a group of passionate young winemakers. They did not stick to tradition and tried to grow niche grape varieties such as tempranillo, malbec, sangiovese, montepulciano, etc. Other winemakers explore how to bring traditional Syrah, Grenache, Riesling, etc. to a new look with impressive qualities.
Barossa Valley wines are no longer a strong concentration of thousands of people, but a hundred flowers blooming, bringing a steady stream of surprises to the world.
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