Rockford Basket Press Shiraz Vertical Tasting and Lunch

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

I was fortunate enough to be invited to Sunday lunch at Lulu’s Little Bistro in Perth (Lulu’s is fast becoming the go-to BYO in Perth Lulu's Little Bistro | byo restaurant perth | 328 Bulwer Street, Perth WA, Australia (lululilbistro.com)) and is attracting parties of wine lovers. I’ve hosted a couple of wine dinners there over recent months and Mark and Jodie really look after us.

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The invitation was for a “Rockford Basket Press Vertical and Friends Lunch”. I’m not sure if that meant “Basket Press and Friends” (as there were other Rockford wines also presented) or just “Friends lunch”. Either way, my partner and I were very keen to experience this one.

The wines were served in five brackets, with a small dish matched to each bracket. The menu appears here:

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We kicked off, however, with Rockford Black Shiraz (2019 disgorgement) and canapes. The Black Shiraz is deep purple in colour, bordering on black (no surprise there) with a prominent mousse. There’s an initial touch of VA on the nose, but this quickly blew off to show lots of dark plums, blue and black berries, and a little leather. The palate is more of the same, with freshening acid. It’s medium bodied with a good balance between sweetness and acid. A great start to the afternoon, and well matched with the canapes.

The first full bracket of wines contained wines other than Basket Press:

Rockford Dry Country Grenache 2016 (14.1% alc). Garnet colour. Initially shy nose, which opened up somewhat to reveal raspberry and cranberry, coconut and ferrous notes. The Palate shows sarsaparilla, raspberry, cough syrup, and black pepper. There’s prominent acid and the wine is medium bodied only. The fruit is fading slightly, and this led the group to consider that the wine may have been better a couple of years ago.

Rockford Moppa Springs Grenache Mataro Shiraz 2019. Garnet colour. Initial VA on the nose, with earthiness, vegemite, umami and red fruits. There’s more earthiness and vegemite on the palate, with cocoa powder and liquorice. Acid and tannic grip are both moderate, and there’s some texture from glycerols. People in the group with more experience of this wine than me claim this will age well.

Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. Purple in colour. Dusty nose, with blackcurrant, cigar box, cassis and eucalypt. A rich palate with lots of primary fruits. Some thickness to the texture, chewy tannins and a touch of menthol keeping it fresh. Long finish and well regarded by the group.

The second bracket introduced the younger Basket Press Shiraz to the group:

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2020. Purple black in colour. Primary nose of liquorice, blueberry, violets and plums. There’s more black plums and berries on the palate, and more liquorice, with cedary oak. Good tannic grip and acid freshness. Well balanced and a long finish. This sparked some discussion about picking times – picking for acid vs picking for ripeness.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2019 (14.1% alc). Purple black. There’s tar, mocha, caramel, smoke and vanilla on a dusty nose. The palate is a little more savoury than the previous wine, with coffee grounds and cedary oak alongside liquorice, blackberry, and red plums. Tannins and grippy and a couple of tasters noted similarities with cabernet.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2018 (13.8% alc). Purple black. Pine needles, bramble, blackberry, liquorice and cedary oak on the nose. The palate is richer than the previous vintages, with sour cherry, white pepper, charcuterie and dark chocolate alongside the darker fruits. Some richness of texture and a long finish.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2017 (14.1% alc). Purple. The nose shows brambles, vanilla, eucalypt, baking spices, white pepper and nutmeg. A very rich and thick palate, with dark and red fruits and cocoa powder. Good acid, grippy tannins and a long finish. This is still young, but is starting to show typicity. Well regarded by the group.

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Bracket 3 moved onto slightly more mature wines:

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2016 (13.9% alc). Purple heading towards crimson. A touch of VA on the nose, alongside vanilla, dark berries, baking spices, black pepper and rosemary. The palate shows freshly tilled soil and coffee grounds, with soft acid, integrated tannins, leading to a medium finish only.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2015 (14.0% alc): Purple / crimson. We’re just starting to see signs of development in the form of Christmas cake, leather and graphite, with some dark chocolate in support. There’s a slight hint of raisin (or even Rum ‘n’ Raisin dark chocolate), and some earthiness. Grippy tannins and freshening acid. There were differing opinions on the length of the wine – regardless, I felt that this was just starting to enter the best drinking window.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2014 (13.8% alc). Crimson in colour. Alongside the expected dark fruits, there’s cola and raspberry on the nose, with coffee grounds, menthol, fresh tobacco and a touch of leather. There’s more leather on the palate, alongside juicy plums. Tannins are integrated but grippy and this led to discussion about the level of extraction (bearing in mind the basket press, of course!). Good supporting acid, and a very long finish adds up to a complete wine which was highly regarded by the group.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2013 (14.1% alc). Crimson colour. Lots of dark chocolate, mocha, vanilla, red plums, blueberry and raspberry on the nose with a touch of leather. Tannins are grippy, with juicy supporting acid, alongside dark plums and blue fruits. A long finish.

Our hosts then threw in a mystery wine, for an options game. The wine in question was crimson in colour, with mocha, blueberries and blackberries on the nose, with a hint of leather. A slightly savoury palate with developed fruits, fine but grippy tannins, and freshening acid leading to a long finish. The wine was revealed to be the Rockford Rod and Spur Shiraz Cabernet 2014, (13.9% alc) and the winner was fortunate enough to take home a half-bottle of 2018 BP.

Bracket 4 really got to the heart of the subject. In particular, this was where I felt we were starting to reach the essence of the Basket Press wines.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2012. Crimson in colour. Complex nose with Christmas cake, cinnamon, cloves, blueberry, raspberry or cranberry and dried fruits / raisins. The palate is rich but shows some restraint or elegance, with dark plums and chocolate alongside integrated fine tannins and a lingering acidity. A long finish.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2010. Crimson colour. This was like the 2012, but in some ways more so (but without the red fruits). A dusty nose with vanilla, Christmas cake, dark berries, dried fruits and herbs. The mouthfeel is full, rich and soft, with juicy acidity. Tannins remain fine but grippy, with juicy acidity leading to a long finish.

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2008. (14.5% alc). From magnum. This may have been the highest alcohol wine of the day (although I didn’t record all of the alcohols). Crimson colour. On the nose there’s cocoa powder, mocha, blueberry, Christmas cake, dried herbs and some ink and earth. One taster described “English library dustiness” (welcome back Aymee!). More cocoa powder on the dusty palate, with red and dark plums, Christmas pudding (with brandy spirit) and fruit sweetness. Good acid, grippy but fine tannins and an extremely long finish. Totally balanced and highly regarded by the group. At the time, I felt that “we finally got there” – a BP that fully expresses the complete wine, although still on its way to maturity.

There’s always been friendly banter among the group as to whether the cheese is served before dessert, or vice versa. Mark got around this elegantly by serving cheese and petit fours on individual boards – guests could choose which to indulge in first. They were accompanied by:
Rockford Vintage Port 2002. (18.1% alc). Purple black in colour. Initial VA, and plenty of brandy spirit on the nose. With lots of raisin fruits. A big palate (as expected) with lots of Christmas pudding (with brandy), raisins and warm alcohol.



Wine of the day was the Rockford Basket Press 2008, by a small margin from the 2014 BP. The 2017 BP gets an honourable mention, as did the 2014 Rifle Range cabernet.

The question of when to drink your Basket Presses is obviously a personal one. From this tasting, personally I wouldn’t open one before 10 years of age, and 15-25 years of age seems to be a reasonable drinking window. But that’s just my opinion.

My thanks to David and Amy for their generosity in preparing and showing the wines (all from their collection), and to the tasting group who made life interesting (from a note taking point of view) by getting noisier and more rowdy as the afternoon went on (and the main culprits know who they are!).

There should be more Sunday lunches like this one.

Cheers
Allan

[Waiters Friend]

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[ticklenow1]

Awesome tasting

[Jimmya]

Didnt realise lulu is open for lunch! Is it just Sundays?

[phillisc]

Well done Allan...fabulous tasting. I had a 2012 and 1999 BP in the last month...2012 just entering the window, 1999 a fraction scalped, but I have had better bottles previously, so hopefully another good one awaits.

Cheers Craig

[Waiters Friend]

Didnt realise lulu is open for lunch! Is it just Sundays?

Lulu's is open Thursday to Saturday dinner only. In this case, we asked nicely and booked out the restaurant, so Mark and Jodie were happy to open, and to design a set menu.

[Mike Hawkins]

I’ve been to a couple of BP verticals in the last two years. The standouts have tended to be 90,91,98 and 12. Those from the eighties were, in the main, quite tired.

[felixp21]

was a fan of Rockford many years ago, in my vinous youth. Love what Rocky brings to the table, good honest no-frills Barossa shiraz, at a good and fair price. Resisted the Parker-driven price surge of the mid and late nineties, almost unique in that respect, and deserves huge respect for the character in that decision.
I left the list probably 20 years ago now, what are the prices like? Do people just purchase and flip?
I have lots of bottles and magnums somewhere from the 90's, I might look at selling them, as neither myself or any of my sons seem to have any interest in drinking them.

[phillisc]

BP is holding up quite well, due to the way they market, firstly to Stonewallers, then public release in March with just a 3 bottle allocation.
2020 vintage was $85 or was it $90, can't remember, price had gone up by about $15 over the last three vintages. would not be surprised for 2021 vintage if it hits $100

For recent releases, wines from 2010 are fetching $150-170, wines from 2000 approaching $200 and wines from 1990/80s ( particularly good vintages) are just pushing the $200 mark.
I am planning a vertical myself and may actually sell a few. Yes plenty of flippers, just like Wendouree
Cheers Craig

[JamieAdelaide]

was a fan of Rockford many years ago, in my vinous youth. Love what Rocky brings to the table, good honest no-frills Barossa shiraz, at a good and fair price. Resisted the Parker-driven price surge of the mid and late nineties, almost unique in that respect, and deserves huge respect for the character in that decision.
I left the list probably 20 years ago now, what are the prices like? Do people just purchase and flip?
I have lots of bottles and magnums somewhere from the 90's, I might look at selling them, as neither myself or any of my sons seem to have any interest in drinking them.

They are pretty fine old wines in magnum from 90’s. Quite enjoying them. Surely BBQ proof?

Still drinking Burgundy? So many of my friends and acquaintances have given up their passion and selling their collections! I sort of get it but sort of don’t too. Crazy shifts in people’s drinking of late due crazy pricing!