The Auswine Forum

A few friends got together for a few bottles of one of our favourite wines, Rockfords. I didn't take notes so it's just from memory.

2012 Disgorged Black Shiraz. While not being a huge Sparkling Shiraz lover (it's more my wife's domain), this is close to the best Black Shiraz we've had. Not as drying as some other vintages and a great way to start the night. 4/5 (Janine's rating)

2008 Frugal Farmer. Maybe only a small improvement on a bottle from last year. A good lick of fruit sweetness and that's about it. I'm thinking this should maybe be drank slightly chilled. Light bodied, bright colour and no length at all. Probably my least favourite Rockford wine (along with the White Frontinac). But it is different, so deserves credit for trying. 2/5

2005 Rod and Spur. Still has bright colour. Nice fruit intensity but the tannins are just a little harsh. Black fruits dominate the nose and the palate, with the oak sitting way in the background. Should improve for a couple more years yet. 3.5/5

1997 Basket Press. For me, a triumph for the vintage. Everything an old Barossa Shiraz should be. Primary fruit has faded and the secondary flavours have taken over. A bit of barnyard on the nose early, but this blew off quite quickly. Well balanced and still has exceptional colour for its age. It won't get any better but may hold for a couple more years. Everyone really enjoyed it and was WOTN by some margin. 4.5/5

2000 Basket Press. Starting to fade and seemed to finish a little short. Colour OK but not bright, secondary flavours are dominant with a little earth and lavender on the nose. Not a powerful wine at all but probably OK for the vintage. Not nearly as good as the '97, but still a very enjoyable drink. Drink in the next couple of years. 4/5

2005 Home Block Cabernet. (Magnum) I could see the potential of this wine, but it will need a bit of a spell in the cellar to see it's real true colours. Only decanted for a hour or two (this probably didn't help), it was quite closed and the fruit was struggling to get out. It did start to open up and display typical Barossa Cabernet flavours after a couple of hours in the glass, but sadly we probably should have decanted the day before. There is a bit left over so it would be interesting to try it again tonight. I've had a couple of older vintages and the '02 is my favourite Rockford wine ever. I've got a couple more of these and I'll leave it for a fair while before I try it again. 3.5/5

One noticable thing was the corks. The 2 Basket Press both had corks stained halfway up the sides, while the 2 wines from '05 were perfect with no staining at all. Rockford corks have been a source of frustration for many, but it was obvious by the length of the cork and the lack of staining, that Rockford's have done something about it sometime before the '05 vintage.

Cheers
Ian

ticklenow1 wrote:A few friends got together for a few bottles of one of our favourite wines, Rockfords. I didn't take notes so it's just from memory.
2008 Frugal Farmer. Maybe only a small improvement on a bottle from last year. A good lick of fruit sweetness and that's about it. I'm thinking this should maybe be drank slightly chilled. Light bodied, bright colour and no length at all. Probably my least favourite Rockford wine (along with the White Frontinac). But it is different, so deserves credit for trying. 2/5

You are right Ian. I was at the cellar door on Thursday and the lady who attended to me said same. A red that could be enjoyed slightly chilled during summer.

John

2000 as you point out was a tough year. The BP was quite short at release and so I consumed mine early. (The 2000 Grange was even weaker IMO)

Thanks for the notes Ian, am trying to get up to the CD before Christmas.
BTW did you or Mike get a sense that there will be no 2011 BP release, seeing that the 2010 is a 2 year job.

Cheers
Craig.

phillisc wrote:BTW did you or Mike get a sense that there will be no 2011 BP release, seeing that the 2010 is a 2 year job.

I got the impression from the newsletter that the idea was to get another years bottle age on the BP, so it therefore makes sense that there will be a 2011, just a year later, and all subsequent years one year on also. It also goes with Robert's philosophy of supporting growers year in, year out, 2011 included.

Hacker wrote:

phillisc wrote:BTW did you or Mike get a sense that there will be no 2011 BP release, seeing that the 2010 is a 2 year job.

I got the impression from the newsletter that the idea was to get another years bottle age on the BP, so it therefore makes sense that there will be a 2011, just a year later, and all subsequent years one year on also. It also goes with Robert's philosophy of supporting growers year in, year out, 2011 included.

Yes its pretty clear in the newsletter they want to give them a years bottle age... it says they want to ultimately do the same with the Cabernet as well.

I've been told, but don't take it as gospel, that Rockford's received a much larger amount of grapes than normal. They were actually knocking grapes back at certain prices. To me there are 2 trains of thought. Yes they actually want to keep the BP back a year to improve it that bit more and because they made so much they can keep some back for next year. Or '11 was so poor and they are hoping that it gets better with another year in bottle and because of the quantities of the '10, this allows them to do so.

Just a guess.
Ian

ticklenow1 wrote:I've been told, but don't take it as gospel, that Rockford's received a much larger amount of grapes than normal. They were actually knocking grapes back at certain prices. To me there are 2 trains of thought.Yes they actually want to keep the BP back a year to improve it that bit more and because they made so much they can keep some back for next year. Or '11 was so poor and they are hoping that it gets better with another year in bottle and because of the quantities of the '10, this allows them to do so.

Just a guess.
Ian

Ian, I'm sure the real reason is a combination of both trains of thought you mention. '11 will be a good short term drink whilst we wait for the better years to mature

Cheers,
David M.

I really enjoyed the 2000 BP, a couple of years ago. It wasn't entirely overshadowed by the '04.