Region: South Australia
Sub Region: Barossa
Variety: Shiraz
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2014
Style: Dry red
Format: 750 mL
The Wine
Basket Press is built around Rockford’s relationships with Barossa growers. The wine brings together parcels from old, dry-grown vineyards, each bringing something different to the blend. It’s one of the region’s most enduring reds and an especially good illustration of what the traditional Barossa cellar can do with mature-vine Shiraz.
The hand-picked fruit goes through a nineteenth-century Bagshaw crusher, ferments in open vats and is pressed in the basket press that gives the wine its name. Rockford typically matures it for around two years, mainly in seasoned French and American oak. The old wood makes room for the texture of the fruit and the earthy detail that becomes more apparent as the wine ages.
The 2014 is a particularly fine example of that balance. James Halliday singled out its silkiness, while Joe Czerwinski noted black and red cherry, herbs and a fine dusting of tannin. The fruit has the depth you expect from Basket Press. Its even, supple shape is the more distinctive part, and the years in bottle give the savoury side time to emerge.
Cellared Says
Halliday’s note on this vintage makes me smile. He said it was the exception to his habit of spitting through a day’s tasting. That tells you something about the pleasure of the 2014, quite apart from the score. I’m drawn to Basket Press when the tannins start to feel like part of the fruit and the older Barossa earthiness comes through. For someone who usually buys the latest release, this is the bottle I’d choose to show why it’s worth putting a few away.
Reviews
“Its balance, mouthfeel and silky purple and black fruits are perfect.”
99 Points — James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
Region: South Australia
Sub Region: Barossa
Variety: Shiraz
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2014
Style: Dry red
Format: 750 mL
The Wine
Basket Press is built around Rockford’s relationships with Barossa growers. The wine brings together parcels from old, dry-grown vineyards, each bringing something different to the blend. It’s one of the region’s most enduring reds and an especially good illustration of what the traditional Barossa cellar can do with mature-vine Shiraz.
The hand-picked fruit goes through a nineteenth-century Bagshaw crusher, ferments in open vats and is pressed in the basket press that gives the wine its name. Rockford typically matures it for around two years, mainly in seasoned French and American oak. The old wood makes room for the texture of the fruit and the earthy detail that becomes more apparent as the wine ages.
The 2014 is a particularly fine example of that balance. James Halliday singled out its silkiness, while Joe Czerwinski noted black and red cherry, herbs and a fine dusting of tannin. The fruit has the depth you expect from Basket Press. Its even, supple shape is the more distinctive part, and the years in bottle give the savoury side time to emerge.
Cellared Says
Halliday’s note on this vintage makes me smile. He said it was the exception to his habit of spitting through a day’s tasting. That tells you something about the pleasure of the 2014, quite apart from the score. I’m drawn to Basket Press when the tannins start to feel like part of the fruit and the older Barossa earthiness comes through. For someone who usually buys the latest release, this is the bottle I’d choose to show why it’s worth putting a few away.
Reviews
“Its balance, mouthfeel and silky purple and black fruits are perfect.”
99 Points — James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
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