ROCKFORD
Based in Australia’s iconic Barossa Valley, the winery was built in an 1850s stone cottage style. Rockford Wines feature high quality traditional wines made from some of the best old Barossa vineyards.
Rockford’s flagship wine is its Basket Press Shiraz, which is aged in French and American oak hogshead barrels for 2 years prior to release. It is one of Australia’s more sought-after wines and has regularly achieved high scores from critics. There are several other top wines in the portfolio, including the Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon, the Sparkling Black Shiraz and the Rod and Spur Cabernet-Shiraz blend.
WINEMAKER ROBERT O’CALLAGHAN:
“My grandparents and also my parents on both sides were grape growers, so my childhood was spent in their vineyards. My parents moved to North Eastern Victoria where my father managed a vineyard for Australia’s then largest family winemakers, Seppelts. In 1965, I followed a natural path and started as a trainee winemaker at Seppelt’s Rutherglen winery. It was a wonderful apprenticeship in the old, ordered, slow and gentle Australian wine trade. The wines I drank, the previous generation winemakers I associated with, and everything I absorbed in that period had a major influence on the way Rockford is today. Although I’ve spent all my life in vineyards and wineries, the pleasure I derive from walking through rows of vines or casks filled with wine has not diminished. Wine is crafted, not created. The skill is to capture and enhance the fleeting flavours that grapes give from their variety and extract from the earth, then bottle these as a living record of the vintage they represent. Rockford wines are made from established Barossa varieties, which form an important part of our winemaking heritage, in a style that best reflects the vineyards, the winemaker’s attitude and the climate in which we live. I have always lived in and feel most comfortable with the warm Mediterranean climate of the Barossa where grapes ripen easily. My preference is to make the wine by hand with traditional methods, attitudes and equipment to produce elegant but rich, earthy, soft, generous wines that will age.”
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Rockford White Frontignec 2021
$ 69.00 Add to cartWhite Frontignac, also known as Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains or Muscat Canelli, is a white grape variety widely grown in many wine-producing regions around the world. It is known for its aromatic and floral characteristics, often producing wines with a pronounced muscat aroma, including notes of orange blossom, peach, apricot, and grapefruit. White Frontignac wines can range from dry to sweet, with the sweeter versions being more common due to the grape’s natural high sugar content.
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Rockford Moppa Spring GMS 2018
$ 89.00 Add to cartIntroducing the Rockford Moppa Spring GMS Wine 2019, with its distinctive full-bodied flavor and vibrant acidity. A perfect balance of fruit and savoury aromas, this is the ideal choice for any wine enthusiast. Enjoy its fresh, lively palate with its well-integrated tannins and long-lasting finish.
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Basket Press Shiraz 2016
$ 169.00 Add to cartExperience a unique smoothness and complexity with the Rockford basket press shiraz. This rare variety is crafted by pressing grapes from the Rockford vineyard into traditional basket presses for hours. Enjoy the full-bodied flavor with ripe, crushed red fruits and hints of spice.
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Rockford P.S. Marion Tawny Port
$ 119.00 Add to cartRockford needs no introduction, although most of the plaudits go to their red wines. This tawny is a fitting tribute to founder Robert O’Callaghan’s restored 1897 Paddle Steamer Marion; with the very old base wine being refreshed each year with small casks as they reach maturity.
Taste profile: Rockford P.S Marion Tawny NV is packed with gentle dark fruit and dried/caramelized fruit notes and lots of baking spice complexity. You can happily leave an open bottle in a dark place to sip over the course of a few months, though we find it tends to disappear pretty quickly. The dark horse of the Rockford range.
Winemaking process: This wine is a small contribution to the Barossa’s great tradition of producing outstanding, aged fortified wines. The many years the wine was allowed to mature in seasoned, small oak casks encourages the flavours to slowly concentrate and develop into a rich, complex and spicy Barossa Tawny.