St Hallett

Toby Barlow's motto is "happiness is the journey, not the destination" and how apt it is for this Barossa powerhouse. The great work undertaken by Matt Gant has been taken to the next level by Toby Barlow, with the reassuring presence of Stuart Blackwell never too far away. Founded in 1944 by the Lindner family, St Hallet has been at the forefront of Barossa winemaking for longer than most, giving it access to priceless, gnarly, twisted old vine Shiraz. The 'Old Block' from which the flagship Shiraz takes its name was planted in 1913 and it is still the source for some of the fruit for this wine.

Shiraz is the name of the game here. St. Hallett has access to up to 700 hectares of vines based all over the valley. In fact you'll usually find Toby haring around dusty roads checking on them all and tasting all the grapes come January time. Their philosophy encompasses absolute respect for the different conditions around their vineyards and they end selecting and keeping separate 200 different parcels of Shiraz each vintage. Then comes the very skilful blending that results in the fruit being selected to reflect the different cuvees: Faith, Blackwell and Old Block. The difference in Shiraz character between the red brown/ironstone soil of Ebeneezer (gravely tannins, concentrated, intense black fruits) and the thin skeletal/alluvial soils of Lyndoch (generous, soft plum, cherries) is only one such example of the variations at play.

One of St Hallett's other great strengths is born in the Eden Valley. The Riesling is a beautiful example, taking its fine structure and lime and lemon blossom characters from fruit from the Moculta vineyards. Move further into central Eden Valley though and the elevation climbs to 580m above sea level. This provides more acidity and austere characters. The right site selection is crucial and thanks to its long history and the 30 years that Stuart Blackwell's been at the helm, we reckon they pretty much got it nailed.