The Rockford Wines cellar door. Rockford Wines
What is the best winery newsletter in Australia?
Certainly one of the most absorbing I’ve read recently is Rockford’s ‘The Rockford Rag’.
The wines released in the Spring edition of ‘The Rockford Rag’ are headed by the 2020 Basket Press Shiraz, born in a hot, droughty year, so there is very little of it.
I receive this every quarter, by the good old-fashioned snail mail, and there is always a contribution from founder Robert O’Callaghan, surely one of the most soulful and genuine characters in the entire industry. He is also a compelling story teller, whether verbally or in writing, and the latest ‘Rockford Rag’ has him expanding on his career over several pages. He talks about his seminal years at Seppelt’s, first at Rutherglen then at Château Tanunda, then his move to Bernkastel and later St Hallett and finally Angle Vale. By the way, I was not aware that the first St Hallett Old Block Shiraz was made while Robert was there.
Realising that he’d never be able to do exactly what he wanted working for other people, Robert moved a short way up the road from St Hallett to the present Rockford site, after buying an original German settler’s stone cottage, which he still lives in.
The Rockford Rag. Huon Hooke
There are many priceless insights into the Barossa Valley and its culture. There’s a section on the Seppelt 1958 Chalambar Burgundy, a significant wine for Robert, and one on R.M.
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
