Agricola Vintners’ shiraz’s begin in their vineyards, which are some of the grandest fruit sources in the country. Three Rivers, Asbroek and Dimchurch, to name a few from vines up to 170 years old. In a sense the wine that encapsulates the Barossa, according to Callum Powell, is the Theel’s Handfibel Shiraz, which is a blend of three sites. His three other wines are either single vineyards or a blend of vineyards from Barossa’s sub regions. These are truly great sites. Not only are the wines delicious, they are thoroughly complete, with absolutely no weakness of structure or depth and none lacking in complexity. Each a different expression of the varietal.
Callum’s father is David Powell of Torbreck, maker of some of Australia’s most distinctive and extraordinary wines. I don’t want to harp on too much about this, but you couldn’t have hoped for a better foundation into the bedrock of the Barossa style. Time away from home, altered the perspective. Too much sunshine is tiresome and the variations of season are restorative and regenerative. If the Barossa is known for its richness of fruit, size, intense flavours and dense texture, then of course the essence needs to be captured, but it is often too much and too singular of style. Indeed, too many wine producers have been fetishing the Barossa cliches and drinking these wines is like lying in the sun for too long; you get bored and it’s exhausting.
Callum’s approach is pragmatic. All wines are 100% whole bunch and the natural ferments are left, taking as long as 4 weeks to complete. The wines stay on gross lees for 12 months before gravity racking and bottling at home. His most important task is to deliver deliciousness within the extraordinary parameters of his fruit sources and by doing so express the very essence of the Barossa valley. His winemaking is simple and a 1 year elevage is short, indeed many winemakers would disagree with him here, but it does bring a brighter perspective of the Barossa, higher toned and with a greater cut of flavour and shape.
For sometime now, I have believed that the twin holy grails of Australian red wines are rich powerful tannins that you can taste as much as feel, and savouriness amongst the sweetness of fruit. Agricola Vintners is one of the few producers in Australia where savouriness is threaded to the ripe, tangy fruit and the tannins ever present in flavour and mouthwatering in texture. Tasting the wines of Callum Powell is an absorbing pleasure that should not be missed – they are simply some of Australia’s best red wines. Context and the broadening experience of international perspective (including a formative spell at Jean-Louis Chave) has added an extra dimension to the traditional soulful Barossa expression. Energy, savouriness, gripping unravelling tannins, spice and greased vibrations, shifting the shape of ’round’ Barossa shiraz into something longer with serpentine curves. This all sounds ridiculous, but taste them….
