A rare opportunity awaits
Have you ever wondered how a wine changes from vintage to vintage and ages over the years? It is not often that you get the chance to experience a "vertical" run of vintages of a single wine; an experience that gives you a unique insight into the true nature of the vineyard and the honesty of the wine.
I have recently had a dig through my cellar of ATR wines and going back 10 years, I have patched together a handful of vertical packs of both Chockstone Shiraz and Chockstone Riesling in consecutive (or near consecutive) vintages from 2010 to 2017.
The Chockstone Shiraz pack features a run of six consecutive vintages from 2012 right through to 2017 inclusive. All these vintages scored between 94 and 97 points in the Halliday Wine Companion.
The Chockstone Riesling pack features six vintages from 2010 to 2017 (excluding the 2013 & 2015 vintages). All these wines scored between 94 and 95 points from either Halliday or Huon Hooke.
It's hard to put a value on a selection of wines like this, accounting for age and rarity, so I thought I would leave that part up to you.
If either of these vertical back vintage packs sounds like something you must try, then I invite you to send a silent auction bid with a value you feel matches these wines. As a guide, normal retail pricing is $25 per bottle for the Riesling and $28 for the Shiraz.
All the details on the mechanics of the auction can be found below - good luck and happy bidding.
Cheers
Adam
Silent Auction Details
To place your bid simply click on the link below and email your bid for one or both of the packs. You will then be contacted if your bid is successful. In the event that we receive multiple bids of the same value, we will contact these bidders and give them the opportunity to submit a second bid.
Bidding will open at 4 pm Friday 26th March and will close at 4 pm Monday 29th March.
Amber, our marketing guru, will be facilitating the bidding process and you can contact her with any questions via amber@purplegiraffe.com.au.
The successful bidders will be contacted on Wednesday 31st to organise delivery and payment details.
Place Your Silent Auction Bid
26/03/2021 at 10:00 AM
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ATR Wines feature in The Weekend Australian - March 2021
Adam Richardson, high-flying winemaker
Mar 8, 2021 | James Halliday | The Weekend Australian Magazine
Over the past 50 or so years I have come across many unusual stories of how people have migrated from different careers to the world of wine. One was a nuclear physicist; another a marine biologist; doctors and lawyers, a dime a dozen.
Adam Richardson spent the first 10 years of his working life flying aircraft around the world for the Royal Australian Navy. In that time he visited many countries, absorbing their cultures and lifestyles, which included wine, sowing a seed. So when the time came to either seek ever-higher command or transition to civilian life, he chose the latter and enrolled in the Charles Sturt University oenology course.
In 1998, Richardson went to California to join Gallo’s research department, headed by Australia’s Dr Terry Lee, and made 3000 batches of wine in the next two years. In 2004 he left Gallo and became president of international winemaking for The Wine Group LLC, second only to Gallo. He introduced the Cupcake brand in 2005, putting his name on 70m back labels before joining Treasury Wine Estate’s Americas as chief winemaker in 2013. He spent the next 18 months extricating it from a much-publicised morass, then all aboard for the Grampians.
The high-speed leap from flying supersonic fighter aircraft to corporate winemaking was made possible by the instant problem-solving and discipline learnt in the air. And there had been a patient 10-year search for a retirement vineyard for his wife Eva (a high performer in her own right), their eight-year-old twins Madeleine and Jackson – and Daisy, a red heeler cattle dog rescued from a pound in California. They found Hard Hill Road in the Grampians in 2005 and planted an exotic mix of varieties (used in The Field blend) using techniques that no amateur should even dream of undertaking.
2018 ATR Hard Hill Road Close-Planted Great Western Shiraz
Open-fermented, multiple small batches, part whole-berry and whole-bunch, matured in used American puncheons for 18 months. It has an Aladdin’s cave of highly spiced black fruits, high-quality tannins a feature of the mouthfeel and lingering flavours. 14.5% alc, screwcap 96 points, drink to 2043, $45 | Buy it here
2020 ATR Chockstone Grampians Riesling
The low pH (2.9) and high acidity of 7.5g/l, coupled with the fruit intensity, largely obscure the 5g/l of residual sugar. There is a Germanic cast to the wine, and its surging layers of Meyer lemon and lime fruit. Drink now or enjoy a 10-year payday. 12.5% alc, screwcap 95 points, drink to 2030, $24 | SOLD OUT
2018 ATR Hard Hill Road Great Western The Field
A 52/22/10/9/5/2% blend of Shiraz, Riesling, Nebbiolo, Durif, Tannat and Viognier progressively added to a single open-topped fermenter. The flavours are as complex as the vinification suggests, the bouquet fragrant, likely lifted by the riesling, the palate a cascade of flavours. A brave yet unqualified success. 14.5% alc, screwcap 95 points, drink to 2028, $45 | Buy it here
Thanks to James Halliday, The Weekend Australian and the team behind The Cellar Door Challenge for sharing our story. You can read the original story and many other fascinating tales here.
16/03/2021 at 3:06 PM
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