97 Points and Leaping into 2022: Gnadenberg Road Shiraz Vintage 2018
Reflecting on a milestone, after enjoying a few reds with friends this week...
The year is off to a spectacular start for our Barossa Gnadenberg Road Shiraz, vintage 2018, already earning 97 points and a glowing 4.5-star review from Winestate Magazine.
Looking back to the year we planted this high-country vineyard, it’s a story that truly deserves a good bottle. We purchased our dream patch of land in 2008 in Barossa’s high country (Eden Valley) without realising that Gnadenberg Road translates to ‘Hill of Grace' from German. Standing on the unique south-facing site, we felt like kids in a candy shop, certain that great Shiraz vines would thrive. Even Max Schubert, Master of Grange at Penfolds Wines, noted the Moculta region as an exceptional location for premium Shiraz.
Diary entry: Spring 2009, 7:30am
“As we drew the curtains in the 1854 stone homestead, we were shocked to see ten or more men gathered outside. Shovels in hand, faded denim overalls, work boots, soft laughter, even some leaning on their dusty utes to wait for the day to begin.”
These men (many in their 70s) were our neighbours and Moculta locals, many of whom had picked grapes on this very site as teenagers. They were thrilled to hear the vineyard would be reinstated after its removal during the great Australian vine-pull scheme of the late 1970s. Heartbreaking to think vines as old as Henschke’s Hill of Grace, just up the road, had been uprooted to reduce the vine glut.
The week before, Pete had severed his thumb while pruning vines with electric secateurs. A challenge, to say the least; however, the vineyard had to be planted. Word had spread through Gnadenberg Church, and the locals were ready to help and certainly surprise us!
In the previous two years, Shiraz vines had been hand-reared in our garden nursery from premium cuttings sourced across the state. Planting took a week, entirely by hand: man, shovel, and buckets of vine rootlings. Mum served scones with jam and billy tea, coffee on the stovetop, and snags grilled for quick snacks.
For over two years, hand-watering continued through the night — a quiet, reflective task under the bright light of the full moon while our toddlers slept. We later learned that Samuel Smith, founder of Yalumba, had planted his first Angaston vineyard the same way back in 1849, once the owner of this very land.
Since then, vintages have been produced, with our first Garden & Field Gnadenberg Road release in 2015, which scored 96 points from James Halliday. The 2017 vintage followed with 95 points, and now the 2018 vintage has proudly earned 97 points (4.5 stars) from Winestate Magazine.
We are humbled by these accolades and grateful for every consumer review. When you open a bottle, we hope you taste the history, care, and dedication poured into every vine.