Schwarz Wine Company
Jason Schwarz shares the same winery as Spinifex. Jason is a third generation Barossan, whose father had slowly built up a collection of the best vineyard sites in the valley. Starting with just 2 hogsheads of Shiraz from the Nitschke block in 2001, Jason now has a range of wines that reflect the variety of terroirs and varieties available to him as well. Thiele Road was originally planted in 1946 and Nitschke Block in 1968 and these old vines give small yields of intensely flavoured grapes. The quality of his fruit and his own winemaking ethos give the wines a very real mineral, reserved stance which allows the fruit to express itself without ever being overtly dominant. The Grenache has a depth of flavour and garrigue-like complexity that eludes many other Australian expressions of the grape. The Nitschke Block Syrah has rich, chocolatey, spicy fruit without being obvious or overt.
Producer’s Website: http://www.schwarzwineco.com.au (opens in new window)
Currently available:
2006 Thiele Road Grenache
"Sweet fruit, chocolatey, vanilla-rich oak and high alcohol: there's no question this is a big wine, but it's not at all brutal or jammy. There's a real freshness to the old-vine fruit, a cleanness to the spice and something almost mineral about it. It has developed and mellowed, but improves in the glass and has several more years in it."
91/100 www.thewinegang.com
"Ripe berry nose with vanilla oakiness, tobacco and spice. Nicely structured with tobacoo notes, good texture and purity. Drink 2011-14. (15.67 points)" Decanter, Australian Rhone Varietals panel tasting
2006 Nitschke Block Syrah
