Tarrawatta
The aim of Tarrawatta Winery is to make red wines that rival those made by the great wineries of the world, from carefully selected ‘estate’ vineyards in the Barossa’s high country, the Eden Valley. All wines are made using traditional old-world methods in individual block batches of less than three tonnes. To best reflect the place from where they came, wines are fermented using indigenous yeast and are neither fined nor filtered.
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Tarrawatta Wines is run by winemaker Craig Isbel and viticulturalist Nick Radford. Tarrawatta Wines started with the purchase of a small established vineyard ‘Ambervale’ in the treasured red/brown earths of the northern Eden Valley (Moculta), the oldest vines dating back to 1968. The name, however, is derived from the historically significant grazing property ‘Tarrawatta’ which adjoins their ‘Lindsay Park’ horse stud. Tarrawatta is undeveloped but has great viticultural potential; the plan is to plant small parcels of vines in only the best sites to protect Tarrawatta’s wilderness.
Winemaking
The winemaking style at Tarrawatta Winery adheres strictly to traditional old-world methods, focusing on individual block batches of less than 3 tonnes to capture the essence of each vineyard. This approach aims to reflect the unique terroir of the grapes, fermenting them with indigenous yeast and avoiding fining or filtering.
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Each block of grapes is meticulously handpicked at optimal ripeness and delicately de-stemmed before being transferred to small open fermenters. Care is taken not to crush the berries prematurely, allowing for gentle extraction of flavor, color compounds, and tannins during fermentation. This process, aided by daily pigeage and pump-overs, ensures a nuanced and balanced wine.
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After fermentation, the wine undergoes gentle basket pressing before being aged in a combination of new and older French oak barrels for 18 to 24 months. Natural malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel, contributing to the wine's complexity. Finally, after aging, the wines are blended and bottled to showcase the full expression of the vineyards.
Ambervale Single Vineyard
The peaceful hilltop overlooking the contoured vineyard is a sanctuary for the resident kangaroos and parrots that find shelter amidst the mature box trees. Albert Presser was the last inhabitant of the stone settlers cottage, built from stone collected on the farm. The vines planted soon after European settlement in the mid-1800s have gradually been replaced over time, the oldest are now Shiraz and Grenache vines planted in the 1960s. Most of the vineyard is now planted with mature Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon vines. This vineyard was chosen due to its south eastern exposure, red loam soils over deep gravelly clay and fractured rock, mature vines and its proven ability to produce grapes of the highest quality.