Glug revived the Karrawirra brand with the 2008 vintage. The highest quality from 2009 made the grade for the first single vineyard Shiraz. Single vineyard wines are not made every vintage and appear only when they are the ultimate expression of the Barossa Valley. 2015 made the grade and 2016 did not though we likely made an error as the standard Karrawirra 2016 is now exceptional. While a good vintage, 2017 was not a keeper so it was with some relief that a few parcels from 2018 made the single vineyard grade.
Fine Barossa reds have a strong appeal in Australia yet almost no following Internationally. Wines from Penfolds and Henschke are seen as collectables and a few others have gained modest recognition even when they are exceptional.
In the main the Barossa is way short of the prestige shown to the best of France and the Barossa Valley is light years away from being recognised for example as the ‘Bordeaux-Barossa’ Classified Growths of Australia. This means the pick of the crop each vintage are still modestly priced, and the best are worth collecting as they will keep for decades.
