Winemakers are a funny bunch.
Not one of the winemakers who taught
me my craft told me that making fortifieds
was such good fun. It’s like they were keeping
it all to themselves! The smells, sounds
and romance of vintage all come

together for one debaucherous
climax of sensory overload when you
fortify fermenting grapes with old brandy
spirit. Just try it! See if you can drink a glass
of this nectar and not have a good time!
It’s much the same feeling.

This is the stuff of dreams.
In the very beginning, when Vanessa,
Bill and I shared a meal at Vintners Bar
& Grill, we had a mutual dream of Shiraz,
Viognier and Marsanne growing at our
newly acquired Gomersal Estate.
Getting the Apricot

aromatics of Viognier to marry
with the almond austerity of Marsanne
from an unknown vineyard was never going
to be easy. I don’t know about you – but I’m
stoked with the result! Now I’m dreaming
of shellfish, Asian salads
and a sun hat.

On any given year we pick and
ferment Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro,
Cinsaut, and a host of other grape
varieties to build a wine that I think
best expresses the Barossa for that
year. For 2005, the wine is

Shiraz dominant, but I am amazed,
yet again, at the positive difference
small percentages of things like Cinsaut
and Mataro can make. To be a little
sentimental – I invite you on a journey
back to “The Barossa” in 2005.

It’s like a dream... 2005 vintage
feels like it was last century! So much
has happened in our lives since then –
and building our new winery up on the
hill seems to have stolen two years of
memories from me. But opening up the
2005 Shiraz to see how it is going
brings some fond memories back.
A delightful growing

season; perfect ferments behaving
perfectly; I got the oak selection spot
on and matured the wine for enough
time to have all the complexities come
together as one big, happy wine. Maybe
I’ve got a few details wrong, maybe
my memory only keeps the good
bits, but I’m truly proud of this
wine. I hope you enjoy it too.”

Where on earth is Gomersal? It’s easy
really, look on the Barossa map and you’ll
see two towns called Gomersal about five
Kilometers apart. There you are! If that’s no
help, drop in at the winery and we can show
you. It’s South of Greenock, no one really
knows where, but it’s real, and it has
some of the best soil grapevines have
ever seen! In 1856 a guy called
Hoklas planted some

Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz vines on
a patch of dirt in the centre of Gomersal.
In 1972 his descendants pulled them out
again because they only grew one tonne per
acre!!! In the third century of white people
working the land we’ve planted again, and
if that sort of low yield is what we get
naturally, without watering – I’ll be
a happy man; and you’ll get to
drink more wine like this.

Benno was my Great-Great
Grandfather, patriarch of my
family and a pioneer of grape
growing and winemaking on the
Western Ridge of the Barossa
Valley. “Benno” is produced in
years that show the character of
the old Barossa grape growers
and winemakers. Blending

Shiraz and Mataro, two
of the stalwarts of the region,
provides the richness and robustness
necessary to help me honour the
origins of this wonderful wine region.
A brooding, powerful palate, with
rich concentration and masculinity
of fruit – the resulting wine tells
the story of Benno beautifully.