The ‘Grounds’ wines from Seppeltsfield focus on the sub-regionality of the Barossa. The name is derived from the Barossa Grounds project. This was a comprehensive study of the district’s sub-regionality led by the Barossa Grape & Wine Association. The fruit is sourced from single-site, estate-owned vineyards.
'Seppeltsfield, under the ownership of entrepreneur and winemaker Warren Randall, has undergone a remarkable transformation.'
The fruit for The Easting is sourced from the Eastern Grounds Vineyard in the Garden of Eden Vineyard. The Easting is vinified through Seppeltsfield’s historic 1888 Gravity Cellar. The fruit is fermented in open fermenters and matured for 14 months in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads. The Westing is an elegant and savoury Eden Valey Shiraz. Showing textured wine with flooding red cherry, mulberry, raspberry fruits, fine grainy tannins, attractive mid-palate concentration.
Identical vinification to the Westing. Full-bodied, rich and layered, the blackberry, plum and licorice making tannins redundant, the oak obvious, but in the scheme of things is in balance.
94 points, Wine Companion (March 2020)
The nose lifts off with blue fruits and charcuterie. There are plums and violets at the entry, rolling into a smoked-meat savoury complexity. Hints of dried herbs and dry earth give further layers. Good length and drive, very fine tannins offering up a supporting framework.
95 points, The Real Review (March 2020)
A very fragrant and handsomely defined shiraz with exceptional aromatics and a set of red-fruit aromas and flavors. This has a beautiful, slate-like palate texture and super bright acidity that crystalizes the flavor in pure mode at the finish. Barrel sample.
(96-97) points, JamesSuckling.com (June 2019)
Very deep, dark, brooding red/purple colour that stains the glass, with a bouquet that screams Barossa with its graphite, earthy-spice and tar aromas. It's full-bodied and concentrated flavour evokes black fruits, wood smoke, coal-dust and a hint of black olive - very savoury and lip-smackingly appetising. Lush fruit and wonderful structure. A smashing wine. (Easting refers to the 'Eastern Grounds' of the Barossa, the Eden Valley)
97 points, The Real Review (March 2020)
"Medium deep crimson. Intense red cherry, raspberry mulberry fruits with herb garden notes. Generous inky textured wine with flooding red cherry, mulberry, raspberry fruits, fine grainy tannins, attractive mid-palate concentration and underlying ginger mocha notes. Finishes with plentiful raspberry pastille notes and long feathery tannin plume. Beautiful wine."
96 points (2020)
Although not labeled as such, Seppeltsfield's 2018 The Easting Shiraz comes from the Eden Valley and was picked five weeks later than the grapes for the The Westing Shiraz. The cooler climate and sandier, bonier soils have yielded an entirely different, more complex wine, which features scents of bay leaf and sage layered over blueberries and raspberries. Full-bodied, creamy and lush, it's a lovely, elegant expression of Australian Shiraz that finishes long, complex and savory.
94 points, Wine Advocate (August 2020)
Beautiful example of a generous Barossa shiraz made with subtlety to express the fruit qualities so perfectly. Comes from the eastern grounds of Seppeltsfield. Aromas of plum, earth and licorice with a palate that seems a true reflection of the vineyard characters. Wonderful chalky tannin and fine oak integration. With all that it’s more medium- bodied and shows a smooth refinement.
96 points, The West Australian (August 2020)
Barossa Valley
Colonel William Light, the South Australian colony’s Surveyor-General, named the Barossa in 1837 after the site of an English victory over the French in the Spanish Peninsular War. In the mid-1800’s Silesian and English immigrants settled in the area. The Barossa itself comprises two distinct sub-regions: Eden Valley and the warmer Barossa Valley floor at 270m.The Barossa Valley enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate characterised by hot dry summers and relatively low rainfall. Cool sea breezes from the Gulf of St Vincent modify the temperature, however hot northerly winds can occasionally dominate creating considerable vine stress. Many older established vineyards are dry-grown, but supplementary irrigation is also extensively used. The valley is comprised of rich brown soils and alluvial sands. A long history of uninterrupted viticulture in the area means the Barossa valley is home to Australia’s largest concentration of old-vine Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre with many over 100 years old. Although most famous for Shiraz, the Barossa can also produce fragrant and deliciously fruity Grenache blends and beautifully rich, chocolatey Cabernet Sauvignons.Seppeltsfield is a showpiece of the Barossa Valley, a magnificent complex of 19th century winery buildings surrounded by almost 100 hectares of vineyards. Seppeltsfield was a focal point of the fledgling Barossa wine industry from the 1850s and now boasts the world’s longest unbroken chain of vintage wines, going back to 1878, enabling the release of a genuine 100-year-old fortified wine each year since 1978. Apart from the extraordinary range of fortifieds, Seppeltsfield today also produces a range of limited production table wines, including blends of Shiraz, Grenache and Touriga, and sparkling wines under the Gert’s Blend label.
