Blood and violets, that sort of ozone smell you get from a hard run toy train engine (don’t ask), purple fruit and dark cherry. It’s medium-bodied, but dense and firm, really quite mineral and schisty in feel, silty grip to the tannin, 85% dark chocolate, crisp and savoury to close, but again with the sweetness of dark cherry, raspberry and pip. It’s a lovely wine, packed full of interest.
93 points, The Wine Front (April 2020)
Deep deep, vivid, youthful purple/red colour. The aroma is raw and young, almost callow: sweaty, sappy, faintly reductive raw fruits. The wine is likewise grapy, fruity and raw on the tongue; the tannins are fearsome and the wine is slightly aggressive in its youthful enthusiasm. There is a note of bitterness. Subtle spice including a note of mataro-like pepper. Bold, bolshie and just a wee bit aggro. Concentration undoubted. It needs time and/or hearty food.
90 points, The Real Review (March 2020)
"Medium deep colour. Intense fruit driven wine with lifted black cherry dried roses aniseed aromas and underlying roasted walnut notes. Juicy textured wine with inky dark cherry lead pencil dried roses flavours, attractive mid-palate viscosity and fine slinky tannins. Finishes long and sweet. Delicious early-drinking wine with lovely density and freshness."
94 points (2020)
As a long-time producer of fortified wines, Seppeltsfield has access to some Portuguese varieties. From 35-year-old vines near Stockwell, the 2019 No. EC3 Tinta Cao Tinta Amarela Touriga features an almost sweet-tasting, fruit-forward attack. Blueberries and violets mark the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is broad and silky, with a soft, long finish that hints at chocolate and licorice. I reviewed the excellent 2018 Touriga last year, but readers should note that those vines were affected by frost so there is no Touriga in 2019.
90 points, Wine Advocate (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.
