Eperosa Krondorf Grenache 2017

 The second of Eperosa's estate vineyards, the Krondorf vineyard is located in the Krondorf sub region of the Barossa Valley.  The vineyard is situated at the foothills of Kaiser Stuhl and is strongly influenced by the local gully winds which rapidly cool the landscape and keep disease at bay.  Another dominant feature of the site is the 'Terra Rossa' like soil consisting of sandy loam over heavy red clay with calcareous material at depth.  The  ability of the soil to store large amounts of moisture and hold it tightly in it's matrix allows the vines to produce fruit that delivers powerful and complex wines.  The vineyard consists of Grenache planted in 1903 and 1999 and in 2014 the remaining land was planted to five exceptional clones of Shiraz and two patches of  bush vine Mataro (selection massale). 

"The Winemaker of the Year almost doesn’t call himself one. “I see myself far more as a farmer than a winemaker,” says Brett Grocke, of Eperosa. “This award is so humbling.” Brett is a sixth generation Barossan from grape-growing stock but only saw wine as his future when studying viticulture showed him how he could do it his way. “I love the detail in viticulture, in running your vines so the fruit is of a quality and depth of flavour that means you really don’t have to use many techniques in the winery to improve it,” says Brett. “We can do just basic open fermentation, basket pressing. There’s no fining, no filtration – we use only gravity and time to let the wine make itself. 97 Points | James Halliday 2021 Wine Companion."