Reviews

2016 Schwarz Loveday Shiraz

2020 Halliday Wine Companion – James Halliday – February 2019

This new French oak barrel stood out in the classification process, and it’s not hard to see why. This is a wine with more of everything in the Robert Parker mould to be sure, but has to be recognised in the top tier.

Rated: 97/100 (Gold)  |  Alcohol: 14.2%  |  Drink: 2020 – 2046

2018 Nitschke Block Shiraz

The Real Review – Huon Hooke, 9 January 2019

Deep, rich red/purple colour; sweet blackberry and blackcurrant fruit aromas dominate. There’s an overlay of animal and bunchy characters, including vegetal and spicy touches. The palate is likewise somewhat brisk and raw, with some meaty characters. The fruit character is subordinate. A full-bodied and slightly astringent wine which needs time to soften. Loads of potential, though. (Whole-bunch, wild-yeast fermented, basket-pressed and unfiltered)

Rated : 92 Points  |  Alcohol : 14.3%  |  Ranked : 17 out of 34 (Silver)

2017 Nitschke Block Shiraz

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 1 August 2020

From the family vineyard planted in ’68 by Jason Schwarz’s’ parents, and has been tended by the family ever since. Dry-grown with intense fruit, the wine was fermented wild with whole bunches. It is profoundly rich and push, black fruits conducting the bouquet and palate, and while it continues its sumptuous theme, it’s not OTT nor extractive in any way.

Rated : 97 Points (Gold)  |  Alcohol : 14.2%  |  Drink : 2018 – 2030

2017 The Schiller Shiraz

The Real Review – Huon Hoke, January 2020

Deep, dark red colour with a tint of purple, the bouquet nutty, nutmeg and generous, with a subtle touch of spice. The wine is intense and linear, well-oaked and savoury, with a firm backbone of tannin and a drying aftertaste. Very good

Rated : 92 Points  |   Alcohol:  14.5%  |  Ranked : 48 out of 112 (Silver)

2016 The Schiller Shiraz

Wine Companion – James Halliday, August 2020

The 400 vines planted by Carl August Otto Schiller in 1881 were saved from bulldozers at the last moment in the Barossa Valley Vine Pull Scheme, allowing this wine to be made and enjoyed today. There’s a lot of oak to go with the fruit, so patience is needed. In 10 years this will knock your socks off.

Rated : 95 Points (Silver)  |    Alcohol : 14.3%   |   Drink : 2020 – 2030

2018 Meta Shiraz

The Real Review – Huon Hooke, 31 December 2019

Very deep red/purple colour. The bouquet is lovely: deep, ripe, concentrated and fragrant. Superb richness and intensity of palate flavour; supple and deep, with deliciousness and concentration that will ensure it ages superbly. Generous oak in balance. The aftertaste lingers on and on.

Rated : 95 Points  |  Alcohol : 14.3%  |  Ranked : 3 out of 40 (Gold)

2017 Meta Shiraz

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 1 August 2019

Hand-picked, 25% whole bunches play out in a wild ferment in a complex, medium-bodied wine. There are intriguing notes that want to knock on the front door of the house (black pepper, licorice and spices) before the palate has had the opportunity of doing so. When it does, it lays bare its exceptional texture and structure, gluing all the parts together.

Rated : 96 Points (Gold)  |  Alcohol : 14.0%  |  Drink : 2018 – 2040

2018 Meta Grenache

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 1 August 2019

Hand-picked, wild fermented with 85% whole bunches, unfined and unfiltered. The evidence takes a quantum leap with this lovely wine, a supple and smooth stream of red fruits. A lovely wine that will go anywhere and everywhere, needing nothing other than a couple of glasses with a couple of friends.

Rated : 95 Points (Gold)  |  Alcohol : 13.8%  |  Drink : 2019 – 2023

2018 Meta Grenache

The Real Review – Huon Hooke – 19 February 2019

Medium to light red/purple colour, with a very spicy, foresty, stemmy, bunchy kind of bouquet. It’s very peppery and remarkably detailed and layered for such a youngster. Mataro-like pepper. The wine has a slight touch of sweetness (not sugar) and its charm and character are undoubted. A lovely wine, already full of character. Medium-bodied and intense with light and fine tannins adding a gentle backbone

Rated : 91 Points  |  Alcohol : 13.8%  |  Ranked : 15 out of 37 (Silver)

2017 Thiele Road Grenache

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 20 December 2018

This is the family’s grenache vineyard, planted in ’41. It was fermented with wild yeast and whole bunches, basket-pressed and not filtered. This does show up as a faint haze, but in no wat detracts from this classic rendition of fine and elegant Barossa Valley grenache.

Rated : 94 Points (Silver)  |  Alcohol : 14.3%  |  Drink : 2019 – 2032

2017 Thiele Road Grenache

The Real Review – Huon Hooke – 19 February 2019

Medium to light red colour with developed tints as well as vestiges of purple. The bouquet is shy and fumey, smoky, a little animal, and at first seems a little unkempt – short on freshness and fruit. It’s light to medium-bodied and verges on the ethereal: complex, foresty, pot-pourri, dried flowers, and very detailed. An unusual and utterly charming interpretation of grenache. Succulent sweet fruit: truly a Barossa pinot.

Rated : 95 Points  |  Alcohol : 14.3%  |  Ranked : 2 out of 47 (Gold)

2018 Schwarz GSM

The Real Review – Nick Butler – 22 January 2020

A delicately perfumed wine with violets, mulberries and blackberries rising well above any oak or artifice. It’s pure and entirely fruit-focused on the palate, too. Silky texture and just enough acidity and tannin. Essence of grapes.

Rated : 94 Points   |  Alcohol : 14.0%  |  Ranked : 2 out of 15 (Silver)

2017 Schwarz GSM

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 1 August 2019

From ‘diverse’ pockets in the region. A sturdy blend with the dual advantage of 14% oak and the ’17 vintage, both given the Barossa Valley treatment that gives way to no-one.

Rated : 92 Points (Silver)  |  Alcohol : 14.0%  |   Drink : 2018 – 2025

2018 Meta Mataro

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 1 August 2019

Hand-picked, wild fermented with 20% whole bunches, neither fined nor filtered. Excellent depth and hue; very youthful and may have bypassed oak. Certainly the accent is on the fruit, and the tannins aren’t abrasive.

Rated : 92 Points (Silver)  |  Alcohol : 13.8%  |   Drink : 2018 – 2025

2017 Meta Mataro

The Wine Front – Campbell Mattinson, 2 November 2017

Hand picked, wild yeast, 20% whole bunches, unfined, unfiltered. 2130 bottles made. Wine worth crowing about. Mountain herbs, graphite, peppercorn and spice notes come at least in lock-step, if not ahead of, blackberry and plum, leather and earth flavours. It’s different, in a good way. It’s fresh and complex, more-ish and highly engaging. Weight doesn’t really come into it but there’s more than enough here. Refreshing feel to it just puts another tick on the positive side of the ledger.

Rated : 93 Points  |  Drink : 2018 – 2025+

2018 Schwarz Shiraz

The Real Review – Huon Hooke – 27 December 2019

Very bold, youthful purple/red colour; the aromas are spicy and floral, with a floral-soap nuance. Some white pepper. The palate is rich and fleshy and sumptuously deep in plummy fruit, with a core of sweetness before the tannins ride in firmly. A very tidy, full-bodied shiraz

Rated : 91 Points   |  Alcohol : 14.2%  |  Ranked : 24 out of 40 (Silver)

2017 Schwarz Shiraz

Wine Companion – James Halliday – 1 August 2019

From ‘diverse’ pockets in the region. A sturdy blend with the dual advantage of 14% oak and the ’17 vintage, both given the Barossa Valley treatment that gives way to no-one.

Rated : 92 Points (Silver)  |  Alcohol : 14.0%  |   Drink : 2018 – 2025

2018 Schwarz Rosé

The Winefront – Gary Walsh, 14 January 2019

Now in a Burgundy bottle. Grenache and Mataro here.

Attractive perfume, spicy and floral, red fruits and a subtle earthiness. Powdery and pretty, blood orange and strawberry, spicy and fresh to close. Gentle, but persuasive charm. Beauty.

Rated : 94 Points | Alcohol : 13% | Closure : Screwcap | Drink : 2019 – 2022

2019 Schwarz Chenin Blanc

The Real Review – Ralph Kyte-Powell-  31 January 2020

This version has typical downunder chenin characteristics with plenty of zip to grassy aromas that are woven through tropical fruit. In the mouth it’s a simple type of white wine, dry, fruity and sound.

Rated: 86 Points  |  Alcohol: 12%  |  Drink: 2020 – 2021

2018 Schwarz Chenin Blanc

The Real Review  – Huon Hooke, 13 October 2018

Light straw colour; the aromas green-leafy, grassy, basic and straightforward, with a little cut radish, and a dry balance and crisp finish of modest length.

Rated: 85 Points  |  Alcohol: 11.5%  |  Drink: 2018 – 2020