Seppeltsfield is so named for its founders, Joseph and Johanna Seppelt, who arrived in the Barossa Valley a mere 15 years after the European settlement of South Australia. In 1850, they purchased 158 acres of land in Nuriootpa, Barossa, where they originally farmed tobacco. Successive generations of Seppelts controlled the property until 1985, after which it was under corporate ownership for a time before viticulturist/winemaker Warren Randall (who worked for Seppeltsfield in the eighties) took control in 2007.

This wine is vinified in a gravity-fed subterranean cellar that dates to 1888. The fruit is 100% de-stemmed and gently extracted during a 7- to 10-day maceration in open-topped fermentation vats. The wine is then aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks and used French oak “hogsheads” before bottling. As is common throughout Australia, it is bottled with a Stelvin (screwcap) closure.

Ink-dark in the glass, this is a textbook expression of Aussie Shiraz, with lots of saturated black fruit notes leaping to the fore—brandied black cherries, Damson plum, purple berries. Layered in are an assortment of baking spices, licorice, black pepper, violets, and dark chocolate, which carry over from the nose to the rich, full-bodied palate. Tannins are silky, extraction is significant, and the acidity surprisingly bright. This would be an excellent choice for BBQ ribs or brisket slathered in smoky sauce.