LA CONQUISTA!* Barossa Tempranillo + Graciano + Garnacha 2022

Since a vinuous pilgrimage to Spain in 2013, we have been on a quest to make the perfect roblé-style Spanish blend. 2022 marks the year when we think we've really hit our stride with these varietals, and so it was time for a costume-change to introduce to you our best La Conquista! to date.

Tempranillo parcels from Gomersal on the Western ridge and Moculta Graciano to increase the lift, matured for eight months in seasoned French puncheons and Hogshead barrels, then blended with old-vine Garnacha from 50+ year old vines in the Lyndoch foothills, giving the ripe juicy fruit needed to flesh out the structure of Tempranillo’s complex and savoury fruit. The final blend is tempranillo, graciano, and old vine garnacha, or TGG. Cherry and cola aromas mingle with hints of chocolate and spicy florals. A dark yet luminous crimson colour hints at the rich semi-savoury dark cherry and cola palate that finishes with a hint of red cherry juiciness.

Rioja-Inspired Red Blend. Perfect with pizza, or an epic tapas wine.

2022
SILVER + 93pts - Barossa Wine Show 2023

SILVER - New Zealand International Wine Show 2023

5 stars + 93pts "Sweetly fruited and elegantly perfumed, the wine shows Black Doris plum, clove, hazelnut and rich floral aromas, leading to a silky-smooth palate offering fleshy texture and silky tannins. Plump and flavoursome with a lengthy soothing finish. At its best: now to 2030." - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

92pts "A vibrant, crunchy blend of tempranillo, graciano and garnacha. A joy to drink with its spicy red and dark berry and plum fruits, hints of souky spice, dried citrus rind and pressed wildflowers and fine, sandy tannin base. Bright, with just the right dosage of slurpiness and lots of enjoyment in each glass" - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

91pts "In the groove with cola and cherry notes, black jelly bean, smoked chicken breast, wine gums, pickled jalapeño chillies and some roast nut earthiness. Mid weight and piquantly spiced. Fly screen mesh tannins and cool plum/raspberry fruit with an anise and clove offset. All the swirls of sweet and savoury and spice. Perfect to carve through a plate of tapa." - Regan Drew, Vino Notebook

90pts "Aromas of geranium, pot pourri, white pepper and mulberry. Firm, fleshy and textured in flavour. There's a solid drive of dark fruited goodness along with savoury, drying tannins and crunchy acididty. Quite complex and sophisticated." - Aaron Brasher, The Real Review

2019
92pts "Sub-names Battle For Barossa, this blend of tempranillo, grenache and graciano is all smoky black jelly bean, dried meats, pickled walnut nuttiness, nutmeg spice and jubey raspberry red fruit. Tight, dark and fruit focused with a keen thrust of acidity." - Regan Drew, Wine Words

91pts "Barossa blend of tempranillo, garnacha and graciano. Unfined and unfiltered. Here’s your point of difference. It’s more red berry than black, more stewed than sweet, more complementary than commanding. It’s a mid-weight red wine with lots of personality, not to mention charm. It’s completely different to the more usual black-hearted thumping Barossa red, but it’s not less enjoyable." - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

90pts "A full-bodied, bold and savory red with a blood orange freshness. Plenty of substance, good balance and quite a zesty finish. Unfiltered. Drink now. Screw cap." - James Suckling

90/100 "Aromas of earth, cured meats, pot pourri, spice and a whiff of menthol. A full flavoured and layered palate; there is ample dark fruit flavours, but there's also a savouriness and floral edge to this that makes for a pretty complex glass of wine. Good length; grippy, textured tannins and firm mouth-feel. A very pleasant wine" - Aaron Brasher, The Real Review

2018
91/100 "Medium to deep red colour with the slightest tinge of purple in the rim. The bouquet is likewise forward-developed and starting to show some mellowness, with undergrowth, briary aromas and a soft, savoury, light to medium-bodied palate. Flavours are sweet in the centre but otherwise savoury and developed. Soft, lightly drying tannins. A very appealing forward, approachable red to drink now. And great value." - Huon Hooke, The Real Review

2017
90pts "Barossa blend of tempranillo, garnacha and graciano. Great drink. Up-front with blue- and black-berry fruit flavour with lacings of peppercorn and coal. It feels gentle and refreshing and yet it’s hearty in volume terms. Bright with flavour." - The Wine Front

2016
90pts "64% Barossa tempranillo, 22.5% old vine Barossa grenache, and 13.5% graciano from Eden Valley. A lifted, perfumed bouquet, each variety contributing of course, but the whole seems more than the sum of its parts. It's silky and slippery on the palate with flavours of cherry cola and raspberry, and a sweet-fruited finish." - Steven Creder, Halliday Wine Companion

2015
92pts "It’s a fiery blaze of flavour too. If you’ll allow me to suggest; this is money well spent. It’s smoky and sordid and jubey and twiggy, all at once; it spins you around like a Luna Park ride, the combination of sweetness/savouriness/smokiness/spiciness managed quite beautifully. One thing it most definitely is not: boring. And yet it’s immaculately clean to boot" - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

4/5 Stars - Tony Love