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Available by the dozen
On a highland farm, the array of barns, stables and outbuildings is known as a steading. Steading GSM has long been David Powell's favourite wine within the Torbreck stable because of the old, gnarled bush vines that produce its core. Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz grown to ancient sites at Moppa and Marananga, Seppeltsfield and Ebenezer, Gomersal and Greenock, perform brilliantly in their own right. When assembled however, their strengths coalesce into a wine of remarkable structure and bucolic grace. Steading is an ode to the great old vines which escaped government sponsored uprootings of the 1980s. There are still ancient Barossa vineyards planted to Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz, brought over from Europe on original pre-phyloxera rootstock. Share farming agreements with the Barossa's best growers ensures access to these precious sites. There are over forty different parcels, all vinified and matured separately. Grapes are destemmed into open top wooden and concrete vats, gently pumped over for a week, basket pressed and treated to malolactic, racked into seasoned French oak hogsheads for two years maturation, followed by assemblage and bottling without fining or filtration.
TASTING NOTESDeep ruby red, violet hues. Delicate aromas of truffle, five spice and spring flowers, supported by a rich core of licorice, saddle leather and herbes de Provence. Burgundian in style, the palate is elegant and pure with subtle notes of crushed cherries, cedar and earth, all neatly wound by a taut spine of acidity over a length of ripe supple tannins. A wine of amazing complexity and integration, which will continue to evolve and unfold. |