News

New Kellermeister Premium Grenache Tops the Nation

Kellermeister Wines’ growing reputation for producing world-class wines has been strengthened even further, with a new Grenache from the small South Australian winery honoured at the 2019 Halliday Wine Companion Awardsin Melbourne this week.Kellermeister’s new 2015 Rocamora Grenache –which was only officially released to the public on Wednesday–was the equal highest scoring wine in the Grenache and Shiraz blend category. It scored 98 points out of 100 and received high praise for excellence in quality and value from the judges, including acclaimed Australian wine critic James Halliday AM. “Nigh-on perfect winemaking; supple, fresh, all the expected plum and cherry flavours and superfine tannins. Priceless wine,” said Mr Halliday. Kellermeister winemaker Mark Pearce was thrilled with the performance of his 2015 Rocamora Grenache, which he bottled six months ago at his family-owned winery in Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley.

“To be recognised by James Halliday as having the equal best Grenache in Australia is a tremendous honour,” said Mr Pearce. “We’re over the moon to receive such critical acclaim for our 2015 Rocamora, which I produced as a homage to a very dear friend and chef David Rocamora, who my family and I met in France during the 2015 vintage.“David runs a restaurant in the historic town of Châteauneuf duPape, which is considered the home of Grenache in France. He personally introduced me to many of the region’s best winemakers, which is no small feat considering the region is traditionally regarded as a very private, close-knit community. “So this wine is a salute to my friendship with David, but more broadly to the power of wine and food in the context of sharing,fellowship and bringing people together.”

The 2015 Rocamora Grenache is made from vines up to 160 years old from the Stonegarden Vineyard in Eden Valley in the southern Barossa.“Much of the credit for the Rocamora must go to Glen Monaghan who is the custodian of the Stonegarden Vineyard in Eden Valley, who I worked with closely to select the fruit,” said Mr Pearce.

“We are so fortunate to have such world-class soils and idyllic growing conditions in the Barossa, which enables the region and its many talented winemakers to produce some of the best wines on the planet.”

This week’s recognition at the James Halliday Wine Companion Awards follows Kellermeister’s outstanding performance at the prestigious Syrah du Monde international wine competition in France in May where it won two gold medals and ranked as Australia’s best Shiraz producer.

At the Syrah du Monde, Kellermeister’s new flagship shiraz ‘The Meister’ was Australia’s highest scoring wine at the competition and ranked in the top five globally, while the winery’s 2015 Black Sash Shiraz also won gold. “We’ve been overwhelmed with so much positive feedback for The Meister, which we’ve produced as another step up from our popular Wild Witch and Black Sash Shiraz’s,” said Mr Pearce.“We’re now delighted to welcome another wine to our top-shelf offerings, with the 2015Rocamora shaping as one of our best wines yet.”