St Hugo Barossa Shiraz

A legend of the Barossa wine scene if there ever was one! Hugo Gramp was born in the Barossa in 1895 and it was in this part of the wine world that he worked and lived his entire life. It was Hugo’s grandfather Johan who was a pioneer of the region, planting the first vines in 1847 and running the family wine ‘biz with his son Gustav (known as “Gramp & Sons”), until Hugo took over the reigns at age 25.

This is their latest 2022 vintage that scored 92/100 with James Halliday’s Wine Companion who said “Deep magenta-splashed crimson with fruit tones of blackberry, Doris plum and boysenberry fruits. Hints of baking spices, citrus blossom, blueberry pie, licorice, white pepper, creamy vanillin oak and earth. There’s a swell of glossy black and dark fruits, with fine-grained, sandy tannin grip and a finish that tenses before releasing a blast of cassis and plum.”

We were taking no chances though so have painstakingly tasted several bottles recently (yes, it’s a bloody hard job sometimes)…we can confirm it’s A-grade stuff! Dense and dark purple in colour with dark fruits and a touch of spice. It’s in no hurry to drink some now, tuck some away in the cellar.