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.

If you fancy laying your hands on a top class, age worthy red (drink now to 2035) with a bottle that’s individually numbered, well here’s your guy.

This is their latest 2020 vintage and it is quite simply a class act from go to whoa…

95/100 (James Halliday’s Wine Companion)
“Famous name and famously cellar-worthy, if you can keep your hands off it long enough. Shiraz sourced from several growers across the region and matured in French and American oak for 18 months. There is a distinct framework of fine, ripe sandy tannin from which the pure dark berry and plum fruit hang dusted with spice and violets, dark chocolate and earthen tones appearing last. It looks great now but will look as good or better in a decade. Either way, it’s a classic style from a strong vintage.”

92/100 (Huon Hooke, The Real Review)
“A deep, weighty, rich wine with dark-berry/plum and earthy/savoury aromas. Full bodied, dense wine with quite firm tannins and solid structure. Worthwhile cellaring a few years.”

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.