The Schiller Shiraz is a wine rich in both flavor and history. The 400 Shiraz vines planted by Carl August Otto Schiller in 1881 are something to be treasured. Earmarked for bulldozers in 2006, a last minute reprieve would see these Ancestor vines remain in the ground. The grapes are hand-picked from the sixth generation Schiller family vineyard at Hallett Valley in the Barossa. Jason first made this wine in 2008, and since then it has been his flagship wine.
Opens quickly to luxe fruits, black plum & fruits of the forest, building in layers of toasty smoked bacon, tobacco leaf and Mediterranean herbs with nuances of spice and earthy tones. A luxurious palate of old vine fruits, savory overtones and fine slippery tannins. A long harmonious finish.
- Wine Enthusiast (December 2023, Best of Year issue), 91 pts
"Innately complex with nuances of spice and earth to the ripe red-plum and berry aromas here. The palate has deep blueberry, spiced-biscuit and fig flavors. Long, soulful tannin structure. Ripe, long finish. From a parcel of just 400 vines, planted in 1881. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
- James Suckling (September 2020), 92 pts
"From a small parcel of 140-year-old Shiraz vines, this small-batch premium wine offers a heady perfume of ripe berry and plum fruit backed by licorice, baking spice, florals and subtle dried-meat nuances. It shows a good lick of cola-like oak influence too. The palate is powerful, with silky fruit, lifted acidity and chalky, drying tannins. The heat from the alcohol can be felt, as can the oak. Drink now–2028. - Christina PICKARD"
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine (December 2021), 90 pts
Jason Schwarz came to winemaking via a circuitous path. While he grew up surrounded by vines at his parent’s property in Bethany, he initially studied wine marketing at the University ...
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