Greenock Creek
The Roennfeldt Road Verticals Dinner
Greenock Creek Wines has been part of the Barossa Valley fabric since 1984, when Michael Waugh, a stone mason by trade, made his first shiraz in order to save a series of old dryland, low-yielding Barossa vineyards from a vine pull scheme. With the help of neighbours and a hands-on approach, Michael built a reputation for bold, expressive wines – a legacy cemented by the purchase of the Marananga vineyard in 1994, home to the famed Roennfeldt Road vineyard.
Halliday Wine Companion
“If I had to select the number one Australian winery, it would be hard not to choose the Greenock Creek Winery…The quality that emerges from this estate is extraordinary. In short, these are thrilling, world-class wines that are about as compelling as wine can be.”
Robert M. Parker, Jr. | The Wine Advocate
“Unfortunately, quantities are extremely limited for this spectacular, world-class Australian red.”
100 Points - Robert Parker on the 1998 Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon!
Saturday, July 11th
Greenock Creek: The Roennfeldt Road Vertical Dinner
Hosted by JJ
Dinner: 6.30–9.30pm, 14 wines and 4 courses, $375
(Private Dinning Room - Limited to 14 guests maximum)
About Greenock Creek
The Barossa Valley is a special place. Ripened under the South Australian sun, the pure, powerful, succulent expression of our grapes – especially Shiraz – is renowned the world over. Established in 1984, the mission of Greenock Creek is to dig deeper into that place and unearth the alluring mysteries of diverse sites across the Barossa’s western edge.
We grow exclusively single-vineyard wines, priding ourselves on faithful expressions of the sub regions. Parish by parish, we see differences: Plush, rich, silky Marananga with its underlying power; the earthy, gamey leanings of Seppeltsfield and its rustic, gravelly tannins that wrap around the lush fruit; and the aromatic flowers, fruit and sweet spices that float above the flinty bass notes of Moppa. Move in closer, and the nuances of slope, elevation and aspect creep in as the ground beneath thin, sandy-loam topsoils shifts from bluestone to siltstone, marble, limestone or ironstone to flint and quartz.
Everything has always been handled gently in tiny batches. Grapes are handpicked, loaded into small open-top, poly-coated concrete fermenters. All lots are basked-pressed before going to oak.
This pursuit famously won Greenock Creek an unmatched eight perfect 100–point scores from the prestigious Wine Advocate magazine. But our work is just beginning. With the 2018 arrival of Alex Peel as chief winemaker, we’ve sharpened our focus and responded to the land and seasons with a range of small but telling tweaks in the vineyard and cellar.
We’ve improved the health of our vines and soils. We’ve adopted drip irrigation to prevent water stress, and we’ve adapted pruning, training and trellising to promote natural freshness in the wines. We’re also realising the fruit’s potential – that is, texture, structure, purity, intensity, complexity and freshness – through a range of more precise practices in the winery.
Additional fermenters mean fruit is always picked when perfectly ready, and cooler ferments allow more nuanced flavours to develop in the wines. We’re pressing the grapes more softly, refining the feel and clarity of the wines. And we’ve become more deliberate about suiting oak to the vintage and vineyard.
(greenockcreekwines.com.au)
The Wine List and Menu
First Bracket
Greenock Creek Cornerstone Grenache 2022
A big step up from the Moppa Grenache with fruit for this wine sourced from Marananga. It kept building and delivering for a couple of days which bodes well for the future. Deeply coloured and initially tightly wound as it delivered a muscular core of blackberry, roasted meats, cocoa and new leather aromas. There is a voluptuous feel to the fruit but also a strong savoury heart beating underneath, with a dense feel and firm tannins very well managed to drive a long and robust finish. Impressive and built to last.
93 Points - Angus Hughson, Founder at Winepilot
Greenock Creek Mataro 2022
Really youthful and dark red in the glass. Heady aromas of mulberry, spice, cured meats, bramble and ferrous earth. Flavours are deep, dark and brooding, with lashings of meaty black fruits and spice. The tannins are firm and savoury and team with the acidity nicely in ensuring structure and mouth-feel. Will be fab with 7-10 years on it.
92 Points - Aaron Basher, The Real Review
Cauliflower soup, Manjimup truffle
Second Bracket
Greenock Creek Alice's Shiraz 2021
Greenock Creek wines always present themselves as intensely concentrated examples of their particular slice of the western Barossa. Initially, there is a quick blast of blackberry pastille in this year's release, which gives way to opulent blackberry and cherry fruits with hints of baking spices, dark chocolate-dipped raspberries and pressed purple flowers. If you peer deep into the distance, there are some liminal leathery/mahogany notes, too, wrapping the ripe, long tannins in a warm embrace. As always, mighty impressive stuff.
95 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
Greenock Creek Apricot Block Shiraz 2021
Named after an old orchard that was removed and planted out to shiraz in 1995, the Apricot block, for my schnoz at least, quite often presents as one of the broodier offerings in the Greenock Creek quiver. Characters of blackberry and cherry, prune, brandied fruits and macerated plums cut with spice, dried citrus rind and earth with a fine, chocolatey tannin bite and a crème de cassis-like intensity to the fruit on the finish.
95 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
Roasted enoki and shiitake, curd, almond XO
Third Bracket
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Roennfeldt Road is concentrated, inky and intense, layered with tobacco leaf, resin, char, freshly turned earth, pomegranate molasses and aniseed. In the mouth, the wine is all of this, with anise, fennel seeds, arnica and cassis amidst. There are also notes of violets and pencil shavings. This is big big big, with loads of tannin and shape, plenty of (French) oak and lingering flavor. There's more oak than Cabernet character here, and the tannins clench through the finish. It is a powerful wine, with plenty of brine and bramble and dark fruit cake. This was in 100% French oak (50% new, two barrels only). It is powerful, lusty and thick. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
94 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Deep garnet with a hint of purple, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Roennfeldt Road reveals a complex nose of crème de cassis, blueberry preserves, mocha, menthol and incense with hints of cedar chest and loam. Medium-bodied, the palate has matured into a spicy mélange of baked berries, savory and earthy flavors with nice freshness, a fair bit of chew and a good, long finish.
92 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2008 Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon has pronounced nose of creme de cassis, fruit cake, prunes and mocha with nuances of aged meat, sandalwood and Chinese five spice. The medium-bodied palate is far less heavy than the ripeness of the nose suggests and has just enough complex, mid-palate fruit flavor supported by crisp acid and a medium to firm level of chewy tannins to hold through the finish with very good length. Drink it now to 2020+.
92 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Very deep garnet colored, the 2006 Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon gives aromas of creme de cassis and blackberry tart with subtle hints of dried leaves, earth, sauteed capsicum and bay leaf. Very full bodied and concentrated on the palate, it offers a rich mouthful of blackberry flavors with very crisp acidity to lend freshness and a solid backbone of firm grainy tannins. The finish is very long with a pleasant herbal lift and a slight touch of heat. Approachable now, it should drink to 2022+.
93 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
Since availability is extremely restricted, I’ll keep my notes brief for the limited production (approximately 60 cases), perfect 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Roennfeldt Road. It is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon made from a 60-year-old vineyard that spent three years in neutral French oak. The wine possesses the concentration of the greatest classics ever produced in such Bordeaux vintages as 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, and 1982. This is a full-bodied red with a finish that lasts well over 60 seconds. For its size and concentration, it is, surprisingly, not heavy, just super-endowed. The Cabernet Sauvignon needs 2-3 more years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades. Unfortunately, quantities are extremely limited for this spectacular, world-class Australian red.
100 Points - Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate
Gnocchi, confit duck, green peppercorn butter
Fourth Bracket
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz 2018
Gold Medal Decanter World Wine Awards
Particular nose showing characterful aromas of pine resin and lots of sweet spices, with nuances of blackberries. Layered and dense, with a very persistent finish.
95 Points & Gold - Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
95 Points - Stuart Knox, The Real Review
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz 2009
Medium garnet in color, the 2009 Shiraz Roennfeldt Road gives gorgeous scents of baked berries, kirsch, dried rose petals, cinnamon, cloves, eucalypt and sandalwood. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with dried fruit and exotic spice flavors with velvety tannins, harmonious freshness and a very long finish.
96+ Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz 2008
A really brave example of what very new American oak can do when it dances with the one who brung it, this wine is probably even more otherly abled than the Cabernet. It's not quite as compressed as its brother, mind you, and does fall on the side of being quite a lot more wine-like. But like the Cabernet, it really does need several decades. After four days of air, it only began to show signs of having breathed oxygen. Even now, on day six, its fruit is snoring way down below that Quercus alba resin like a great beast that few would be stupid enough to wake. It's a black critter with hair shaggier than a South Island boar...It smells like Worcestershire Sauce, very old soy sauce, and eighty-year old balsamic. You cannot smell grapes. You may rightly allege I'm speaking of it with the same sanctimonious ridicule Max Schubert's detractors did when they tried to scuttle his Grange. SO why confess? Because having tasted those wines of Max's at maturity, I know that in the case of honest wine grown and made by the right determined people, with absolute faith in their source and their capacity to let it run its own life, nearly every critic, like me, can be wrong."
96+ Points - Philip White
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz 2005
The 2005 Roennfeldt Road Shiraz is very deep purple-black in color. It presents and incredible array of pronounced spice, earth, floral and savory aromas: blackberry preserves, dried mulberries, coffee, grilled duck, vanilla, cloves, fenugreek, violets and dried rose petals plus some shavings of dark chocolate. Very full and very rich in the mouth, at 17.5% declared alcohol this is not a wine for the faint hearted. Though youthful it’s already multi-layered and the opulent flesh is well supported by a good backbone of crisp acid and a high level of velvety tannins. The finish is very, very long. This Shiraz has great balance for the alcohol and although the wine leaves a bit of heat in the finish it neither overpowers nor detracts from the layers of complex flavors. Possessing the foundation and stuffing to age, it should drink well from 2014 to 2025+.
98 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Shiraz 1999
There are 236 cases of the 1999 Shiraz Roennfeldt Road (also from 65-year-old vines). Although it pushes ripeness to the limit, it does not reveal any raisiny/pruny characteristics. It offers wonderful freshness, good acidity, superb intensity, and copious quantities of blackberry, cassis, crushed rock, floral, and spicy new oak notes. Massive and concentrated with perfect equilibrium, it can be drunk now and over the next 25 years. Kudos to one of the world’s finest wine producers! If I had to select the number one Australian winery, it would be hard not to choose the Greenock Creek Winery, run by the humble, shy Michael and Annabelle Waugh. The quality that emerges from this estate is extraordinary. In short, these are thrilling, world-class wines that are about as compelling as wine can be.
98 Points - Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate
Angus a la minute, black garlic, roasted baby carrots, petit greens
To Finish… Espresso, Lamont's Bonbon muscat chocolates