2014 Teusner Bilmore Shiraz, Barossa Valley

"Our Bilmore Shiraz is sourced from vineyards along the western ridge of the Valley floor... an area stretching south of Seppeltsfield Road, around the back of the golf club at Rowland Flat and then on through the parish of Gomersal that overlooks the southern township of Lyndoch. Shiraz grown in these parts produces richly flavoured wines with soft, round mouth feel and plenty of delicious savoury characters. Seeking to place a pure expression of Shiraz flavour center stage here, we’ve gone easy on the oak using only older, seasoned barrels for the job of maturing for around 12 months.

Courtesy of a burst of heat at the very start of February, the 2015 Shiraz harvest was ‘Formula 1’ fast... with most of the fruit coming into the winery in 10 days, and not 5 weeks as is normal. But when we taste the wines we made, the bitter memories of 20+ hour days and mountains of picking bins stretching seemingly to the horizon are blitzed... replaced with smiles and knowing nods of a job well done. These ’15 wines are bloody solid!

We named this wine in honour of one of our favorite characters, the legendary ‘Roger Bilmore’! Whilst I’m sworn to secrecy and can’t reveal his true identity, I can tell you that by day, ‘John’ is a humble Barossa grape grower, a hard working type and a man of few words. The quality of his grapes usually does his bidding. But from time to time, under cover of night and with the aid of more than a few glasses of Barossa Shiraz, John shyly retreats and his alter ego Roger Bilmore steps up to the plate to show an entirely different face. Get some Roger into you!”

Kym Teusner, Winemaker