The Willows Vineyard
First planted in 1936 The Willows Vineyard is located on the banks of the North Para River near the village of Light Pass.
This northern Barossa location is distinguished by its cooling gully breezes during vintage, providing slow ripening and a clearer expression of berry and spice flavours in red wines and lifted varietal fruit characters in whites.
The 100 acre Willows Vineyard ranges from deep alluvial soils, ideal for root development and the vigour of Cabernet and Semillon, to red brown loam over clay and tough sandy soils where old Shiraz vines produce premium quality fruit.
The vines range in age - from the Semillon which is more than 70 years old to the Shiraz, Cabernet and Riesling which were planted in the 1960s and 1970s.
The vines are hand pruned in July and August, establishing a foundation for the controlled yields and quality expected in the following year.
In 1936 Herbert Scholz planted his first vines, among them a variety known then as Madeira. After seven decades these vines are still growing - carefully tended, pruned and harvested by hand - but today the variety is recognised as Semillon.
These mature vines produce grapes that give great consistency and depth of flavour-year in, year out. This Semillon has the typical lively lemon butter fruit character which is a trademark Willows Vineyard style, along with a touch of vanillan oak from barrel fermentation and a brief period of maturation in French oak hogsheads.
The palate is full flavoured, with good length, elegance and zest that indicates it will age beautifully over five years and beyond. Winemakers of the Barossa refer to Semillon as the "red wine drinkers white".
No recommended products at the moment.
