Rockford, Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley

- 2018 Rockford wines rifle range Barossa Valley South Australia - medium ruby in appearance - nose packed with dried fruits , herbal notes of thyme tucked slightly behind all the dried figs and prunes. With some time to sit the leather and nutmeg begins to show them self with some shy ripe berries peeping through. PALLET- very earthy , herbal and again packed with dried fruit , toast and quite jammy with the nutmeg being more dominant than on …

2018 vintage

Museum release from the winery. Enjoyed 2 bottles over Christmas period and 2 things stood out: 1) this wine is simply a joy to consume. It is a wonderful combination of both the place it was grown (Barossa) and the Cabernet varietal. 2) at nearly 20 years old this shows not even a hint of becoming unbalanced - quite frankly this has many, many years left for those that enjoy mature wines. An incredible wine from an incredible winery. Bravo.

2006 vintage

Very smooth drinking, glad to have plenty more in the cellar

2018 vintage

Dark magenta-brown. Dried cherry fruit still showing and tertiary flavours of leather. Tannins tamed and decent finish. Feeling its age after 9 years - drink up as it won’t get any better.

2017 vintage

Late 2025 opening, limited time for aeration, drinking beautifully.

2017 vintage

Consistant with notes Open it properly after Coravined lately, the wine shows a lot of mint and eucalypt, dominating the herbal or herbaceous character of the Cab, some guy said, I thought it was Shiraz/Cab mix ! could be actually yes Palate is gorgeous, no harsh tannins, silky and smooth, very approachable and not as Barossian as I thought first, still it is luscious and ripe fruits but not jammy at all ! great wine, will certainly age very well

2018 vintage

Hopefully not oaky on the nose, loads of mint, eucalypt, basil, and the over the border ripeness of Barossian fruit ... Ripe cassis jam, etc Palate is vibrant and sharp, great acidity to hold the massive fruit flavors ! again this is Barossian, but less oak than before, so it is on a very interesting tangent here, riper end bigger than Coonewarra's but way less oaky too... leave another 5/10 and reward may come. Hopefully sealed with cork and no …

2018 vintage

Déviante!

2017 vintage

Great cork, great wine but think it will continue to improve

2017 vintage

D1

2017 vintage

Had 2 bottles. Bottle one was taken by the cork God. Shame. Opened bottle 2 with trepidation. Purple fruit cassis and eucalyptus. Gorgeous drink. A very good 19 years young

2005 vintage

Good cork. Decanted for an hour. Colour already showing some red hues around the edges of the glass. Nose is subdued, dusty, some wood treatment evident. No real fruit coming thru on nose. Palate is smooth, silky, tannins evident through a dry finish but not over powering the wine. Dark fruits dominate the palate spectrum, some dust and earth, but a wine that isn’t that complex. Went well with some ravioli but my no means memorable to any extent. Pleasant. …

2017 vintage

Love this

2018 vintage

Still drinking well, but I wouldn't leave it too much longer.

2001 vintage

Medium brown - looks more aged than it is but still drinking well. Perfumed rose petals and dark fruits, with some secondary flavours emerging. Great balanced acidity and tannins. Nice wine with a good finish.

2017 vintage

Tasted at Moo Moo's restaurant in Brisbane; Daren Gardiner's invitation. Very restrained style, needed a bit of time to come forth. Classic, fine grained, dusty tannins.Well balanced and refined, sweet fruit with a good -well integrated - tannin backbone.

2018 vintage

Very good - but very young still. Room to move and improve in my view for sure. Very fruit forward, very smooth even in its infancy, chewy tanins and long, dry finish - but I think there’s room for a bit more finesse to come to the fore with a bit more time on its side. Still very enjoyable and easy drinking, hits the 93-94 mark for mine

2018 vintage

Very fruit forward, clearly Barossa wine. Didn’t have the layers of complexity and savoury elements hidden currently, not in the usual style I would like but worked well when paired with BBQ meat next day

2018 vintage

Great old cabernet.

2006 vintage

Very nice Barossa Cab, drank from a half bottle. In a great place and no rush.

2017 vintage

A second monster tasting at Laszlo's : Blind. Violets, spice, slate and mineral notes, a little touch of herbs as well. Juicy with good fruit flavour on the palate. Good stuff that is drinking really well now.

2018 vintage

This is drinking beautifully now.

2017 vintage

Another bottle opened, showing better than a week ago. Still feels heavy on the palate but has the fruity profiles of other Rockford 2017 reds. Good red with fine balance and shortish finish. Better cabs out there for the money though. Should keep well for next 5-10 years.

2017 vintage

Dark red, fruit driven wine with blackberry and cherry tones. Had dried prune taste which dissapated after a couple of hours. Bit herbal on the palate. Good acidity and balance.

2017 vintage

Barossa cabernet. Black currant and blackberries. Cassis. Hits all the notes.

2005 vintage

Two bottles drunk recently. Both superb.

2005 vintage

Appearance - Deep garnet / ruby (3) Aroma - Black fruits, raisin, toasty oak, vanilla (4) Taste/Texture - Leads with raisin and stewed dark fruit, into plum and some oakiness. Finishes with a creamy vanilla. Low to medium acid and supple tannins. Well balanced (4.5) Aftertaste - Creamy vanilla lingers in a medium/long finish (2.5) Overall - Faded fruit, especially on the nose. Overall good drinking and well integrated. Personally would drink up any more bottles soon (1) Total Score …

2005 vintage

Dark red/black. Leafy cassis with charcoal and gravel notes. Savoury blackcurrant and charcuterie flavours. Some fine dark chocolate with just the faintest hint of mint. The cork was not a very tight fit which is a worry.

2018 vintage

This was absolutely singing. Smooth, rich cocoa and dark fruit, some herbs. Paired fantastically with sage. The fruit (plum and juicy black/raspberry) that was flabby is now in much better balance.

2017 vintage

Deep purple red colour. Pretty juicy and approachable for a young Cabernet, but with some very appetising sandy tannins in support. Medium bodied but long flavours of blackcurrant, dark cherry/plum, vanilla, capsicum. Time should be kind and develop further complexity.

2018 vintage

Decant for 30 mins, good tannin and acidity, a bit chewy but round and smooth. Complex and intense.

2018 vintage

Always good, but as one reviewer said below - not typically varietal Cabernet. Lots of fruit-forward character accompanied by some solid oak dosage. The palate is showing high acid with a brush of ripe tannins. Approachable now, but will go strong for up to a decade. I love how Rockford makes these young wines drinkable straight off the bat, something that’s hard to find with old school winemakers nowadays.

2017 vintage

On open, very fruit forward - pronounced blackcurrant, that's cassis for you folks who haven't tasted blackcurrants - and mild acidity and tannins, to the point of risking being flabby. A few hours in, it's still fruity, there's some graphite and the acidity is more noticable but tannins are still mild. It's a gluggable wine and delivers the Ozzie fruit I was looking for, but it lacks energy / tension and complexity.

2017 vintage

Opened up after a few days and the quality was evident. Definite scope for improvement.

2017 vintage

Now don't get me wrong. This is good gear but not particularly varietal. It's good dry red but hard to classical cabernet traits. Very complete and balanced.

2017 vintage

Cabernet Sauvignon has been planted in the Barossa since at least 1888. The warm climate here means Barossa Cabernet wines are rich and full-flavoured. The fruit for our Cabernet Sauvignon comes predominantly from vineyards along Rifle Range Road, just behind our winery. The ‘Biscay’ soil of the Rifle Range vineyards is heavy, black, cracking clay, lending the wine its rich and earthy character. It is a generous wine when young, but will really show its best if given a chance …

2017 vintage

Smooth, fruit forward, but classic Cabernet notes emerge as it opens - graphite, cigar box, herbal notes. Mid to strong tannins on the finish. Useful when the fruit has the opportunity to shine, will age and refine nicely as it integrates slightly more.

2017 vintage

Drinking very nicely now. A beautifully smooth expression of Barossa Cab Sav.

2017 vintage

Deep cassis and ripe fruit flavours with density and layers of flavour

2017 vintage

Good flavour well presented wine. Elegant especially for the Barossa. Short cork will not cellar well. Pulled up short on the back palate. Nice for current home dtinking not to impress.

2017 vintage

Very smooth, herbal notes in the middle, enough spice to hold up against Chili. Will cellar and see how it develops.

2017 vintage

One of the smoothest red wines I've had in a while. Subtle cigar box flavours with a lovely finish\.

2017 vintage

Clearly past its best but eminently drinkable still. Dark red brick in colour. All cigar box and aged characters. Lovely tannins and persistent length. I think 2009 would have been too soon? Perhaps at its best a few years ago.

2001 vintage

It’s OK but based on the bottle I’ve opened (it’s under cork, so who knows what’s happened) I would not buy this to drink in ten years.

2006 vintage

Wonderful expressive aged Barossa Cabernet. The oak is evident on the nose and had melded with cassis fruit to deliver a balanced package that satisfies. Excellent drinking

2001 vintage

dull and muddy. Cork influence?

2001 vintage

Delicious red fruit, herbal cab from Barossa.

2001 vintage

Delicious cabernet aging well, with refined power. Cassis fruit richness, good in the middle palate and excellent finish

2001 vintage

Good balance. ..nice and Silky. hitting the top but not yet starting to slide. drink within the next few years. Nice barossa cab sav.

2005 vintage

Double decanted 2h prior to tasting. Good cabernet nose. Excellent sweet cabernet fruit with black cherry and soft acidity. Soft vanilla oak. Long, complex, and characterful. Tasted at Grand Union Wine Society with Scott Edge of Negociants UK.

2006 vintage

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Rockford, Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley

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