St Hallett Winery
Faith Shiraz
St Hallett Faith Shiraz is an exceptionally vibrant and expressive Barossa Shiraz displaying all the complex ripe cherry and raspberry fruit characteristics and is a true expression of the vintage.
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Poacher's Blend
St Hallett Poacher's Blend embraces the spectrum of aromatics and fresh, tropical fruit flavors typical of Semillon and early picked Sauvignon Blanc in the Barossa as well as a hint of citrus from the Riesling.
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Gamekeeper's Shiraz Grenache Touriga
Showcases the lushness of Barossa's most iconic variety - Shiraz, along with its historical supporting act - Grenache, and the added spice and verve of Touriga.
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Eden Valley Riesling
True to Eden Valley character, St Hallett Eden Valley Riesling has lemon blossom aromas and pristine lime flavors held together by spine-tingling acidity and a long mineral finish.
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Blackwell Shiraz
Stuart Blackwell has been St Hallett winemaker since 1972 and has been fundamental in its success. This classic and rich Barossa Valley Shiraz pays tribute to his foresight, talent and commitment.
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Old Block Shiraz
Ruby red with an attractive purple hue. A gorgeous bouquet of lifted floral spice with fresh red fruits and early picked blackberry. The palate is bright, vibrant and layered.
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St Hallett is dedicated to translating the tapestry of soils and meso-climates of the Barossa in each of its wines. This is made possible by a rich resource of old vines, long-term relationships with growers and the winemakers' experience and intimate approach to each individual parcel of fruit from the vineyard, through the winery to the final wine.
St Hallett's rich heritage and ongoing commitment to Barossa Shiraz is underpinned by extensive experience and a continuous sense of evolution, attributes personified in winemaker Stuart Blackwell.
As Senior Winemaker for over 30 years, Stuart Blackwell has developed a deep understanding of the rich tapestry of site and climatic variances in the Barossa and an appreciation of the importance of both dedicated growers and 'old vine' Shiraz. Strong long-term relationships with focussed and passionate growers give St Hallett access to the Barossa's most prized 'old vine' Shiraz vineyards dating back 60 to over 120 years of age. St Hallett also partners growers to nurture Shiraz on other sites which have unique qualities and comparable long-term potential.
The old vines of Barossa, St Hallett's focus on Shiraz and Riesling and the interplay between the two valleys – Barossa and Eden – provides plenty of intriguing opportunities and interesting challenges.
St Hallett focuses on getting the most out of the aged vines and exploring the subregional differences by picking and keeping separate over 200 different parcels of Shiraz each vintage. This unrivalled dedication to guarding the integrity of individual parcels is in order to meticulously tailor fermentation and maturation to each. The diversity of these parcels allows the team to constantly evolve and adapt techniques not only from vintage to vintage but also parcel by parcel and is ultimately critical to the complexity and differentiation of St Hallett's three expressions of Barossa Shiraz: Faith, Blackwell and Old Block.
St Hallett is equally reputed for its Riesling from the Eden Valley while its sibling blends – Poacher's Blend and Gamekeeper's are consistently acclaimed Barossa favorites.
Evolution and innovation, in the pursuit of excellence have proved a consistent thread running through St Hallett's history. Proudly Barossan, St Hallett makes wines which are recognized around the world as benchmarks of the region.
Barossa, Australia
The region takes its name from the Spanish word 'Barrosa' meaning 'Hill of Roses', this soon evolved to the current spelling of 'Barossa'. The first vineyards in the Barossa Valley were planted by German settlers in 1847. The sub-region of Eden Valley was first planted in the 1890's and became officially recognized as a distinct sub region in the early 1950's. The Barossa exemplifies the viticultural potential of soil and altitude variation between its two distinct sub-regions of the Barossa Valley and the Eden Valley.
A patchwork of predominantly four main soil types, gradating rainfall from south to north and variations in altitude of the two valleys are the principle topological features of the Barossa. The lower lying Barossa Valley at 820 ft above sea level is flanked on its east by the higher Eden Valley at approximately 1,800 ft. These altitudinal differences lead to a significant change in rainfall across the region. The rainfall is predominantly in winter and early spring ranging on average from 19 – 27 inches. Irrigation is commonly used to compensate for dry winters. The region is also influenced by the nearby Gulf of St Vincent from which sea breezes emanate in the late afternoons aerating the vines and keeping them healthy.
The complex tapestry of meso-climates and soil variations at various altitudes makes individual block and even row-by row selection a fascination for the truly dedicated winemakers, thereby energizing an entire community of small growers.
Two distinct sub-regions
Barossa Valley
The warmer, lower lying sub-region of the Barossa Valley holds a dense array of vineyards yielding rich succulent fruit for which the Barossa has become renown.
With careful site selection, St Hallett derives from the sloping vineyards in the northern areas of the Barossa Valley near Kalimna and Ebenezer small crops of highly concentrated fruit with dark berry and rich mocha flavors. Similarly sloping and low cropping vineyards to the west near Seppeltsfield provide inky dark fruit of excellent muscular structure. Together these northern and western sites provide the bold, brooding attributes of Shiraz. The more southerly areas of the Barossa Valley are cooler with the red brown soils over shale and some more alluvial soils. The exuberant raspberry, cherry and spice flavors of fruit from these sites lead the vibrant and expressive style of St Hallett Faith Shiraz.
Eden Valley
From an altitude of 1,800 ft, the serenely quiet Eden Valley flanks the Barossa Valley to the east and has markedly lower temperatures. Eden Valley Riesling has a natural austerity, acidity and delicate lime and floral blossom aromas and flavors which are directly attributable cool evenings which balance out warm sunny days. Eden Valley Shiraz is more floral, mineral and lifted than its Barossa Valley counterpart. The elegance of old vine Shiraz from the Eden Valley provides the cornerstone for St Hallett Old Block Shiraz harmonizing with the rich foundation provided by old vine fruit from the Barossa Valley.
St Hallett Winery & Cellar Door
St Hallett Road, Tanunda, SA, 5352
Australia +61 88563 7000
Open 7 days a week from 10am - 5pm
Stuart Blackwell, Winemaker, St Hallett
Stuart Blackwell's outstanding achievements with St Hallett wines and commitment to the Barossa over the past 30 years was fully recognized by his peers and the 'Barons of the Barossa' who awarded him "Barossa Winemaker of the Year."
Stuart Blackwell's winemaking career spans four decades. Having first dabbled with winemaking in Australia's McLaren Vale, Stuart was lured by the Barossa in 1973. During this early winemaking stint at St Hallett, together with Robert O'Callaghan, Stuart experimented with small barrel fermentation for reds and increased use of new oak for maturation. In the late seventies, Stuart was attracted to winemaking abroad in South Africa. At 27 years old, he was invited to build a new winery (Mukuyu) and develop its vineyards in Zimbabwe, not returning to Australia until 1982.
As Senior Winemaker of St Hallett, Stuart has developed not only a deep understanding of the rich tapestry of site and climatic variances in the Barossa but also an appreciation of the importance of both dedicated growers and 'old vine' Shiraz. His commitment to the region over the past four decades has won the hearts of some of the Barossa's most dedicated and passionate growers giving St Hallett access to the Barossa's most prized 'old vine' Shiraz vineyards dating back 60 to over 100 years of age. These strongly forged relationships have yielded exceptional quality fruit consequentially leading to benchmark Barossa wines of extraordinary acclaim, all endorsing Stuart's sincere and long-term approach in the Barossa over the past four decades.
A big believer in enjoyment and armed with a 'can do' attitude, Stuart's energy is contagious. Amongst the small winery crew he has imbues warmth, honesty and integrity which is simply the way of life at St Hallett and embraces both experience and a constant sense of evolution.
As Senior Winemaker for over 36 years and recognised by his peers in 2003 as 'Barossa Winemaker of the Year', Stuart embodies a wealth of experience. With a glint of enthusiasm ever in his eyes, Stuart engages all those around him in the enjoyment of wine, and whenever possible in a round or two of golf!