SA Weekend restaurant review: Essen at Artisans of Barossa Cellar Door

The spectacular new home for a group of Barossa winemakers hosts a restaurant also inspired by local conditions, writes Simon Wilkinson.

Courtyard outside Essen restaurant at the Artisans of Barossa cellar door.

The threat of downy mildew is hanging over the Barossa like a black rain cloud. Heavy downpours and warm temperatures are causing havoc in vineyards only a month or so before the first grapes will be picked.

No one cares more about the weather than a winemaker at vintage time and when you have eight of them under one roof, as is the case at the Artisans of Barossa, the topic finds its way into most conversations.

This close relationship with the season is shared by Essen, the restaurant that is part of the collective’s new cellar door.

Lunch begins with an array of tomatoes and finishes with a fragrant peach.

Both are allowed to shine in the way nature intended. Summer on a plate. If only the format of the Essen menu was similarly straightforward.

The Artisans of Barossa are a band of small, like-minded wineries from across the region who decided it made sense to work together.

Heirloom tomatoes and fior di latte.

When the lease ended on its first home, the group decided to build its own facility, while also setting up a wine bar, Vino Lokal.

The new property, just outside Tanunda township, is a blend of shed and cathedral, the galvanised iron structure elevated, literally, by a steeply pitched roof and towering windows that look out across vineyards to the slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Restored timber trusses and spectacular walls of rust-coloured ironstone anchor it to the broader landscape.

Space inside is split between the tasting zone and a dining room with open kitchen.

Clearly, wherever you sit, wine is central to the experience and Essen’s selection from its resident producers goes well beyond the usual cellar door listing.

A sharing menu of 10 dishes also looks to have plenty to choose from – until you get to the small print.

As the instructions read, and are explained, the only option is to have four courses chosen by the chef ($60), with the offer of an additional dish picked by the diner for $15 extra.

And what are the four courses, we ask. Well, that’s a secret.

So, if you particularly want the wagyu carpaccio AND the tempura mulloway, it may take some firm negotiation.

Opting to go with the flow, we, like everyone else, start with the tomatoes.

Slices of larger heirloom varieties in red and yellow are at peak ripeness. Topped with a creamy ball of fior di latte (fresh mozzarella), dried olive fragments, basil and other herbs, the salad is a modern take on the classic caprese.

A plate of mixed duck charcuterie also riffs on tradition, this time the Barossa’s smallgoods heritage.

Slices of extra-smoky cured breast, a scoop of rillette and exceptionally good (but not good for you) liver pate are accompanied by pickled onion, cornichons, chutney and weird pickled raspberries that need a rethink.

Grilled flank steak, green beans, anchovy sauce at Essen.

The same goes for the acidic pickled carrots that are plonked beside a familiar vego combo of spice-coated roast cauliflower with a chunky romesco sauce that has plenty of (sherry) vinegar sharpness of its own.

Grilled flank steak with green beans and an anchovy sauce is more attuned with wine consumption.

While nicely crusted on the outside, the meat at the centre is so rare it looks as if it could still be in the butcher’s window.

Personally, I don’t mind this as long as the beef has flavour (as it does here).

A splash of port adds raisiny sweetness to a half-circle of semifreddo that comes with two wedges of peach, the cut surfaces sugar-dusted and briefly grilled so they retain fresh-fruit juiciness beneath a hint of toffee.

Essen is open only three days a week but, at other times, wine tastings and simple meals (a reuben sandwich, perhaps) are available.

Either way, pay a visit to these remarkable Artisans in their new home.

Just be sure to ask about the weather.

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