One of the world’s great wine styles from one of the world’s greatest wine destinations

There’s no doubt Australian winemakers are faced with tough trading conditions But this drop gives me faith that reports of the death of Australian wine have been greatly exaggerated.

First Drop Wines Cellar Door. Photo: First Drop Wines

Dark clouds hover over Australian wine. Sadly they don’t hold the rain many of our regions desperately need. The Australian has run stories in recent weeks from my colleague Eli Greenblat, with major winemaking figures across the country telling grim tales of vineyards being scrubbed out and atrophy on bottleshop shelves. There’s no doubting Australian winemakers are faced with the toughest trading conditions we’ve seen in some time. But I still have faith that, like Mark Twain, reports of the death of Australian wine have been greatly exaggerated. And it’s people like John Retsas who strengthen that faith. Twenty years after establishing his First Drop label, Retsas has shown an admirable ability to be both innovative and stay true to the classics.

One problem people point to when wondering why wine consumption is in decline is the movement away from the fuller-bodied reds that have been the signature of places like the Barossa Valley. “Millennials don’t drink – and if they do, they don’t drink shiraz,” explain pundits who may be underestimating both generation and grape. Because if, as we’re told, this generation values authenticity, then wines that are the archetype for their region, with deep historical roots and undeniable connection to place, are what they will seek. Tasting the three single-vineyard shiraz that Retsas releases as a series called “Fat of the Land”, and the gorgeous pinnacle expression he bottles as a blend of the best barrels from those vineyards as “The Cream”, brought that idea home.

John Restas of First Drop Wines. Photo: First Drop Wines

First Drop produces brilliant funky wines from emerging varieties, up-to-the-minute styles in eye-catching packaging. But for their top-shelf stuff, Retsas relies on unadorned, unforced and undeniable statements about how the union of shiraz and Barossa dirt deserves recognition as one of the world’s great wine styles. They’re sensitively made, ego and artifact set aside so site can shine. They are wines this part of the planet naturally wants to make. To bend them for fashion, to manipulate them for fickle markets, to deny them their essence, would be a travesty.

Fat of the Land wines.

FIRST DROP FAT OF THE LAND EBENEZER SHIRAZ 2021

$150

Retsas calls the Ebenezer sub-region “the slurp factory of the Barossa”, such is the plushness of its fruit. This comes from the Hoffmann vineyard. There’s fruitcake with choc chips, the top shelf of the spice shop, licorice and ripe plums bundled into a supple wine finished with open-knit, cocoa powder tannins. 15% alcohol, 96 points

FIRST DROP FAT OF THE LAND GREENOCK SHIRAZ 2021

$150

A broody, savoury, sternly structured expression, reflective of the red clays over ironstone that predominate in this north-western corner of the Barossa. Ripe plums, dried olive, dark earth, and the ferrous tang you get when a split lip yields its blood on the tongue. Tight, sinewy, firm. A rolling maul of fine, gravelly tannins. 15% alcohol, 95 points

FIRST DROP FAT OF THE LAND SEPPELTSFIELD SHIRAZ 2021

$150

Lifted and energetic, plush and fragrant. Dark berry fruit presenting with more punch, appearing more summer pudding than panforte. Firm and structural; a wine taking a confident stance. Forthright, gravelly tannins frame it beautifully. 15% alcohol, 96 points