Wines - Ripper Creek

Details

Variety
Shiraz/Cabernet
Current Release
2010
First Vintage
2001
Price
$30.00 per bottle
 
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My dad always said how much he loved drinking the Cabernet/Shiraz blends that were going around in the 60’s and 70’s. Not too many folks put these wines in the cellar back then because they were pretty easy to slip into straight away. Luckily, Dad put enough away for me to get a try of a few old rippers with a couple of decades of age on them which was the motivation for this traditional blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from vines grown on our hand-tended vineyard in Vine Vale. We’ve blended these two varieties together after open fermentation, basket pressing and ageing in old casks in the family winery - just like they were made back then.

Tasting Notes

> 2010 Tasting Notes

This is two years running the Shiraz has cropped higher than the Cabernet so the blend this year is 60% Shiraz and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. 2010 was a fantastic year for Shiraz so it is fitting that it makes up most of the blend this year. Our Cabernet vines are staring to lose a bit of their youthful vigour with age and the resultant concentration is a real bonus for this vintage of the Ripper. I am particularly happy with the balance this year. It’s showing some deep, dark, dense fruit with a silky smooth finish that is drinking great now but will also reward you in ten years or more....if you can wait that long.

> 2009 Tasting Notes

The Cabernet crop was down and the Shiraz crop up on average in 2009, which means that this years’ Ripper is Shiraz dominant (55%). It has made for a really powerful but restrained wine. Aged in big old oak vats, the fruit is front and centre again with a real rustic element on the nose. It’s got a lot of juicy fruit on the palate with a great spine and a really silky smooth finish. Classic Barossa Claret.

> 2008 Tasting Notes

All of the 08’s are showing a lot of fruit on the nose this year. Being a hotter vintage than usual, the fruit for our younger Cabernet (60%) and Shiraz (40%) was sugar ripe very early. The wine is full on with a big rich fruit dominant nose. It has a great dark colour, much like 2004 and 2005. This one is a ripper!

> 2007 Tasting Notes

I drank a bottle of 1977 Yalumba Signature Cab/Shiraz the other day. The front label noted the source of the fruit being from Vine Vale. 30 years later I’m looking at the Rusden Cab/Shiraz, and being made in the same fashion, have aspirations that this wine will make the same mark in 30 years time- if there’s anyone patient enough to hang on to a bottle or two. The 2007 is a true Barossa Cab/Shiraz with classic fruit, sweetness and savoury undertones. Bring it on!