Release of 1999 Reds

Glaetzer Wines, in the Barossa Valley, has released two outstanding new vintages of its super premium reds - the flagship Glaetzer Shiraz 1999 and The Bishop Shiraz 1999.

The reds are crafted by Colin Glaetzer and his son Ben who started their family winery six years ago with a philosophy of making limited quantities of benchmark Barossa wines.

For Colin, it's the culmination of 30 years of winemaking (most recently at BVE where he was the creator and custodian of the first 11 vintages of the revered E & E and Ebenezer Shiraz). Ben works alongside his father on the Glaetzer wines and he is also the successful proprietor of his own label.

The backbone of the new release 1999 Glaetzer Shiraz and 1999 The Bishop Shiraz is the exceptional fruit sourced from ancient, dry-grown vines of the famous Ebenezer district, in the north west of the Barossa. "Getting the best fruit, that's what it's all about. We just help it along," Colin says. The Ebenezer vineyard has very "mean" soil and is a tough environment for vines to grow in. The old vines produce extremely low-yields (0.5 -1T/acre) of rich, intensely flavoured fruit, from which the Glaetzer's skilfully make concentrated wines of great character and longevity.

In a happy twist of fate, these ungrafted vines - some of the oldest in Australia - escaped the vine pull scheme of the 1980s thanks to the foresight of fourth and fifth generation growers in the area. "They'd seen the ups and downs of the industry before and knew it was just a phase, so they kept the vines. That's what saved them," Colin says. Many of these loyal growers, who Colin originally met at Barossa Valley Estates, followed him to Glaetzer Wines.

Colin and Ben say they are especially proud of their new release 1999 Glaetzer Shiraz and 1999 The Bishop Shiraz, both brilliant examples of what they can produce from their little corner of the Barossa. "The very old vines and the lack of irrigation almost assures our red wines are consistently outstanding. The Barossa, too, is the most consistent region in Australia, if not the world," Colin says. Both Glaetzer wines have the intensity and power you expect from super premium Barossa Shiraz, but they're not one-dimensional blockbuster reds. What sets them apart is their fine structure, elegance and complexity. This style is a real reflection of both Colin and Ben's love of the benchmark red wine styles from the Old World.

The Glaetzer Family

There's a veritable gaggle of Glaetzer's in the Barossa. Colin and his oenology-trained wife Judith have produced three sons. Sam and Ben are winemakers, and married to Kirsty and Victoria who are also winemakers! The youngest son, Nick, is studying to work in the family wine business - at this stage, he hasn't found a winemaker to marry!

The Wines

• The flagship 1999 Glaetzer Shiraz is a limited production, luxury wine made exclusively from the 80-year-old dry-grown vines and matured in American oak for 18 months. It has less oaky and vanillin characters than others in its class.
• The Bishop Shiraz 1999 is the second label to its "big brother" Glaetzer Shiraz but it's not just a "shadow" of that wine. It shares its trademark elegance, approachability and softness. It's a fruit-driven wine made predominantly from 30 to 60-year-old vines from Ebenezer - and always contains material from the oldest 80-year vines, to make sure the Glaetzer "house" style is evident.