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Our Story

Our Story Ballycroft is originally the name of the cheesery run by Sue and her sister Tracey on Joe and Sue's 15 acre property at Greenock in the Barossa Valley. The vineyard was planted in 1998 and when the cheesery was established in 2003 the waste water from it was set up to be used to irrigate the vines. Plus the whey was used as fertilizer on the vineyard and vegetable patch and also as a fungicide for powdery mildew.The cheesery closed down operations in December 2011 so now the building will become "The Cheesery Tasting Room". Please make an appointment and join us to taste our current releases. The vineyard has been established solely by Joe. He has collected the cuttings, grown them on, planted them to his vineyard layout and now maintains it—all in his spare time! The only time Joe lets anyone help is when its picking time. So if you are in the Barossa Valley at vintage time, usually March, you are more than welcome to help. We are a small family business with the aim to becoming self sufficient and energy efficient by reusing our waste products where ever possible and recycling our water. This year we were able to install two 22,000 lt rainwater tanks which is enough to run the household. Our wine is made as a reflection of our sustainable vineyard and the vintage. Therefore you have to expect some variation from year to year and this will be evident in the final product. In other words we just let the fruit tell the story each season, with minimal intervention.

Vintage and Wines

THIS YEARS VINTAGEWe finally picked our grapes on April 3rd 2011 after postponing it by a week and we are more than pleased with the grape quality in a challenging vintage.SMALL BERRY SHIRAZ 2009The 2009 summer was hot and dry. By the 1st of March the then 11 year old dry grown Shiraz had mid size bunches, small berries and not much foliage. On the horizon 10-15mm of rain so off they came.Result 2.7 tonne off 3 acres and in good condition. The fruit came in at 14% alcohol with great natural acidity so additions were minimal. I split the fruit into two 2 tonne open fermenters to get good skin contact for 10 days. Then basket pressed it for 14 hours followed by 28 months in oak. The result is a crimson red aromatic wine with fragrance of blackberry and cherries with a balance of sweet shaved AP John oak. The mid palate is complex, fresh, spice dusted Satsuma plums with a persistence of dark fruit and a bright vibrant finish. This will age very well, more than 15 years, as it tasted better on the 4th day opened than on the first. 164 dozen produced.SMALL BERRY CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009This Cabernet Sauvignon is a combined effort between the Evans family from the Barossa and the Case family from Langhorne Creek.The fruit was chosen and picked by Brad Case and myself off their Reserve Block planted in 1972. I used the same method as the shiraz but matured this glorious noble grape into shaved out French barriques for 28 months. What a great first release to share, so I repeated this in 2010 and 2011 with hopefully more vintages to follow. Really proud to put the Ballycroft label on this. It is a vibrant red wine with a stella cherry and blackberry bouquet and a hint of apple mint. The same fruits persist into the mid palate with great length and super fine tannins for longevity in the bottle. Drinking slightly better than the Shiraz now but I dare say that will change with a decade in the bottle. Let's find out shall we? Just enjoy with friends. 14% alcohol. 55 dozen produced.
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Ballycroft Vineyard and Cellars

Ballycroft Vineyard and Cellars

Mail Order Customers Only Please email to join the Small Berry Bunch

Phone: 0410 183215

Email: ballycroft_hotmail.com

Fax: 08 8562 8162

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PO Box 719, Greenock, Barossa Valley, South Australia 5360

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