Ochota Barrels came out of a Volkswagen campervan and a surf trip down the Mexican coast. Taras and Amber's idea of super premium, worked out somewhere between waves. This 2017 Adelaide Hills Pinot pulls from organically farmed vines of 20 to 25 years on shallow, fractured clay over limestone: wild boysenberry, sour black cherry, thyme, and a whiff of freshly struck match against a rolled cigarette. Rustic and brooding up front, then it glides into a cool, weightless arc. Whisper-thin texture, briny finish, soulful the whole way through.
Tasting Notes
Rustic and brooding, the thunderstorm to A Forest’s spring rain. Wild boysenberries, sour black cherry, and thyme A meld with the whiff of a freshly struck match against a freshly rolled cigarette. This glides into a cool, weightless arc, as if the wine is leaning on air. The texture is whisper-thin yet soulful, briny and melodic, like a song fading but never ending. It’s Pinot Noir as a haiku: precise, fleeting, unforgettable.
About the Producer
The Ochota [Oh-ko-ta] Barrels tale began on a surf trip, late in 2000 along the Mexican west coast in a Volkswagen campervan. In their final destination after traveling some of the world’s best wine and surf regions, Taras and Amber Ochota conceived the idea to make super premium wines back home in South Australia. The concept was to concentrate on the zenith variety of McLaren Vale (Grenache) and the Barossa Valley (Shiraz), find an exceptional old vineyard site in each region and create plush, small batch, single vineyard wines.
