"Looking back over our archive of vintage notes the 2019 vintage felt it all. Low rainfalls in the winter, wind during flowering combined with dry conditions. Whilst the quality of the fruit wasn't impacted, crop levels were well below average. A record-breaking heatwave made the national news when on 24th January, Adelaide was the hottest capital city on Earth. This was the precursor to a shorter and more intense vintage, challenging our hand-picking crew and the winery team. What started as a 'perfect storm' scenario turned out well in the end. This was due to the quality and commitment of the people involved. Lower yields resulted in smaller offerings, but intensity of colour and flavour are the great benefit of the 2019 wines.Like all our red wines, Basket Press Shiraz is made using equipment from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before aging in seasoned American and French hogsheads, and large vats for two years. It is eventually bottled under the highest quality cork. This approach enables us to make the kind of traditional, soft, deeply coloured, earthy Australian red wine that Robert O'Callaghan first became fascinated by as a budding winemaker in the 1960's." Winemaker, Ben Radford