Ochota Barrels
186 Grenache
Vineyard
Winemaking
Color
Red
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Slint Chardonnay
This wine has always had a foot in Chablis, an arm in the Jura and a toe in the Adelaide Hills. Taras had fashioned the first vintage of this wine in 2011 and continued to see the style evolve. Always incorporating a bit of battonage, parts of ML, a touch of new wood, peacefully oxidized in some respects and yet tightly reductive in others. 2020 was the cause of panic and sorrow in the Hills for many reasons and 2021 brought about a new chapter at Ochota Barrels. It was also the new beginning of a vineyard site as the vineyard shifted from Lenswood to Piccadilly, bringing with it the energetic drive that Piccadilly is known for. The vineyard is quite high in altitude at nearly 2,000 feet and planted at a very steep incline with incredible drainage to the quartz and ironstone riddled soils.
Out of My Head Grenache
‘Out of My Head’ is named after one of Amber and Taras’ favorite songs by a 90s Adelaide punk band called ‘The Exploding White Mice.’ This very small production in 2023 replaces the beloved ‘Fugazi’ Grenache for this vintage, as summer hail devastated the Fugazi vineyard. Thankfully, Amber was able to secure fruit planted in the mid 1970s by the Wait family just a few hundred meters up the hill from the Fugazi block in Blewitt Springs. The label is a picture of their old fermenter in the winery that Taras decided to spray paint late one night many years ago…
Botanicals of the Basket Range
"“so ….once again this summer, the children and i took our little cane basket into the garden…. followed by our ducks and chickens, cats and the dog… we talked about taras as we collected bunches of botanicals grown all around the wine studio…. these botanicals were gently submerged in a delicious ferment throughout vintage…some of the botanicals infused were sage, wild fennel, wormwood, elderflower, lemon balm, bay leaf, river mint, thyme, lavender, rosemary, lemon verbena, rose petals, & marigolds.”"
The Mark of Cain Pinot Meunier
‘Where’s the Pope?’ – a pioneering thrash/hardcore band from ‘Radelaide’. Also, a pioneering response to the queen m-f of a harvest in 2020 in which Taras and Amber didn’t have any Adelaide Hills Syrah to play with, as it was pretty much all smoke tainted or the vineyards were destroyed. They had an idea (and they were always good ones…): why not take the Syrah from the insane ‘Green Room’ site?
Where's the Pope? Syrah
‘Where’s the Pope?’ – a pioneering thrash/hardcore band from ‘Radelaide’. Also, a pioneering response to the queen m-f of a harvest in 2020 in which Taras and Amber didn’t have any Adelaide Hills Syrah to play with, as it was pretty much all smoke tainted or the vineyards were destroyed. They had an idea (and they were always good ones…): why not take the Syrah from the insane ‘Green Room’ site?
The Green Room Grenache
‘The Green Room’ was created as an incubator of sorts for a wine ready for the ‘big stage’ and this wine has certainly arrived and the name will continue moving forward. The Grenache for this wine was Amber’s earliest pick of the year for this vineyard, which is owned and operated by the Ochotas’ dear old friend, Rino. The 81-year-old certified organic vines are tucked in behind suburbia, and with an easy and lightly worked fermentation comes a youthful, fragrant, and bright wine.
Texture Like Sun Sector Red 8
“It’s something in a clear bottle, released in Spring, nothing to hide, yummy”. This wine has always been about the result and not the components, with each vintage changing quite a bit in the ‘how’s’ and ‘what’s’. The name of the wine is taken from lyrics from the song ‘Golden Brown’ by The Stranglers as it was the song Taras and Amber danced to at their wedding.
The Price of Silence Gamay
In 1985, three clones of Gamay were planted high up in the Piccadilly Valley. A few years later, due to its unpopularity, these vines were grafted to Chardonnay. It wasn’t until 2013 that Taras convinced his grower mate, Sam, to chainsaw off the Chardonnay grafts and bring back canes from the Gamay rootstock evolving from there. Cuttings were taken of these three clones and grafted on established vines in Sam’s quartz-laden woodside vineyard, planted on a former gold mine. As for the name, The Price of Silence is a reference to one of Taras and Amber's favorite hardcore Aussie band.
The Fugazi Vineyard Grenache
Ochota's Fugazi set the tone for a more elegant, pure-fruited, medium-bodied style of McLaren Vale Grenache which has since become the de facto style. Native fermentation, 50% whole-cluster, 6 months in seasoned French barrique
A Forest Pinot Noir
The opening bass line of 'A Forest' by The Cure transcends the listener into a blissful, enigmatic and meditative trance in a place where the road splits into hopeful jubilation or heartfelt loss. 100% Pinot Noir, native fermentation, 2/3 whole-cluster, 6 months in seasoned French barrique and puncheon
