James Halliday has tasting notes for 3884 wines in his latest book. There were only two wines among this huge number that were too enjoyable to spit out.
Both of these were made in the Barossa - the 2004 Penfolds Grange and the Seppeltsfield 1908 Para Liqueur.
Halliday’s 2010 Wine Companion scored the Grange 98 points and the 100-year-old the perfect 100.
The companion is a reference book for wine enthusiasts with winery information, tasting notes and a vintage snapshot.
The 2009 Barossa vintage is described as being a very good season, for shiraz in particular.
The tasting notes have a serious production behind them, ensuring that Halliday spends most of the first three months of the year tasting up to 150 wines per day.
With thousands of samples being sent through from around the country, the logistics of the tastings almost reach military proportions.
“The local Post Office gets snowed under,” Halliday said.
The author described the process of compiling the annual release as a bit like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“No sooner have you finished, than you are starting again,” he said.
“It is an awful lot of work.
“But people have the idea it is the most wonderful job.”
The book ranks 55 Barossa wineries as having achieved a five-star rating and lists Barossa wines as providing the most outstanding riesling, shiraz, sparkling shiraz, rosé, shiraz blend and fortified wines in the country.
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