‘Seppeltsfield Welcomes New Winemaker and Celebrate with Luxury Still Wine Collection Releases’

Seppeltsfield has long been internationally renowned for its treasure trove of fortified wines, highlighted by the Centennial Collection – the world’s only unbroken lineage of single vintage Tawny dating back to 1878. 

But the star is starting to well and truly shine on the 172-year-old Estate’s new chapter – the luxury collection of still wines, only possible since recently gaining full ownership of its trademark in 2017.

Today, Seppeltsfield welcomes a new winemaker to the team, Julian Bermingham, with over 10 years’ experience in the Barossa and having completed a Bachelor of Wine Science at Charles Sturt University. The winemaking team at Seppeltsfield now consists of Warren Randall (Executive Chairman), Fiona Donald (Chief Winemaker), Charlie Seppelt (Senior Winemaker), Matthew Pick (Senior Winemaker), Kingsley Fuller (Group Viticulturist) and Julian Bermingham (Winemaker), with collectively, over 160 vintages of global experience.

Further to this, Seppeltsfield unveil their annual collection of luxury still wines, fermented through the historic 1888 Gravity Cellar. The release follows the vision to match the reputation of the fortified wine collection with the luxury still wine collection.

Headlined by the fourth release of the ‘Grounds’ range – Single Vineyard Barossa Shiraz from the 2021 vintage. There are three expressions including: Western Grounds, ‘The Westing’ sourced from ‘V Block’, Southern Grounds, ‘The Southing’ sourced from ‘Chooks Block’, and Northern Grounds, ‘The Northing’ sourced from ‘Katingi’ vineyard. The range takes inspiration from Barossa Australia’s ‘Grounds project’, a comprehensive study of the district’s sub-regionality, bringing together winemakers, grape growers and soil and climatic science experts, to evaluate and identify the variations in Shiraz wine expressions across the various parishes of the region. ‘The Westing’, ‘The Southing’ and ‘The Northing’ showcase the distinctive differences that vineyard location and regional terroir can make to Shiraz from the 2021 vintage. The wines were all harvested within a two-week period, fermented through the historic 1888 Gravity Cellar and matured in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads for 14 months.

In addition, we see the ‘Bench Blends’ new releases, showcasing the 2021 and 2022 vintages. The range is centred on the winemaking art of ‘assemblage’, with the ambition to achieve a final blend that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is the second release of a much loved traditional, Australian blend, ‘Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz’. The 2021 ‘No. EC4’ Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz blend consists of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon with Shiraz making up 47% of the final blend. Alongside this, we see a more contemporary expression of traditional Portuguese varieties from the 2022 vintage, ‘No. EC3’ Barossa Touriga, Tinta Cao, Tinta Amarela. The blend is 50% Touriga, with equal remaining parts Tinta Amarela and Tinta Cao. Red varietal blends carry an ‘EC’ (East Cellar) number were first released by Seppeltsfield’s founding family in the 1960s and formed the inspiration for this range.

Fiona Donald, Chief Winemaker, said:

“We are thrilled to welcome Julian to the winemaking team here at Seppeltsfield – it is a truly exciting time for our award-winning luxury still wine collection”.

“We are proud of this year’s luxury collection of red wines, showcasing wines of style and depth, with future ageing potential in ideal cellaring conditions. The 2021 was a stellar vintage in the Barossa, given the cooler ripening season from start to finish, delivering exceptional quality”.

“We remain dedicated to our ambition to match our reputation for the fortified wine collection with the luxury still wine collection. Fortunately, we have the means to do so with the combination of luxury vineyard holdings, historic 1888 Gravity Cellar and dynamic team”.

Now available via our online shop or at Seppeltsfield Cellar Door or also in fine wine retailers.