A letter from Vintage 2025
'This year started with a bang. Like a premature baby whose parents haven’t quite finished nesting, the grapes were ready to pick before we were quite expecting them
Luckily, we were on top of everything and the winery was scrubbed and ready to go, the barrels were waiting in silence and the dogs and children eager for the thrill and mayhem which is vintage
The weather was hot, really hot. If you’ve spent time in Adelaide, you know what I’m talking about. We hadn’t had rain for months and the ground, even in Basket Range which is known for its lushness long after other parts of the hills have browned off, had started to turn hard. The tanks were already half empty and people were planning rain dances for the weeks ahead
We welcomed the first fruit, syrah, for the first time ever in January
Lucas and Monty, the gorgeous kelpie, are joys and it feels like they have always been with us. Luis is still very much part of our family and still making his wines with us for now, but he no longer helps with ours. 3 girls, a winery being built and his own label are keeping him pretty busy! My mum, Dallas and Taras’ dad Yari were ever present throughout vintage, as they have been always, since we started in 2008. Lucas’ parents joined us again for a week, traveling from interstate in their campervan and we also had ‘Micky George’ helping out once a week in a variety of learning and helping roles. Along with other day visitors, we had a homeschool work experience student come and learn about wine making and of course, the children were in and out and around about at all times, with their collection of animals and friends joining them
It’s a busy, sometimes chaotic time of the year, but we all love it. We have long lunches, either outside under the hazelnuts, under the rose arbour, on the winery deck or if we all need a cool down, by the water. It’s important that the winery is clean and organised, but a little bit of chaos is always expected and welcomed. This comes in the form of opportunistic chickens, escaped alpacas, too many dogs and heaps of cheeky children
We spent a long time tasting through the wines and blending the texture like sun. Always the trickiest spring wine to get right as the other wines (besides botanicals) are single vineyards so a much simpler process. Botanicals is the most fun to make. The children delivered the herbs we picked, to the winery in their little mobile pink car. We added juice from every vineyard and kept a continual ferment going throughout vintage, longer than usual, keeping the ferment cool and steady. The result is in my mind, is the best we have made. So fragrant and beautiful. A true snapshot of our property and this time of year here in the Adelaide hills
I so hope you enjoy this year’s spring release. It is always a time of reflection for me when the wines are bottled and I’m taking photos of them and tasting through them. I think about the years gone by and how much things have changed for us as a family and a company and yet how so many things remain the same. Taras is all around us, I can still feel his energy, and it is impossible to believe that this is our 10th release without him.'
Much love,
Amber'
(Image: Amber Ochota - Ochota Barrels / www.ochotabarrels.com)
Ochota Barrels Spring Release
2025 weird berries in the woods
soft fresh lychee, tangelo blossom, lavender, meyer lemon and manuka honey
bone dry with full texture and a crisp finish
rose petal infused lemongrass entry followed by chalky, mandarin skinned texture, forming a foundation for the jasmine and ginger infused nervy acid line which finishes long and bright
full malo this year which gives a beautiful generosity and overall softness
2025 adelaide hills gewurztraminer
pH – 3.36 T.A. – 5.2 Alc. – 11.4%
picked from a single vineyard in the adelaide hills, peramangk country, 10 days earlier than 2024
pressed directly to seasoned french oak with full solids
2025 surfer rosa
ethereal pale salmon pink with iridescent vibrancy is the telltale sign of restrained and elegant red fruits
the spice infused nose lifts with lingonberries and charcuterie
the palate entry is full, but has a savory line which is supported by a lively snappy texture reminiscent of persimmon beads and cranberries
the finish is dry with lingering ripe strawberries
best served chilled with your favourite people
2025 mclaren vale grenache rosé
pH – 3.14 T.A. – 6.9 Alc. – 11.7%
organic old vine grenache, grown by rino in the onkaparinga hills, mclaren vale, kaurna country, with 12% gewurztraminer added to give aromatic pop
handpicked whole bunches, crushed into the press, then racked four days later for indigenous fermentation to kick off
2025 texture like sun sector 12
‘golden brown, texture like sun…’
the stranglers
… our wedding song…
a blend of carefully chosen barrique, the palate entry is lusciously red and supple then gives way to finely shaped tannins that are swept up by a wash of damson, cigar box, and cassis
juicy and vibrant, it’s the perfect wine for a picnic by a waterhole, fine dining in the world’s best restaurants and everywhere in between
long, fleshy and so very drinkable… the yellow label as bright as the sun and as hard to look at
2025 field red
pH – 3.49 T.A. – 5.6 Alc. – 12.2%
30.3% pinot… 24.3% grenache … 22.7% gewurztraminer… 15.2% gamay… 7.5% pinot meunier
twelve days on skins, 40% whole bunch, 4 months in seasoned French oak
2025 the green room
lifted spice, plum compote and a herbal thread of thyme with white pepper, entwine the strikingly fragrant bouquet of bouillon
the palate entry is opulent yet nervy with medium bodied savoury (almost pinot like) finely grained textural components resembling pomegranate and lingonberry
bottled in clear glass to encourage the glorious simplicity of what mother nature can provide without interference
2025 mclaren vale old vine grenache
pH – 3.37 T.A. – 5.7 Alc. – 11.2%
organic grenache, dry grown by rino…. red loamy clay with ironstone over deep limestone in onkaparinga hills, kaurna country
handpicked in midsummer, from a gorgeous organic vineyard planted in 1946, surrounded in fig, olive and peach trees
12 days on skins, 25% wholebunch, 4 months in seasoned french oak
2025 the mark of cain
this chimeric mutation of pinot noir is all about pink florals in spring
there are elements of freshly baked vosges mountain cherry cake with an estery core dotted with fennel seed, almond meal, rhubarb and feijoa
the palate drive is from crunchy whole bunch natural acidity
tightly wound fine tannins wrapped in a core of pulsing bright red berries and wisps of exotic tropicals
succulent with the mid palate holding length and energy
2025 piccadilly pinot meunier
1803 bottles produced
pH- 3.61 T.A.- 5.3 Alc- 12.8%
10 days on skins, 20% whole bunch, 4 months in seasoned french oak
unfined & unfiltered
2025 where’s the pope?
super light on alcohol, but full in flavour, lush and leggy
elegant and delicious, this was our first pick this vintage… a gorgeous sunny day, mid twenties and not a cloud in the sky
black olive tapenade and crushed autumn leaves… you know that smell when you go walking on those perfect autumn days, when the trees are still full of leaves, but so is the ground, so you kick the leaves, then you throw the leaves up in the air and then you just can’t resist any more, so you start rolling and you keep rolling until you are completely covered in the leaves and the gorgeous smell fills your nostrils when you breathe in deeply and you remember how magical life is…
2025 mclaren vale syrah
1698 bottles produced
pH –3.47 T.A. – 5.6 Alc. – 10.5%
organically grown by rino, onkaparinga hills on schist and clay
picked on the 29th January
15 days on skins, 65% whole bunch
unfined & unfiltered
2025 botanicals of the basket range
…. throughout this beautiful vintage of twenty twenty five, we added a constant supply of juice from all of the vineyards, into a baby vessel… the children and I then took our favourite basket and wandered around our garden, picking organic herbs, flowers, fruits and leaves… the children delivered the basket to the winery in their little pink car, where we submerged the botanicals into the ferment…. this wine is a true taste of vintage 2025 and summer here in basket range
… some of the organic botanicals infused this year were… sage… . lemon peel… . borage… .
oregano… . lavender… . rose petals… . wormwood… . bay leaves… . thyme… . grapefruit peel… . mint… . lemon balm… . lemon verbena… .
2025 vermouth inspired red (gewurztraminer, pinot noir, pinot meunier, syrah, grenache, gamay, chardonnay)
only 505 bottles produced
pH – 3.32 T.A. – 5.8 Alc. – 12.8%
a favourite to make, a favourite to drink
infused with a bouquet garni of organic botanicals grown in our gardens
treat like a wine, or over ice with flowers and herbs like a vermouth
unfined and unfiltered
(Image: Vintage 2025 - Ochota Barrels / www.ochotabarrels.com)
(Image: Vintage 2025 - Ochota Barrels / www.ochotabarrels.com)