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The
New Barossa
Part 7: Greg
Hobbs
When I meet him, Greg Hobbs is limping. His ankle is in
plaster – an accident on the squash court. In the introduction
to this series, I
mentioned how the Barossa benefits from not having too many
lifestylers. If you were being mean, you could describe Greg as a
lifestyler: he came to wine late after a previous life as a policeman in an anti-terrorist
unit in Adelaide, and then a fireman. In 1996 he (perhaps unknowingly) made
the shrewd decision to buy the property next door to Chris Ringland,
whose wines now fetch silly money. His first wines were made in 1998
– just half a ton of Shiraz. Then in 1999 he made the same quantity.
US importer Dan Phillips tasted and offered to buy the lot. In 2003
Greg finally stopped selling grapes to others, and decided to use all
his own grapes himself.
 The wines are very impressive indeed, across the board.
While the old vine Shiraz hogs the limelight, and justifiably so, I
was probably more fascinated by the fantastic Amarone wines. These are
dried on racks, Italian style, a production method that has also been
extended to include a range of sweet whites.
Tasting through the wines with Greg, I get the
impression he is very proud of his wines – and he has every right to
be. Producing such an interesting range of wines like these, he’s
certainly not just a ‘lifestyler’.
Hobbs Shiraz Viognier 2004 (barrel sample)
Made from 8 year old vines, with 4% Viognier. Vivid colour. Quite
perfumed, with clean, pure fruit. The palate is fresh, pure and shows
elegant fruit. A very promising wine with lots going on. 90+/100
Hobbs Old Vine Shiraz 2004 (barrel sample)
Aged in new French oak. Very ripe, sweet fruit on the nose. The
palate shows a huge concentration, but still possesses some elegance
with spicy, tarry oak and plenty of flavour. A complex wine that’s
full of promise. 92–95/100
 Hobbs
Old Vine Shiraz 2003
Aged in new French oak. Complex, rich spicy nose is vivid and
full. There’s a slight meatiness under the multilayered fruit. The
palate is very rich and concentrated: full and spicy with lots of
structure and good acidity. There’s some new oak evident. Coming
together very nicely with intense, vivid fruit. A big wine but it’s
in balance. 92–94/100
Hobbs Old Vine Shiraz 2002
Aged in a mix of new and old French oak. Very classy nose: rich,
vivid fruit with a savoury, spicy, oaky edge and a hint of meatiness.
Refined. The palate is concentrated and rich with a lovely savoury,
spicy underlay to the fruit. Intense with good acidity. Nice
definition here: big and rich, but classy and with potential for
future improvement. Very good/excellent 93/100
Hobbs Old Vine Shiraz 2001
Slightly shy nose, with some subtle, minty, cedary, menthol
overtones. Lovely rich concentrated palate shows taut, savoury, spicy
fruit with lovely structure and acidity. Very refined with a wonderful
structure and a fine, spicy finish. A serious, classy wine. Very
good/excellent 94/100
Hobbs Amarone 2003 (cask sample)
Knockout nose: sweet, ripe, herbal with blackberry fruit. The
palate is open with seamless sweet fruit and good acid. Quite
sensational with lovely complexity and a sweet finish. 92–94/100
 Hobbs
Amarone 2002
There’s a savoury streak to the dark fruits, with a smooth
creamy edge. The palate is rich with pure elegant fruit. Smooth and
intense; still quite savoury. This will be the first release. Very
good/excellent 93/100
Greg also makes a range of sweet whites, which are
semi-dried and then undergo the normal winemaking process: they
aren’t fortified.
Hobbs Viognier 2004
Still fermenting, but showing lovely grapey, peachey palate and
good balancing acid.
Hobbs Frontignac 2004
Very pretty perfumed, aromatic, grapey nose. The palate is rich
with high acidity and nice freshness balancing the sweetness
Hobbs Frontignac 2003
Sweet grapey nose leads to a nice grapey palate with herbal,
tea-leaf complexity. Nutty, with good acid. Very good+ 88/100
Hobbs Semillon 2003
Herby, savoury, nutty nose with some appley fruit. The palate is
rich and sweet with a nice herbal complexity. Tasty stuff. Very good+
89/100
Hobbs Viognier 2003
Deep colour. Herbal, nutty tea-leaf edge to the nose, which has
some appley, peachy fruit. The palate is lively with good sweetness
and high acidity. Nutty and intense. Very good+ 89/100
Hobbs Grenache 2003
Semi-dried, again. Sweet ripe berry fruit nose, with some
raspberry and blackcurrant character. The palate shows lovely vivid,
pure fruit with some sweetness. Really interesting stuff with lovely
fruit quality. Very good/excellent 91/100
wines
available in the UK from The Cellar Door and Bordeaux Index
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