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Located over the train lines on Krondorf Rd coming into Tanunda (from Adelaide), Rockford’s prides itself on traditional values, hand made wines and quality fruit. Having a reputation for quality, it has amassed a loyal following, and its premium wines are very hard to get outside of South Australia with the rarest releases only available to select members of the “Stonewallers”, a private club managed by the winery.

1996 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz at auctionRockford Basket Press Shiraz

The flagship, old vine Shiraz with a fanatical following of wine enthusiasts. An elegant, traditionally made Barossa Shiraz of finely, focussed fruit. Good vintages can sell upwards of $120+ at auction. The problem for anyone considering this wine for a quick profit is that the release is carefully managed and availability is restricted to cellar door, restaurants and a handful of bottles shops around Australia.

Basket Press Shiraz - first Vintage

The first vintage was 1984. Some of these bottles still come up at auction, although very rarely. Unfortunately the wine is past its drinking window at this point, but as a collectible it has been known to fetch up to $300 at auction.

Basket Press Shiraz – Cellaring potential

The better vintages from the 90’s are drinking superbly at the moment (2014), and still have quite a few more years left in them (Use google to search the internet for recent vertical tastings). Remember, magnums have more volume and therefore age slower, a vintage that is starting to show its age in bottle may still be quite youthful in magnum, just make sure you have a few friends around to help you consume it.

Rockford's Stonewallers Club

Rockford’s have a special club that you may be invited to join called the stonewallers. It is by special invite only for consistent, loyal customers. You get an attachment for your keying and access to a special, stonewallers only, tasting room at the winery. Other advantages are access to some of the rarer wines and early access to the release of the annual Basket Press Shiraz.

Other Special Release or Notable Rockford Wines at Auction

 Rockford Single Vineyard Series or SVS Wines

As a "stonewaller" you can buy the Single vineyard wines (as well as early and less costly access to each vintage of their Basket Press Shiraz), produced only in epic vintages. Because of their exclusivity, reputation for quality and limited quantity there is a large premium paid for these wines at auction.

Rockford Sparkling Black Shiraz

The disgorgement date is 5 years old at release. Unique to Australian wine connoisseurs and with the potential to age (fantastically), sparkling Shiraz has a history going back over 100 years. Some of the older sparkling Shiraz from the turn of the century, whilst not retaining its bubbles, is drinking remarkably well. The process that gives these wines their fizz can also preserve them so much longer than their still cousins. Whilst the Rockford’s sparkling shiraz can not yet claim the same pedigree of the classics (such as the Seppelt sparkling shiraz) their continual quality may make them a contender in decades to come, although many people complain of older vintages weeping and problems with the corks, it may not just be a Rockford’s problem and perhaps we should be hoping for crown seals in all sparkling wines in the near future.

1998 Rockford Basket Press Winemakers Release

There are two versions of the 1998 Basket Press Shiraz. The original release and the Winemakers release. The back label on the second release is clearly marked “Winemakers Release”.

According to the winery there is no noticeable difference between the two releases. However, the second release did spend more time in oak and hearsay from various tasters puts the second one as slightly more oaky that the first when tasted side by side. Still an elegant Shiraz, and not overly oaky in the first place, both are still marvellous wines BUT occasionally the winemakers release sells for less. Why? Its hard to say as we have interviewed a number of the buyers and they buy for totally different reasons, but the majority perceive that the 2nd release is the lesser quality wine hence the occasional price variation.

It can be a very interesting look into the perception of quality and how it can affect demand and pricing.

AROUND THE INTERNET

Historical and estimated wine auction prices for Rockford Basket Press Shiraz

Valid May 2023

Wine NameVintageLow (Avg)HighSize
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1984$260$360Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1985$130$190Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1986$140$200Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1987$110$160Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1988$95$135Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1989$80$100Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1989$200$250Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1990$130$180Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1990$450$500Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1991$140$180Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1991$400$450Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1992$90$105Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1992$270$320Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1993$85$100Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1993$250$300Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1994$90$110Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1994$200$250Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1995$85$100Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1995$200$260Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1996$160$220Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1996$900$1,100Double Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1996$3,200$3,500Imperial
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1996$400$500Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1997$85$115Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1997$200$250Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1998$160$200Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1998$55$70Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1998$3,000$3,500Imperial
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1998$280$360Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1999$100$140Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley1999$200$300Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2000$85$105Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2000$38$54Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2000$220$280Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2001$95$115Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2001$35$40Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2001$180$240Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2002$110$160Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2002$35$40Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2002$230$320Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2003$90$115Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2003$42$55Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2003$190$200Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2004$100$130Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2004$50$55Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2004$200$250Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2005$95$130Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2005$36$48Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2005$200$280Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2006$100$140Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2006$40$42Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2006$180$220Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2007$90$100Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2007$35$45Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2007$240$260Magnum
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2008$85$120Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2008$40$50Half Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2009$85$100Bottle
ROCKFORD Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley2010$110$140Bottle


Values have been aggregated from national secondary market data.

Notes on pricing and valuation

Low Range
Typically, price clusters form over time at market value. The low value is then calculated from the average accumulated hammer price at auction from multiple Australian wine auction houses over a 6 month period. All prices are for bottles with no damage or ullage. Well stored bottles with a documented purchase and storage history will always attract the best prices.

High Range
High prices are typically outliers or record high values achieved over a long period of time and,typically, includes only a very low sample of bottles sold, never the average and most often only a single bottle.

Last sale
This figure is not shown, as using it in isolation can produce a false sense of the true value of a bottle.

A note on auction reserves
All auction houses generally set a reserve price 10% less than the low price range. This allows for fluctuations of the market price going down as well as up.

Author: Mark Wickman
wineauction@wickman.net.au  Google+ Profile 

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