Jim Barry Wines: Keeping a Clare perspective

Clare in South Australia is a small rural town, with a population of just over 3,000 people, yet it produces extraordinary wines. Peter Barry has long been scheming how to make the wider world take notice of a region that punches far above its weight. Especially with Riesling.

Peter is the son of Jim Barry, the first qualified winemaker in Clare, who obtained his oenology degree in 1947 and worked for big wine companies before issuing the first Jim Barry Wines in 1974.

Peter took over the company reins as MD from 1985 (Jim died in 2004) and vigorously took Jim Barry Wines to the world. Now, in the twilight of his working life, Peter is watching his sons Tom Barry (winemaker) and Sam Barry (commercial manager), and daughter Olivia Barry (brand ambassador) lead the family company forward.

Tasting notes and scores for Jim Barry wines are listed below

Peter focused his energy on promoting Clare as a respected region that deserves its place on a global stage. His efforts ensured that racy, citrus-driven Clare Riesling is now a globally recognised style.

However the Barry sons have greater ambition: to have their best wines regarded among the wine world’s elite.

Next generation

This successful generational transition is significant. The question of succession hangs like an ominous cloud over Australia’s wine industry, as small to mid-sized wineries developed by winemaker/operators represent about 90% of Australia’s 2,156 wine companies (source: Wine Australia).

The future for many of these wineries is fraught as the original proprietors approach retirement.

The Barrys have no such qualms. Tom, the third generation to steer the winemaking of Jim Barry Wines, understands classic wine styles and traditions that built success for his grandfather Jim.

In addition, Tom’s experience doing vintages overseas also sees him adopting new techniques to build heightened aromas and finesse in the winery’s outstanding Rieslings.

The recent release of premium red wines from the impressive 2021 vintage also showcases Tom’s aim of promoting elegance through restrained oak use.

It offers an opportune time for the Barrys’ talents and intentions to shine – with more refined character, finesse and significant improvement as a consequence.

‘Our family planted vineyards with a purpose 50 years ago, and now we want to maximise their potential,’ explains Sam. ‘We see it as our opportunity to build on what came before us to achieve the extraordinary.’

Notable vineyards

The Barry family has been at the forefront of promoting the best attributes of Clare’s vineyards since Jim Barry purchased the 133ha Lodge Hill property (historically known as Wolta Wolta) in 1977.

Success grew through expanding the family’s vineyards assets, particularly through purchasing the Florita Vineyard at Watervale in 1986. The source of fruit for the famed 1960s Leo Buring Rieslings made by John Vickery, it is now supplying the fruit for the Jim Barry Florita and Watervale Rieslings.

The Barrys have also established their own superior sites. The Armagh vineyard (below) was planted by Jim in 1964, with 900 Malbec and 2,500 Cabernet Sauvignon vines. This was followed by a further 3.2ha of Shiraz vines in 1968, with a view to producing exceptional red wine.

Yielding less than four tonnes per hectare, The Armagh’s intense Shiraz was initially matured in only new American oak, to produce plush, opulent and persistent wines, before shifting to a mix of French and American oak that encourages a more sleek, elegant framework for the bold, powerful fruit.

Delicious secondary characters of tarry, black earth within savoury blackberry and sour cherry, which sit almost at counterpoint to playful whiffs of brown spice, pepper and fresh-cut brambles, have elevated The Armagh to stand as a modern Australian Shiraz icon.

Riesling developments

The way forward for Jim Barry Wines is based on a willingness to embrace innovation. Several recent significant Riesling innovations are being championed, the boldest being a collaboration with Germany’s Dr Ernst Loosen to make the 2021 Wolta Wolta Riesling.

Matured on lees in a 3,000-litre oak cask for two years, before a further year-long maturation in bottle, this is a unique, rich and highly textural style of Australian Riesling.

Recognising this to be a significant benchmark, the Barry family has retained 40% of the 2021 vintage to be held back as museum stock.

‘This Riesling has power and complexity that will only grow in the bottle, so we want to make sure it can be reintroduced to a global market for important milestones, after 20 years or 30 years in the cellar,’ explains Sam. ‘We are confident it will make a very important statement.’

A new jewel in the crown is the Spring Farm Vineyard, purchased in 2010 from Brian Barry (Jim’s brother, who died in 2020). Tom and Sam immediately noticed that several blocks within the big vineyard produce fruit of exceptional quality that deserve to be isolated for separate vinification.

A suite of new Spring Farm single-block wines includes Block 114 Riesling, which has been bottle aged for 10 years before release.

‘We’ve done this to show the merits of our wines showing at their very best,’ says Sam. ‘And because we want the classic Clare Riesling style to be a part of the global wine conversation.’

Going Greek

Another bold step saw Jim Barry Wines plant the first Assyrtiko vines in Australia. Peter sourced 12 cuttings from 100-year-old vines at Argyros Winery on the Greek island of Santorini during 2007.

They then endured a two-year quarantine before the best two vines were released. From those two mother vines, 32 buds were grafted onto 30 Riesling vines at two Clare Valley vineyard sites in 2011. The following year, 658 Assyrtiko vines were planted on a rugged, bony ridge atop the Barry’s Lodge Hill vineyard in Clare.

Peter was besotted by Assyrtiko’s meld of slate-like minerality and fresh citrus zing, and believes this grape variety’s ability to resist diseases and tolerate drought conditions makes it a good fit for Australia’s marginal growing environments.

‘Planting Assyrtiko may have seemed like a big gamble, but it takes us a step toward growing grapes that have a sustainable future in this region,’ says Tom. ‘We must face up to climate change and water scarcity and adapt our vineyard management appropriately, he adds.

It all fits comfortably within the larger story of Jim Barry Wines moving forward.

‘There’s a huge future here – and it’s all based on our tradition,’ says Peter. ‘The great wines from Clare – our Rieslings, our Cabernets, our Shiraz – sit among the great wines of the world, and that’s the message we have to keep broadcasting.’

Jim Barry Wines: 10 bottles to try

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