Jim Barry Wines
CLARE VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
FOR 60 YEARS, the Barry family has simply been trying to grow and make the best wines they can. Now, with the third generation at the helm of this Clare Valley winery – Tom Barry as winemaker and brother Sam in sales and marketing – they have won Winery of the Year. “The past few years have been strong, but we definitely weren’t expecting a call from James Halliday!” Tom says. Working so closely with family can often be fraught, but the boys say there are many positives. “We can make decisions fast,”
Tom says. “Like with our move to blend cabernet with malbec. We looked at the 2016 malbecs on the bench and said, ‘Geez they look good!’ And in half an hour, we had created three new wines!”
It no doubt helps job satisfaction that dad Peter is comfortable leaving the boys to it. “The wine styles are so good, there’s no need to interfere. I like looking at vineyards and tidying up!” he says. “You couldn’t imagine being lucky enough to be in such safe hands.” Tradition looms large here, with a focus on many of the styles that founding grandfather Jim made. These include riesling, shiraz, cabernet and even those cabernet malbecs, which Jim had championed as a Clare Valley blend. Their portfolio also includes the coveted, collectable Armagh Shiraz.
But plenty of experimentation is going on behind the scenes, too, as seen with a singlesite riesling project, with the inaugural 2013 set for release at 10 years of age. Another new Germanic-style riesling will roll out next year (see James Halliday’s story on page 40). Then there is assyrtiko – the Greek white variety proving a winner in the region. The wine’s natural acidity and “riesling-esque” nature won Peter over after trying it in its native Santorini, as well as the fact the grape thrives in such arid conditions. “I thought that if this grape can grow where palm trees can’t, then there’s a good chance of growing it back home,” Peter says. “We’ve just had our driest year since 1983, and the assyrtiko cropped at normal levels, and retained all its acidity and fresh flavours.” The family is also exploring this variety’s future with several single-site expressions having been bottled for future release.
This award clearly brings incredible validation for Sam and Tom, who never considered doing anything other than join the family business. “I remember walking into the winery as a little guy and seeing all these hoses and tanks, thinking there’s no way I could do that job – it looked so complicated!” Tom says. “But slowly it makes sense.”
Their focus from here remains on honouring Jim’s legacy. “It’s always been about making every bottle of wine better,” Peter says.