First Drop
First Drop was born in 2004. Conceived by two friends, Matt ‘Gantos’ Gant and John ‘JR’ Retsas, with a desire to make wines to drink, not just appreciate. Mother’s Milk!
Based at the ‘Home of the Brave’ winery in Nuriootpa (Barossa Valley, South Australia), First Drop is making wines with flavour, texture and a splash of funk; from fruit sourced from unique vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Barossa to bring you a diverse, deliciously exciting and thought provoking line up of flavours.
Farming Methods: 100% vegan, minimal/low intervention.
First Drop Cold Sweat Eden Valley Syrah – Moculta (Single Vineyard) 2014
Eden Valley is the perfect backdrop for us to further push our vinous boundaries. At a higher elevation than the Barossa Valley below, we embrace the funk to make even more diverse expressions of Syrah that speak of their unique sites. It’s all about the one. Give the drummer some! With this Eden Valley project we are looking for the ultimate expressions of three cooler climate sites and working hard to find them, utilising all our experience. Syrah from a single vineyard in Moculta.
Colour: Garnet red with purple hues
Nose: A complex nose of dark cherry, savoury and spice aromas
Palate: A brooding palate of grainy tannins support complex dark cherry, earthy and savoury flavours.
"A more conventional syrah, but that doesn’t make it any less attractive as it’s impressively well made. Fresh blackberry compote, fresh herbs, dark licorice, hot stones and cassis. Full-bodied with a lovely line of acidity that runs all the way through the layers of black fruit and right up to the chewy finish. Drink in 2022." - 95 points, James Suckling
First Drop Mother’s Milk Barossa Shiraz 2021
Not a sledgehammer style, this Barossa Shiraz is made for drinking! Soft, slurpy and textured it is balanced with good acidity, which refreshes the palate and makes you go back for a second / third glass. Sourced from 3 unique vineyards, it is fruit laden, savoury and dangerously easy to drink! It is matured for 12 months in French oak hogsheads to allow the fruit to express itself.
Colour: Garnet red with purple hues
Nose: A complex nose of dark cherry and blackberry aromas with a hint of forest floor and spice
Palate: Vibrant dark cherry and blackberry with a hint of ‘wombat rolled in all spice’ balanced with an even, textural palate with soft, supple tannins
First Drop ‘Real Time’ 2022 Chardonnay
Long mild mornings & days as well as bitterly cold nights slowly ripen, pristine chardonnay fruit allowing it to develop elegant flavours & tight texture. Delicate & minimal handling in the winery has seen us produce an outstanding Chardonnay from an excellent vintage.
Colour: Pale Straw
Nose: Apples, yellow peach & pear blossoms with hints of toasted hazelnuts
Palate: Nectarine & white peaches with yellow grapefruit. Fresh lemon curd & hints of brioche, on a tightly textured palate.
First Drop Mother’s Ruin McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
VINTAGE 2019: A very dry winter and spring, with frost events in September and November disrupting bud burst and flowering, resulted in the lightest crops in the past decade. January and February were warm and dry, and in conjunction with the low yields, ripening was rapid. Quick decision making and early picking resulted in reds with great intensity and structure thanks also to the light crops and early tannin maturity. 2019 was a challenging vintage, but one of the most rewarding, with our alternative varieties showing particularly well. The overall quality is a tribute to our growers and their perseverance in a difficult growing season. We salute you!
The fruit is crushed/destemmed and fermented at temperatures ranging from 20- 25°C for 10 days on skins. The ferment is managed by a variety of techniques, including ‘aerative pump overs’ and ‘drain and returns’ which assist in extracting colour, flavour and tannin from the grapes. At the end of fermentation, it is drained/pressed, and transferred to 10% new French oak barriques, and the balance to 3 and 4 year old French oak hogsheads to undergo MLF. Post MLF, sulphur dioxide is added, and the wines mature sur lie for 18 months.
Body: Medium Bodied
Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon
First Drop Mother’s Milk Barossa Shiraz 2022
Not a sledgehammer style, this Barossa Shiraz is made for drinking! Soft, slurpy and textured it is balanced with good acidity, which refreshes the palate and makes you go back for a second / third glass. Sourced from 3 unique vineyards, it is fruit laden, savoury and dangerously easy to drink! It is matured for 12 months in French oak hogsheads to allow the fruit to express itself.
Colour: Garnet red with purple hues
Nose: A complex nose of dark cherry and blackberry aromas with a hint of forest floor and spice
Palate: Vibrant dark cherry and blackberry with a hint of ‘wombat rolled in all spice’ balanced with an even, textural palate with soft, supple tannins
First Drop Mother’s Ruin McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
First Drop Cold Sweat Eden Valley Syrah – Moculta (Single Vineyard) 2015
Eden Valley is the perfect backdrop for us to further push our vinous boundaries. At a higher elevation than the Barossa Valley below, we embrace the funk to make even more diverse expressions of Syrah that speak of their unique sites. It’s all about the one. Give the drummer some! With this Eden Valley project we are looking for the ultimate expressions of three cooler climate sites and working hard to find them, utilising all our experience. Syrah from a single vineyard in Moculta.
Colour: Garnet red with purple hues
Nose: A complex nose of dark cherry, savoury and spice aromas
Palate: A brooding palate of grainy tannins support complex dark cherry, earthy and savoury flavours.
Cellaring: Drink up, but also 8-10 years proposition.
"Deep and decadent on the nose with plum, dried-meat and leather aromas. Some tar. Full-bodied yet fresh. Round and silky tannins. Juicy finish. Tangy acidity. Drink now. " - 95 points, James Suckling
VINTAGE 2015: A condensed vintage with full fat flavour! A warmer than usual spring led to an early, yet even flowering and fruit set. Together with a dry season, this led to an early start to vintage despite mild conditions and welcome rainfall in January. With harvest progressing quickly, it was clear that yields were variable, but the wines showed full flavours. Low yielding Barossa Valley Shiraz was rich (reminiscent of 2005). Yields were up in Eden Valley Shiraz, and thus looked less primary, more savoury, with good acid (reminiscent of 2002). So the upshot is we’ve almost got two vintages in one, with some diverse, full flavoured wines. Lap it up!
First Drop Cold Sweat Eden Valley Syrah – Craneford (Single Vineyard) 2015
Eden Valley is the perfect backdrop for us to further push our vinous boundaries. At a higher elevation than the Barossa Valley below, we embrace the funk to make even more diverse expressions of Syrah that speak of their unique sites. It’s all about the one. Give the drummer some!
Colour: Garnet red with purple hues
Nose: A complex nose of dark cherry, tomato leaf, celery and pepper spice
Palate: A textured palate of fine graphite tannins support complex dark cherry savoury spice flavours.
First Drop 2% Barossa Shiraz 2020
VINTAGE 2020: Below average rainfall over winter followed by a very dry spring; with high winds and cold nights in November disrupting flowering; and hot, dry conditions in December and early January reducing bunch and berry size; resulted in yields at least 50% below the 10-year average. Thankfully a cooler February and March led to slower ripening despite the low yields. Whilst variability within vineyards, caused by the earlier extremes in the season, meant for tricky picking decisions and reds that show great depth and structure. 2020 was yet another challenging vintage, to rival 2019, but again it’s delivered one of which to be proud.
VINIFICATION: The fruit is crushed/destemed and fermented at temperatures ranging from 20-25°C for 8 days on skins. The ferment is managed by a variety of techniques, including ‘aerative pump overs’ and ‘drain and returns’ which assist in extracting colour, flavour and tannin from the grapes. At the end of fermentation, it is drained/pressed, and transfered to 3 and 4 year old French oak hogsheads to undergo MLF. Post MLF, sulphur dioxide is added, and the wines mature sur lie for 20 months. This wine was bottled in April 2022.
Colour: Dark plum
Aroma: Lifted black fruit aromas with a hint of earth and spice.
Palate: Rich, phat, dark berry fruits, with hints of dark chocolate and Indian ink, supported by a dense core of tannins.
Foor Pairing: Brownies
First Drop Vivo Adelaide Hills Arneis 2022
VINEYARD: Kersbrook in the northern Adelaide Hills - 340m above sea level on complex sandy clay loams over shale
VINTAGE 2022: Above average winter rainfall initiated healthy bud burst and minimal irrigation was required as a result. Spring was also relatively cool & windy which lead to some prolific canopy growth in parts of vineyards but also uneven flowering, which saw lower yields in many cases.
Colour: Pale straw, with tinge of green
Nose: Nashi pear and passionfruit with a hint of lime
Palate: Nashi pear and pithy fruit flavours dominate, with lime zest and minerality, making the palate long and zingy.
Food Pairing: Fresh scallops with ginger and shallots, chilli crabs, salt & pepper squid, agnolotti al plin
"Tastes like arneis with candied lemons and limes with some steel and stone undertones. Medium body. Really takes off at the finish. So much energy. Drink now. Screw cap." - 92 points, James Suckling
First Drop The Cream Barossa Shiraz 2016
The Cream is blended at the optimum time from the best barrels from First Drop’s most prized vineyards to create the ultimate expression of Barossa Shiraz from the vintage. A rich, textured, seamless wine that combines power and elegance. It’s seductive, with a pedigree that will see it mature for a further 10 to 15 years. Indulge now or reward yourself later.
Single Vineyard Location:
35% Ebenezer
35% Greenock
30% Seppeltsfield
Colour: Black
Nose: Lifted black fruit aromas with hints of smoke, tar, leather, orals and Indian spices
Palate: Rich kirsch and black fruits, dark chocolate and licorice, balanced with textured, lingeringly seamless tannins
"A spicy and brambly nose showing lots of liqueur notes derived from fruits, such as blackberries, dark cherries and dark plums. A hint of ivy extract and licorice, too. The palate is very composed with a surprisingly vibrant line of acidity that runs right through the middle, carrying ripe but structured and firm tannins to the very nicely structured finish." - 95 points, James Suckling
First Drop Fat of the Land Barossa Shiraz – Ebenezer (Single Vineyard) 2015
The Barossa is an amazing place with a diverse history from which a great community has grown living o- the Fat of the Land. Famed for its Shiraz vineyards, some dating back to the 19th century, the wines from this small, but proud region are as unique and divergent as its history and community. One can make such varied expressions of Shiraz, due to the different meso-climates of each subregion, the elevation range, and the myriad of soil types that are to be found throughout the Barossa. The Fat of the Land series seeks to showcase the sub regions of the Barossa, and the contrasting styles of Shiraz that can be made here. Shiraz from a single vineyard in Seppeltsfield.
Colour: Dark kirsch
Nose: Lifted dark cherry aromas with notes of licorice and dark chocolate
Palate: Flavour packed with kirsch, prunes, dark chocolate and liquorice. Rich and muscular, like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"The nose is captivating here, offering up aromas of forest fruits, blueberries, sour cherries and a hint of walnut shell. Full body, structured and juicy tannins and a long finish. Everything is in balance and nothing's overdone. Drink now." - 94 points, James Suckling
"Offers toasty, cedary notes that lend a dominating spicy, tobacco-laced vibe to the core of plum and black cherry flavors. Finishes with licorice and toasty spice notes, and firming tannins. Drink now through 2028. 200 cases made, 50 cases imported." - MaryAnn Worobiec, Senior Editor and Napa Bureau Chief at Wine Spectator