Background of the Veritas Winery
Our mother Franziska and father, Rolf Heinrich, arrived in Australia from Europe (Austria and Hungary respectively) in 1950 as part of the large influx of post war immigration to Australia. As payment for their assistance to Australia, they worked with the South Australian railways for three years. During that time they met Elmore Schulz, a train driver and a grape grower in the Barossa Valley, and namesake to neighbouring Barossa Valley Estate's E&E Shiraz. In 1953 while picking grapes in the Barossa, the couple met Langmeil Road winemakers Chris Vohrer and Wilhelm Abel. This meeting proved to set their future. In 1954 they worked a vintage in this winery, and then purchased the business in 1955, renaming it "Veritas", taken from the Latin quote "In Vino Veritas" - in wine there is truth.
Development of the Modern Wine Styles and Awards
Later came the realization of the great riches of the Barossa Valley in old vine Shiraz, Mataro and Grenache. Experiments at Veritas and a number of other, mostly small Barossa wineries followed and, through the 1980's, led to the release of many exciting old vine varietal blends.
Semillon is considered the premium white variety of the Barossa, and Rolf's daughter Christa Deans holds an esteemed position as the producer of benchmark Barossa Semillons. Riesling is also considered superior in the Australian wine industry, and the style is softer and more floral from the neighbouring Eden Valley than the seriously steely Rieslings from Europe.
Veritas slowly gained recognition and in 1996 and 1997 was awarded the Trophy for Best Small Producer at the Barossa Wine Show and the Trophy for the Best Barossa Shiraz. In 2002 Veritas again won the Trophy for the Best Small Producer. More recently Veritas has been awarded twice in 2002 and 2003 the Trophy for the Best Semillon at the Barossa Wine Show. In 2002 Veritas were the makers of the top three pointed semillons at the Barossa Show and included the gold medal and trophy winning wine.
Wine Styles - White and Red and Fortified
Veritas make white wines from fruit sourced from the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. The varieties used are Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.
Red varieties made at the winery come from the Barossa region, encompassing the Barossa and Eden Valleys, and small outlying areas. Varieties include Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro, Malbec, and Grenache.
Wines are made under contract for other small growers and we also provide wood storage for small wineries.
The Name Change to Rolf Binder Wines
Until 2005, wines carried the family brand of Veritas. As interest in the wines grew in the United States this term caused confusion with another Veritas wine brand. This event also coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of Veritas Winery. Thus, we changed the name to Rolf Binder in honour of our father who passed away two years earlier in 2003. Now all the wines for domestic and international distribution are branded "Rolf Binder".
We use the brand "Veritas" on this site for past references and older wines, as well as the brand for our exclusive cellar door range.
The top four reds of Rolf Binder in order of distinction are
- Hanisch Shiraz
- Heysen Shiraz
- Hubris (Bulls Blood) Shiraz Mataro Pressings
- Heinrich Shiraz Mataro Grenache
Up until mid-2008, the Heysen Shiraz was not sold in Australia. We now sell a small quantity of our Heysen in the Australian market each year.
The Rolf Binder Hubris has an immense following in Australia under the old name of Veritas Bulls Blood Shiraz Mataro 'Pressings', thus we continue to trade throughout Australia and Asia with that name.
About Rolf Binder Hanisch
In 1968 Veritas purchased from local landholder, 'Punch' Hanisch, a block of ground that was then incorporated into the Chri-Ro Estate. These blocks were named by Rolf Senior after Christa and Rolf. This was planted to vines in 1972 and by the mid 1980's it was recognized that one part of this vineyard made intensely expressive Shiraz. The first Shiraz bottled exclusively from this single vineyard was the 1988, though it was not called Hanisch at that stage, but 'Long Rows'. The Hanisch Shiraz was first produced in 1991. Production is about 450 to 500 cases. It cannot be increased as it comes from about six rows of vines in the Hanisch vineyard on the Chri-Ro Estate that surrounds the winery.
The wine is aged partly in new American oak; a smaller amount in new French oak which has been matured in the Barossa Valley for two years before being formed into barrels by Tanunda coopers, A.P. John; and partly in older French and American oak.
This small vineyard area produces about 12 to 16 barrels and, during the wine classification stage, this is reduced to around 10 to 12 barrels. The declassified Hanisch is used in Bulls Blood and other premium wines.
The Hanisch Shiraz has earned Veritas Winery an "Excellent" classification with Langtons and much critical acclaim from esteemed wine writers throughout the world.
Rolf Binder - Veritas Awards
- Veritas has slowly gained recognition and, won back to back trophies in 1995 and 1996 for the Best Shiraz at the Barossa Wine Show and the Trophy for the Best Small Producer. The last is awarded for a crush of less than 500 tonnes.
- In 2002 Veritas again won the Trophy for the Best Small Producer.
- More recently Veritas has been awarded, both in 2002 and 2003, the Trophy for the Best Semillon at the Barossa Wine Show. In 2002, Veritas were the makers of the top three pointed Semillons at the Barossa Show and included the gold medal and trophy winning wine.
- The winner of the Best Small Producer Award at the Barossa Wine Show three times in eight years.
- The English wine magazine 'Decanter' featured the Veritas Hanisch 1994 as one of the 'Top three Australian Shiraz'.
- The Magpie Estate 'The Malcolm' 1996 was awarded 99 out of 100 by the influential New York wine critic Robert Parker in his 1998 Wine Advocate, at the time the highest ever pointed Australian wine.
- A strong appraisal of all Veritas reds by the New York wine critic Robert Parker in his influential 'Wine Advocate', June, 2001, included a rating for the Veritas 'Hanisch' Shiraz 1998, of 99 points out of 100. An average of all of his reviews of Shiraz made by Veritas gives a current rate of 96.5 out of 100.
- Included in the consumer 'Winestate' magazine 'Jewels of the Barossa', March-April, 2003. Nine vintages of the Veritas Hanisch were rated as; three with five stars, one with four stars, and five with four and a half stars.
- Red winemaker, Rolf Binder was named a finalist in the Gourmet Traveller Australian Winemaker of the Year for 2006.
- Five Stars from James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion
Other Brands
Rolf Binder, considered one of Australia's most innovative and creative winemakers, is always inspired to investigate how far he can "push" wine styles.
The Rolf Binder and Veritas range each have their own consistent styles, so it is through the development of other brands that Rolf is able to truly explore the various expressions of the grape.
Magpie Estate
Magpie Estate is one of the more successful brands made by Rolf Binder. Produced in conjunction with Cambridge wine merchant Noel Young, the two hold a real passion for the Rhone varieties, such as Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Most of the Magpie Estate's production is released into the English market with smaller parcels kept for Australia and the US. The grapes used for Magpie Estate wines are from some of the better vineyards in South Australia, as well as the estate's own. Noel likes more new oak than you would find in the estate grown Rolf Binder and Veritas wines. Together, twice a year, Rolf and Noel taste the various parcels of wine and agree on final blends for bottling.
The Magpie Estate 'The Malcolm' 1996 was awarded 99 out of 100 by the influential New York wine critic Robert Parker in his 1998 Wine Advocate, at the time the highest ever pointed Australian wine.
Binder Mitchell
Binder Mitchell is a combination of skills and styles from Barossa winemaker, Rolf Binder, and Clare winemaker, Kevin Mitchell. Past brands they have produced include Dovetail, Binder Mitchell, Baroota and Gunslingers. All of this wine is distributed and not available from our winery.
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Red Wines
