++ As with all pre-sales, the wines aren't with us just yet, but will be very shortly, which means we'll get them to you as soon as they land. There's no limit to what or how many of each you can buy, so have it...but remember that orders are only to be placed online or in-store...no emails, DMs, phone calls or holds allowed! ++
Put very simply, the ways in which Taras Ochota reframed the conversation around Australian natural wine cannot be overstated. Yet, what sometimes gets lost in that narrative is the fact that his wife, Amber Ochota, was there from day one, shaping that vision right alongside him. When Taras tragically passed in 2020, the future of Ochota Barrels could have easily floundered or fallen into the wrong hands, which might've been an even greater loss. Instead, Amber has bravely persevered, carrying the banner with the same intuitive touch, longstanding grower relationships and ferocious commitment to South Australia's noble old-vine sites. In her hands, the wines' restless energy, effortless charisma and laser-like focus on pure deliciousness live on – and this country's wine culture is all the richer for it.
Grenache is the grape that started it all for these two, with the prizewinning Fugazi being the very first wine the couple bottled in 2008. Almost 20 years later, the 2025 Fugazi Grenache remains a high-water mark, capitalising on the quality of 80-year-old bush vines in Blewitt Springs and shaping the fruit into a tense yet silken snap of redcurrants and fleshy blood plums that rolls into a long, succulent and savoury finish. Whole bunches of the same fruit find their way into a seasoned Vosges barrique for 186 days to make the 2025 186 Grenache, which really is the stuff of legend. More density, more horsepower – and only 120 bottles to go around. Woof.
Pinot noir has been something of a signature, too, with the A Forest Pinot Noir proving a constant crowd favourite in the always tight race of light ‘n’ bright styles from the Adelaide Hills. It’s back in 2025 and in very fine form – sappy and scented with crushed petals and wild raspberries, but backed by more savoury things: scrubby herbs, peat, charcuterie. Do what Amber does and open it a day ahead of drinking. The 2025 Home…Pinot Noir is a special wine in every respect, from the photo of poppies on the bottle (taken by Amber in Sweden) to what’s inside, made with whole bunches from a tennis-court-sized vineyard in Uraidla. You want pretty, delicate pinot that balances the lift of strawberry conserves and kirsch with exotic spice, graphite and gossamer tannins? This is the one.
For a glimpse at the variety’s darker, more rustic and brooding side, the 2025 Impeccable Disorder Pinot Noir has it all: sour cherries, rhubarb and blue/black fruits given contour by granular, gunpowder-like tannin. Untamed in all the right ways. On the flip side, 2025’s The Price of Silence Gamay turns what little gamay there is planted in the Piccadilly Valley into a high-energy affair; think cranberries, cracked pepper and a bit of beetroot-y earthiness all dialled up by polished minerality and breezy acidity. One for the fridge, no doubt. Then there’s the best-of-both worlds 2025 Father’s Milk, a pinot noir/gamay collab with Gentle Folk that always hits the spot with its swell of cherry fruit purity and nuances of violets, amaro spice and game meats.
Never, EVER overlook the chardonnays, either, which may not get as much attention as the reds, but always bring it home. The 2025 Slint Chardonnay is a consistent banger, where grapefruit pucker and ripe stone fruits wrap themselves around a core of lemon curd and flickers of green apple, oyster shells, rolled oats and flint liven up the background. The best parcels of fruit slip into the 2025 Control Voltage Chardonnay, a more fully loaded expression sculpted by weekly battonage and virgin Burgundian oak. Even so, it’s taut in its youth, with through-the-roof minerality lending contrast to lean palate of nectarines, lemon peel and pain d'épices. Restrain yourself, and cellar it.