These notes, which also appear in the Tastings section of the site, are grouped together here for easy reference.
Rockford 2010 Alicante Bouchet (4.5* 17 points $18) As usual there's plenty to like about this regular item on our summer drinking schedule, which accounts for the apparent disparity between the points scores. Bright, clear, almost sparkling in the glass, tannin-free, well balanced with its own lunchtime charm. A dozen of these is an annual event.
Rockford 2011 Alicante Bouchet (4.5* $18) Bright translucent red in the glass, attractive fruity bouquet and the usual low alcohol refreshing palate, a degree of sweetness lurking there but it's well in the background. Your mileage may vary but this one almost invariably works in a North Queensland summer environment. That opinion, by the way, has been almost universally mirrored by those I've inveigled into sampling a glass. Excellent under the right conditions.
Rockford 2009 Barossa Valley White Frontignac (4* $15.50) Once again, clear, pale yellow in the glass, plenty of aromatics on the nose and crisp and clean on the palate. Has reserved a regular place in the Little House of Concrete wine rack.
Rockford 2006 Basket Press Barossa Valley Shiraz (4.5* $51) While I could almost have gone with a 5/5 rating, this was a wine both of us thought needed a good five plus years in the cellar. Plenty of velvety fruit-driven flavour, high quality Barossa Shiraz, and worth every cent right now. Looking forward to another try in 2015, when I suspect I'll be going 5/5. The only factor preventing me from ordering half a dozen of the 2007 is lack of space in the wine fridge.
Rockford 2006 Handpicked Eden Valley Riesling (4.5* $19) Twenty-one more months in the bottle hasn't done much to dim the colour, which was still fairly bright straw yellow, but the lemon on steroids we'd noted back in December '09 had rounded nicely through the nostrils and across the palate, the aged (no, make that mature, five years isn't quite aged) characters are coming to the fore and while there's no rush to knock over t'other one, it'll be lucky to be still sitting in the fridge this time next year. Include the current vintage in the next order? Definitely!
Rockford 2006 Rod & Spur Cabernet Shiraz (4.5* $29.50) Cabernet dominant (63/37%), deep red in the glass savoury leathery nose with berries and blackcurrants, not quite full-bodied but not exactly restrained either, rounded mouthfeel and silky tannins that ran all the way along the palate. Both varieties in this classic blend bring their own elements to the party and they've meshed together very nicely after five years. Could well have gone on for around a decade, but with limited cellaring space that five year span looks about right for these parts. Reorder? I definitely think so.