Ebenezer is the home of the Hoffmann family in the Northern Barossa Valley. The Hoffmanns have lived on their original Dimchurch property since 1850. This is the first harvest that Callum has been able to source grapes from the Dimchurch Home Old vineyard, which is the oldest vineyard originally planted by the Hoffmann family in 1951, right out the back of their home. Callum’s family has worked with the Hoffmanns for nearly three decades so Callum calls the opportunity to work with this site is a “treasured sentiment.” There are a few other sites added into this Shiraz blend, such as the Hill Vineyard which is gives the blend a little bit more acidity. These sites are pretty high up at about 920 feet in elevation, and they only receive about 20 inches of rain per year. The past few years have seen pretty low yields, so the fruit has been very concentrated and powerful with excellent grip. Callum likes to use the comparison of two of Hermitage’s best vineyards to describe the differences between the Flaxman and the Ebenezer. He likens the Flaxman wine to Les Bessards, which has the bones (think savory, aromatic, lean tannins), and the Ebenezer wine to Le Meal, which has the flesh (think darker fruits, rounder, more gliding tannins).

The grapes were all harvested by hand on various picking dates and brought back to the cellar to ferment spontaneously in stainless-steel tanks as whole bunches with partial-carbonic maceration. After 14-40 days depending on the lot, the wine was pressed off the skins and racked to old barriques, where it remained for 12 months of aging. At this point the lots were blended, and the wine went to the bottling line without fining or filtration and just a touch of sulfur.