Turkey Flat

I had the chance to meet Christie Schultz of the Barossa winery Turkey Flat in Singapore at a dinner hosted by Robert Rees at New Ubin, CHIJMES, on 16 May 2024. Those who know would know that this estate produces one of the best examples of Australian shiraz without busting your bank account. Always cool, elegant and impeccably balanced, the wine here is derived from very very old vines first planted in 1847 by pioneering German immigrants fleeing the Lutheran persecution. The Schultz family has owned the estate since the 1860s, and Christie has sought to expand the full potential of various Rhône varietals that the Barossa flatlands are so suited for. She uses up to 25 percent whole bunches, which adds further complexity to the nuances of French barrels. Many thanks, Christie, for making the trip and to Bob as well for the organisation.

2023 Turkey Flat Rosé. Very pale pinkish hue. Faint but alluring notes of distant cherries. Cool elegant presence, yielding a slight detail of furred cherry skins and strawberries. Developed a distinct salinity before morphing together with greater presence whilst remaining understated in its balance, finishing with a tinge of subdued austerity. Contains 4g of residual sugar.

2020 Turkey Flat Barossa Valley White. A Rhône blend of marsanne, roussanne and 30% (!) viognier. Pale greenish hue. Nose of waxy paraffin with elements of freshly struck matchstick. Medium weight, displaying zesty presence with well-integrated acidity underpinned by highly refined understated minerals, tapering to a glowing finish of white spices. Great balance.

2021 Turkey Flat Grenache. Crimson, proffering a plummy warmth though the fruit is a little too placid on the medium palate, yielding fine clarity at the expanse of real weight and layering. Short as well.

2018 Turkey Flat Butcher’s Block GSM. Deep garnet. Hint of balsamic elements on the nose. Full and masculine, generously endowed with spicy plummy fruit that exert crisp acidity and controlled intensity.

2020 Turkey Flat Butcher’s Block Shiraz. Deep garnet. Rather closed on the nose though the medium-full palate offers a solid bed of warm Barossa fruit, softly contoured with rounded tannins. A little too detached initially, it fleshed out with impressive weight and expanse after another sixty minutes in the glass. Available since 2016, this is a more accessible version of the estate’s flagship shiraz, aged for six months in secondary barrels.

2020 Turkey Flat Shiraz. This wine alone is worth the evening’s expense. Deep impenetrable garnet, displaying considerable restraint though the ample fruit lurking beneath is absolutely top-notch, boasting a seamless depth of blackberries and dark plums amid mocha and a dash of licorice, dressed in a luxurious sheen of sophisticated tannins with an occasional vegetal glimpse that added further dimension to a medium-full palate that’s already highly elegant and impeccably proportioned, finishing with excellent linearity. Certainly not the sort of hedonistic stuff normally associated with Aussie shiraz. Produced since 1990, this is every bit a connoisseur’s flagship. Don’t miss it.

Turkey Flat Sparkling Shiraz NV. Darkish tones dominate throughout though the Barossa fruit is instantly recognisable, proffering supple vibrant detail within a sheen of refined bubbles. Drinking well though Rockford’s Black Shiraz boasts an additional dimension or two.

Turkey Flat Pedro Ximenez NV. Beautiful golden hue. Full and ripe, boasting a delicious creamy warmth of marmalade and mandarins with a hint of coconut supported by understated acidity and controlled sweetness. Neither unctuous nor luscious, which makes it a lot easier to pair with food. Fortified and aged in a solera system with an average age of seven years.