The Arrival of Powell & Son

We just received our first direct import shipment from this rising star of a producer in the Barossa Valley and I couldn't be more excited. Whilst the 2014 wines are the first releases from Powell & Son, they’re no overnight, up-start sensation in the wine business. Powell & Son is a new venture from legendary winemaker David Powell of Torbreck fame (or infamy depending on what you’ve read) and it's one of our most anticipated new arrivals from the region. Many of you will have enjoyed Dave’s intense and powerful wines before under the Torbreck label. This new project is essentially a distillation of all that went before; everything he has learnt about Barossa’s vines, soil, and climate, refocused into a small scale, family operation where Dave is hand-making the wines with his son Callum. Powell & Son is about “getting back to basics” Dave says; starting with great vineyards, expressing the purity of fruit, and striking a balance of power and grace. Dave’s excitement is palpable as he talks about working with his son and he reiterates “this is not gonna be Torbreck number two; I have no interest in getting big, I just want to get back to why I fell in love with this job in the first place.” Don't we all understand that sentiment!

The Powell & Son wines are as you expect knowing Dave's style of winemaking: unmistakably Barossa in origin, powerful, saturated, dark fruits intertwined with scorched earth and a wild smoked meat note. They are richly textured and satisfying but not overdone fruit bombs. The wines already have huge critical acclaim and we’re excited to have gotten on board early on. Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (Editor-In-Chief of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) wrote about a recent tasting at the winery in Barossa: “incredibly exciting wines in the pipeline. David Powell is back.” While it may be a return to glory in the eyes of many wine drinkers, I'm most excited about introducing Barossa newcomers to a quintessential style of Aussie winemaking at prices that reflect our direct import value. It's a huge win for K&L.

-Ryan Woodhouse