Agricola Vintners: A stake has been planted

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Callum Powell's Agricola Vintners is not only one of the Barossa Valley's best shiraz producers, but is important to the reputation of the Barossa and Eden Valley regions.

One of the great joys in my wine life is when I open up the Winefront page and one of Gary (Walsh), Mike (Bennie) or Kasia (Sobiesiak) have really let rip on a set of wines, such was their love for what appeared in the glass(es) before them. There was such a moment yesterday, when Mike Bennie reviewed the 2023 releases of Callum Powell, aka Agricola Vintners. We are watching a star being born here. Callum Powell was raised in the Barossa; he knows the Barossa and Eden lands, and their peoples, as well as any; both his local landscape and the world at large are now quite clearly his oyster. Mike’s been across Callum Powell’s Agricola wines, on The Winefront, since 2019, but these 2023 releases really seem to be landmark stuff. Read these reviews. A stake has been planted.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
Previous

Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2020: Review & Mini Vertical of Penfolds Grange 2009, 1999 and 1989
Next

Review: Etsu Double Yuzu Gin