Ben Radford is a part of a generational Barossa wine family, the red dirt of this land is in his blood and the landscape a part of his family past and present. He's travelled the world earning respect on a number of continents as a skilled winemaker, but the pull of the Barossa and its unique characteristic of place that brought him home where he started his own label before becoming the head wine maker and managing director at the infamous Rockford working closely with the legendary Rocky O'Callahan for almost 20 years.

He knows the Barossa like the back of his hand, so when the opportunity came to make wine from the 1858 planted Stonegarden vineyard it was time to make his mark yet again. This vineyard was planted to a huge cross section of vines on granitic rock and quartz at an elevation of 365 meters. Mostly planted to Riesling, Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, there is also a a slew of other varieties both white and red intermingled in this formally bush vine piece of history that is very unique and choc full of history.

Made from a dark and deeply intense clone of grenache planted back in 1858, this vineyard is providing fruit for many excellent examples of the new guard here in Barossa, but Ben's is building quite the reputation, Fragrant with red fruits, spice box and mint, a voluminous palate that has great fluidity whilst remaining refined in its attack, the back palate shows that rocky quartz mineral undertow whilst having a little amaro and rosewater in there for good measure.