About
It all started in 1990, when a friend phoned Lindsay Barratt about a vineyard that had recently come up for sale in the Piccadilly Valley of the Adelaide Hills. Instantly falling in love with the property, Lindsay and his wife Carolyn became proud owners of one of the region’s original vineyards.
Planted in 1983 to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir by the Leith family, the Uley Vineyard was established only four growing seasons after the first vines were planted by Brian Croser in 1979 and a year after Stephen George established the neighbouring Ashton Hills vineyard and label. The property was then briefly owned by Ian Wilson to pursue his ill-fated dream of producing Australia’s finest ‘Grand Cru’ sparkling wine, before Lindsay and Carolyn assumed custodianship.
The owner of an equally stunning mortgage, Lindsay continued working as a physician whilst employing a vineyard manager and having the wines made off site. Initially, daunted by the size of his mortgage, Lindsay worried that the dream might only last six months. Nevertheless, he and Carolyn were sure it would be a wonderful six months.
As the months turned to years, Lindsay’s desire to trade his stethoscope for pruning shears became a reality, and in 2002 he achieved his Graduate Diploma in Oenology at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus. As caretakers of one of the earliest planted vineyards in the region, the Barratts are now recognised as pioneer winemakers in the Adelaide Hills with a reputation for premium quality and pure varietal expression.
2022 was the beginning of a new chapter, when Barratt Wines joined The Usual Suspects Collective. This has allowed Lindsay to focus on the vineyard, with legendary winemaker Andrew Hardy assuming responsibility for winemaking. Andrew’s forty years of winemaking at Petaluma in the Piccadilly Valley gives him an unrivalled wealth of experience to work with Lindsay, the beautiful fruit from the Barratt vineyard and associated growers in the Adelaide Hills.
