We were rather disappointed with our cellar door experience. We were met by a nice lady who showed us to our booked tasting table, but that's where the pleasant part finished. All 5 wines were poured at once with a brief description of each and that was it. There was no one else doing a tasting, but the lady at the cellar door sat over at a desk and never came back to ask us how we were doing or if we'd like any more water or anything. Some music would have been nice, but there was some random sounds coming out of the sound system that sounded like a radio that wasn't quite on the station correctly.
The tapas board we had for lunch was very nice, but due to our cellar door experience, we didn't buy any wines - the only cellar door during our visit to the Barossa where we 2didn't by a case(s) to ship back to Sydney.

First stop on our tour across time and space as we journeyed back in time to the Barossa Valley with Trailhopper.

🛸 Doctor Who Reviews: St Hallett Wines – A Shiraz Tasting Across Time and Space

I landed the TARDIS just outside St Halley’s Winery—disguised as a modest vineyard sign, naturally. The vines shimmered in the South Australian sun like the surface of the Eye of Harmony. I adjusted my coat, checked my psychic paper (which now read “Certified Wine Critic”), and strode into the tasting room like I owned the place. Which I don’t. Yet.

🍷 The Wines – A Temporal Tasting Flight

1. NV Black Sparkling Shiraz
Like sipping a supernova in a flute. Bubbles? Yes. Black fruit? Absolutely. It’s effervescent mischief with a dark heart—like River Song in liquid form. Notes of mulberry, spice, and a cheeky sparkle that could charm a Sontaran. I toasted the universe with this one.
2. 2015 Dawkins Single Vineyard Shiraz
A wine with gravitas. Deep, contemplative, and aged like a Time Lord with a brooding past. Earthy tannins, black olive, and a whisper of eucalyptus—this one speaks in ancient dialects and pairs beautifully with existential dread and roast lamb.
3. 2021 Blackwell Shiraz
Bold, brash, and unapologetically powerful. If this wine were a companion, it’d be Donna Noble: full of character, impossible to ignore, and slightly spicy. Blackberry jam, mocha, and a finish that lingers like a paradox. I may have tried to reverse-engineer it with my sonic screwdriver.
4. 2022 Higher Earth Syrah
Ethereal. Elegant. Like floating above the planet in orbit, watching the seasons change. This Syrah is a whisper rather than a shout—violets, red currants, and a mineral edge that feels like stardust on the tongue. I suspect it was aged in barrels carved from meteorites.
5. 2019 Old Block Shiraz
The elder statesman. Wiser than Gallifrey’s High Council and twice as complex. Layers of dark plum, tobacco, and ancient oak. It doesn’t just tell a story—it sings it in operatic tones. I sipped, I sighed, I considered rewriting history just to taste it again for the first time.

💬 Final Verdict
St Hallet’s isn’t just a winery—it’s a temporal anomaly of taste. These Shirazes span centuries of style, from sparkling mischief to ancient wisdom. I left with a bottle of each and a renewed appreciation for Earth’s finest grape-based technology.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Would I return? I already have. Twice. Possibly in the same afternoon.🧣🍇🕰️

Just left the underground cellar tasting. What a beautiful experience made even better by the wonderful expertise of Nishi. The wine was delicious with amazing cheese pairing.

Had a wine tasting and lovely picnic out on the spacious lawn next to the vines. We had a table with umbrella although there are picnic mats available too if that is what you’d prefer.

Wines were delicious (Shiraz/ Syrah).

The lady serving us was friendly, helpful, engaging and so knowledgeable.

Beautiful cheese and charcuterie plate (for 2 pax) as per my picture. Went really well with our wines.

What a lovely relaxing experience and a nice break from conventional dining options. Highly recommended!!

My wife and I, plus puppy had a fabulous few hours at your winery last week. The wine flight and cheese platter were beautiful. Very knowledgeable staff. Always been one of our favourite wineries.

Nishi was fabulous and so helpful. We took our 4 legged baby and he was very well looked after, allowed inside and given a treat. Beautiful surrounds and building and delicious flight of Shiraz!

Booked a last minute tasting and cheese/meat platter and had a really nice time. Nishi was helpful and knowledgeable and the wines (and pricing) were great!

We booked for a picnic experience and had an amazing time. The hosts are warm, friendly and knowledgeable. The wines are of course fantastic and the platter was perfect for a sunny summer day.

Rude cellar door staff…beware!! Entered the almost empty cellar door as a large family group. Before we even got to the counter a rude woman yelled across at us demanding if we were all together.
We explained that only part of the group were tasting but she continued that groups over 8 needed a booking ..the whole time with a rude attitude
We just turned around and left went to Whistler where we had a wonderful time
She must be an owner because there is no way you would employ someone so rude

Amazing hospitality and catering. The staff were so kind and made sure we had an amazing time. The wine tasting was great and the tapas platter to go along was tasty. Would definitely recommend!

We were welcomed with open arms into this very Dog friendly (inside tasting👍) cellar door, they have really great wines and to top it off their chef puts on an excellent, and very authentic, Sri Lankan Chicken Curry.

What a beautiful experience at St Hallets we had. Nishi was a delight , knowledgeable and friendly - went out of her way to give us a great experience. The wines were a wonderful choice. The tasting plate was Devine. We love it and would recommend everyone experiencing this for themselves. Thank you friends for life.

Thank you Helen, Molly and Nishi for a wonderful time! We enjoyed the wine and your hospitality. Thank you for welcoming us. A must do if you’re visiting the Barossa. I love my wine socks too!

We had the most wonderful time at St Hallett, probably the highlight of our holiday so far, a combination of warm autumn sunshine in the beautiful garden area, together with a gorgeous rose wine and the cheese platter of your dreams!
Our welcome was warm and friendly with a nothing too much trouble approach. Thank you for welcoming our dogs, the most relaxing and enjoyable experience ☀️🥰

What a beautiful winery and great tasting experience. We also got the Tapas platter for two. Highly recommend

Beautiful wines and destination! Highly recommend the wine and chocolate flight. Staff were lovely and knowledgeable.

Such a gorgeous cellar door and lovely tasting experiences. My only quibble would be we felt a little brushed over compared to other tables but I say this cognizant of a few things, we were very early in the day, just after opening, and we didn't have a reservation where it appeared other tables did. Next visit, we will book ahead and come a little later to enjoy the grounds a bit more as well. Staff were friendly and polite.

Thank you Helen and Harry for a great winery experience. The tasting was very generous and the cheese board and wine were delicious. We will definitely be back.

Awesome Had a lovely experience with Melissa and staff at st Hallets .. loved the wines and the interesting stories of the history of the place .

Amazing dog friendly cellar door. Would highly recommend if you want a paid sit down tasting. 15pp as the basic starter tasting pp. Platters are Yum and dog friendly service is great!

Lovely wine tasting. We really enjoyed it with a delicious platter. The outdoor area is great and they have lots of kids toys and sports equipment to keep them busy on the grassed area (with plenty of shade) while the parents enjoy the wine. Friendly staff too!

We have just had the best wine and chocolate tasting.
Molly was awesome with her service and knowledge. Would recommend everyone to try St Hallett Wines.
Thank you.

Lovely and organized wine tasting- very nicely structured in a beautiful setting - we enjoyed it a lot

Was booked in for the Shiraz Masters, travelled from Sydney. Couldn't make it as team member took ill.
Was contacted by St Hallett on Sunday to see if incorrect booking and to see if I could re-schedule.
Advised the situation from Sydney, sick team member had to return to ADL we couldn't just return tomorrow or an alternative weekend in the foreseeable future.
I was happy to see if we could turn the booking value into wine purchases.
Only booked on Wednesday night and there were plenty of bookings available.
St Hallet advised couldn't turn the booking cost into purchases so they just took the $75 for nothing.
Really poor policy, disappointing....shop around many wine tastings in ADL are happy to drop the wine fee on sales.
No future sales from me.

Very unpleasant We didn’t actually get in the front door as the lady who greeted us was completely horrified that we didn’t have a booking, there were two people in the entire tasting area when we arrived. The lady begrudgingly admitted that they could accommodate us, but we were completely turned off and left. We had a group of 10 and we ended up going to Grant Burge ( without a booking ) and had the most amazing experience where we were made to feel very welcome, we also purchased a decent amount of wine!. We also visited st hallett on my birthday in May 2022 and had a similar experience with this same lady, we had come with a tour group and we weren’t aware we needed a booking ( there were 2 of us and it was a Monday ), they basically threw the wine in front of us with no conversation and made us feel so uncomfortable, we ended up going and sitting on the grass to get away from the negativity and waited for our bus.

Strong start, strong finish at St Hallett! Pros:
- some of the best service we’d received all weekend in the Barossa. The lady and gentleman working Sunday morning 25/6/23 deserve a pat on the back!
- great little range of tastings regular, premium
And choc tasting! No fuss with our group having various!
- delicious array of Shiraz to try! Very helpful explanation and discussion around French/American Oak and it’s influence.
- Heaters were on, music was on, we felt right at home!

Cons:
- the ‘placemats’ that your tasting come on are totally fine, I just feel a little underwhelmed! Perhaps stepping those up would increase the elegance of the tasting that so evidently comes through the wines!

Thanks for a fantastic visit. If this wasn’t our final stop on our way out of the Barossa, we would have ended up leaving with a lot more!!!

Enjoyed the wine and choc pairing. Staff were friendly,knowledgeable and welcomed our dog. Beautiful surroundings and great wines ,really enjoyed the Garden of Eden and Faith Shiraz ,hard to pick a favourite.

Slightly disappointed…. I love St Halletts wines and always have. We collect and drink them regularly, having bought directly from the cellar in person and online. So of course we were super excited to go back when we visited the Barossa recently, from out of state. Unfortunately the cellar door experience was a little lacklustre. The server was lovely and friendly however they were not able to add anything about the wines or area that was not written on the description on the handout. We will of course go back (as the wine is the point!) but disappointed this time.

top experience My wife and i visited the Barossa for our wedding anniversary and selected a couple of different tastings, I did the Shiraz paddle and my wife the wine and matched chocolate
we also had a very tasty platter. after this we purchased a bottle of Shiraz and sat out in the lovely gardens and enjoyed it.

And the dog loved it too We turned up with our fur baby and we’re welcomed with open arms, the service was excellent with a several options for tasting, they have a tasting fee but it is worth it. After the tasting we went out and had chance to let the furbaby let her hair down in the grounds next door.
We will return again next time with friends.

Terrible Still charged a $30.00 tasting fee when purchasing wine. All other wineries we visited were complimentary tasting, or negated the fee on purchase.

Barossa wine trail Wonderfull experience done very professionally

We sampled a flight of wines and was impressed with the standard

More than 5 stars The Shiraz Masters tasting was fabulous. I got to try several wines that are not available through the usual outlets or are a little dearer than “Give that a try” prices. I am sure I will be back again in future years to do it again. Excited now to work through the bottles I had shipped home after the tasting.

Me and my partner are travelling around SA in a campervan and decided to stop off at St Hallett whilst passing through the Barossa. Harry looked after us and was a really great and friendly host. The wine was impeccable and so was the cheeseboard! We bought a bottle of their rose to take away. All of the other staff were also very accommodating and it's a chilled, dog friendly environment. Highly recommend!

I was hesitant to come because of the negative reviews I read on here, but because I love the Faith Shiraz, I wanted to come anyway. At first we were underwhelmed because we arrived along with a ton of other cars and groups so they were a little run off their feet, but once everyone was in and seated, the service was great. Yes, we had to read about each wine but we also asked questions and were given a really great reception by Melissa. We are used to having to pay for tastings so it didn’t bother us. We also signed up to their free wine club, which meant we got discounts on everything we purchased. They are also one of few wineries that are dog friendly so our fur baby could stay with us while we tasted. We will definitely be back!

Great Winery A quiet Friday morning.
Service was outstanding; interesting and friendly.
Beautiful wines tasted accompanied by a very generous platter.
My wife & I left feeling very happy

We were most looking forward to this place and was unfortunately very disappointed in the service. You get a sheet of paper and your tastings but not much of an experience outside of that.

The woman on when we were there didn’t greet us when we were at the door even though no one was in there and she was at the bar. Then when she finally sat us, she gave us the wines and didn’t interact with us until the end to ask if we wanted to buy something. She also turned away another group from having a tasting at 3:40 even though they do tastings until 4?

We love the wine and the grounds looked great but we left with a bit of a sour taste after being to some great wineries with such knowledgeable staff who talked us through it all. So this place felt cold and we definitely didn’t spend as much as we would have because we liked the wine quite a lot.

Shiraz Masters tasting Went for the Shiraz Masters tasting. Wines were all prepared before reaching, staff gave a description of the different wines before tasting, a pleasant experience

Impersonal We walked in and it was very bland. Wines were sitting waiting for us all poured already on a sheet of paper and the cellars description was mostly “read the sheet”. No exciting tastings or interesting cellar only wines to try. Went to 12 wineries and only one I didn’t buy wine from in the Barossa.

Chocolate, wine and cheese! Wine and chocolate tasting really made our trip. We added the cheese board which really topped it. We loved st Hallett. Probably the best wine on the entire tour.

Wine and chocolate - all the important food groups! St Hallett is in a beautiful location not far from the town of Tanunda. We went with the wine and matched chocolate tasting, both the wines and the chocolates were great. Bookings would be advisable as they were some groups turned away, although we did go over a long weekend so it may be less busy during the week.

Rude staff, disappointing experience Very rude staff, seemed highly inconvenienced at the prospect of actually having customers.
The Barossa was wonderful but St Hallett was the worst customer service in the region.

Really like their Faith Shiraz, which is why I wanted to visit. They use the tasting to let you try other, less availible wines, all are nice to try. The site itself is very pretty and its worth sitting outside with a glass just to enjoy.

We went there today for a wine and cheese tasting.
The selections were excellent for both.
The staff were very knowledgeable.
It was clean and tidy.
If you were just going for a tasting there is a huge selection, you won't be disappointed.
I definitely recommend the visit.

A lovely place to relax and recharge your battery. The wines are excellent and the cheese platter was perfect sitting out under the trees. A wonderfully afternoon. Thank you to the staff, very friendly and knowledgeable. Well worth the visit. Extra points, they are also dog friendly.

Delicious wines and knowledgeable friendly staff. The cheese pairings were divine!
Highly recommend the Garden of Eden shiraz and the Old Vine Granache.