Called ‘The 150 Year Old Vines 1858 Field Blend’, the wine is made by Château Tanunda, and comprises 86% Grenache complemented by Mourvedre and Malbec.
All the vines are of course ungrafted – such a vineyard pre-dates the practice of grafting vines onto American rootstocks to resist phylloxera, which is a disease that is not present in the Barossa, explaining the vineyard’s survival.
Speaking to db about the wine at ProWein, where it was on pour at the show in March, the owner of Château Tanunda, John Gerber, said that he believed that the reason for the wine’s particular character related to the fact that the vines were ungrafted.
“I think wines are more harmonious when they come from vines on their own roots,” he said.
Indeed, the wine produced from the 1858 planting is “not a blockbuster” said Gerber, but “a medium-weight Aussie wine with depth, elegance and complexity,” he added.
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