Chateau Tanunda Rings in Vintage 2020 in the 130th Year

Château Tanunda marked the start of the 2020 vintage with the ringing of the traditional vintage bell this morning, Monday 10th February 2020.

The first grapes to arrive at the Basket Press are from Pinot Noir that is to become part of the Grand Barossa Dry Rosé 2020.

At this early stage, Chief Winemaker Neville Rowe is optimistic about vintage: “A cool break in the weather in the past week has seen our first pick coming into the winery in perfect condition. Next to pick will be our iconic 150year old vines Semillon from Light Pass later in the week. This wine is incredibly important to us as it has become the most highly collectable white wine of the estate from the Old Vine Expressions series.  The recent rain and moderate temperatures are certainly very beneficial. Yields are low, but all indications are that we are expecting excellent quality wines from 2020.”

“I expect we will see harvest reach full swing in the next two weeks, and Château Tanunda will be running 24/7 from the 19^th February. It has been a tough summer for many in the area, and I feel it is a welcome relief for many in the Barossa to see the start of vintage roll in. It is going to move quickly, a lot of parcels look like they will be ready to pick at similar times making it a compact vintage for most” He said.

This year Château Tanunda welcomes a vintage team that includes winemakers from Germany and Denmark. It is a special anniversary for Château Tanunda with 2020 marking 130 years of winemaking.

Owner John Geber continued: “I can only imagine what the original 1890 team of Basedow, Davenport, Cleland and winemaker JC Gelly would say if they were to be here today to see the Château 130 years later. I think they would be incredibly proud of what we are continuing until this day with the estate, the quality of the wines and the winemaking legacy. The original concept was to establish a winery that would rival the best in the world, and we are taking that legacy and pushing it even higher to the goal of becoming recognised as Australia’s first growth. We have the tools; we have the wines; we just need the world to continue to share this incredible story."