150 Year Old Vines 1858 Field Blend 2015
Tasting Notes

Lovely floral and spicy complexities,with hints of fruits of the forest,  pepper and ginger snap. The palate displays the full range of dark berries, Mediterranean herbs, and savoury pan jus elements.It  tight and compact, intense and deep,firm and taut,with nicely measured grip and tremendous length. A powerhouse of a wine, but also one possessed of great elegance.

Winemaking

The grapes are destemmed and fermented in a small open stainless steel fermenter over 10 days. We gently hand plunge the must several times per day for a gentle extraction of aromas, colour and tannins.

Upon completion of fermentation,  the wine is then basket-pressed and allowed to naturally complete malolactic fermentation, before 18 months’ maturation in French oak puncheons.  Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 

Vineyard

Planted before 1867 and back to pioneering beginnings of the Australian wine industry. There are less than 30 hectares of these ancestor vines in the Barossa. The best vineyards from this time provided the parent vines of varieties, which would go on to form the Australian vineyards of the future. The grapes are hand-picked and fermented in 1-ton open fermenters with regular hand- plunging. The wine is then gently basket pressed. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered. We have searched for an older field blend and to our knowledge, this would be the oldest.

* Limited Release wine 1200 bottles produced.  

Reviews
#3 Barossa Wine
Review by: Huon Hooke, huonhooke.com
#3 of 27 Red Blend of Australia 2015 Deepish red colour with a touch of purple. The bouquet shows slightly herbal grenache aromas overlaid with spices, and the palate is intense and deep, firmly-structured and quite complex, again with a hint of the herbal side. There are chocolate and fruitcake touches as well. (The second vintage of this rare wine, the first being 2013. A field blend from a single vineyard at Springton, first owned by the Hamilton family. Because of promiscuous planting, the exact varietal composition is unknown). Drink 2017- 2037
96 Points
Review by: Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate
The 2015 150 Year Old Vines 1858 Field Blend consists of Grenache, Mataro and Malbec, all open fermented and aged 18 months in a single French oak puncheon. On the nose, it boasts terrific, complex aromas ranging from cherries and cinnamon to orange zest and cracked pepper, while on the palate it shows ample weight, concentration and a rich, supple texture. I try to avoid fetishizing old vines (something that's all too easy to do), but this bottling is truly something special, with a lingering, spice-driven and mouthwatering finish that outdistances any others in the Tanunda portfolio. Drink 2018 – 2030
95 Points
Review by: Halliday Wine Companion
A true field blend, the three varieties (grenache, mourvedre and malbec) planted in 1858. Hand-picked, destemmed, not crushed, 7 days on skins, 18 months maturation in a single French puncheon. On a quality/price/rarity basis the price can be can be seen as reasonable. Drink by 2035

 

Other Vintages
2013 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 | 
WINEMAKER
Neville Rowe
COLOUR
Medium ruby with a tinge of purple
BOUQUET
Seamless floral and spicy complexities, with hints of fruits of the forest, pepper and ginger snap.
PALATE
The palate displays the full range of dark berries and Mediterranean herbs with perfect balance between tannin texture and length
GRAPE VARIETY
Grenache, Mourvedre, Malbec
GROWING REGION
Barossa Valley
% ALCOHOL
15.7%
ACIDITY
6.2g/L
pH
3.52
MATURATION
18 Months in French Oak (20% new)
PDF TASTING NOTES
Download the Tasting Notes in PDF format.

 

 

Tasting Notes

Lovely floral and spicy complexities,with hints of fruits of the forest,  pepper and ginger snap. The palate displays the full range of dark berries, Mediterranean herbs, and savoury pan jus elements.It  tight and compact, intense and deep,firm and taut,with nicely measured grip and tremendous length. A powerhouse of a wine, but also one possessed of great elegance.

Winemaking

The grapes are destemmed and fermented in a small open stainless steel fermenter over 10 days. We gently hand plunge the must several times per day for a gentle extraction of aromas, colour and tannins.

Upon completion of fermentation,  the wine is then basket-pressed and allowed to naturally complete malolactic fermentation, before 18 months’ maturation in French oak puncheons.  Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 

Vinification

Planted before 1867 and back to pioneering beginnings of the Australian wine industry. There are less than 30 hectares of these ancestor vines in the Barossa. The best vineyards from this time provided the parent vines of varieties, which would go on to form the Australian vineyards of the future. The grapes are hand-picked and fermented in 1-ton open fermenters with regular hand- plunging. The wine is then gently basket pressed. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered. We have searched for an older field blend and to our knowledge, this would be the oldest.

* Limited Release wine 1200 bottles produced.  

Reviews
#3 Barossa Wine

Score: #3 Barossa Wine
Review by: Huon Hooke, huonhooke.com
#3 of 27 Red Blend of Australia 2015 Deepish red colour with a touch of purple. The bouquet shows slightly herbal grenache aromas overlaid with spices, and the palate is intense and deep, firmly-structured and quite complex, again with a hint of the herbal side. There are chocolate and fruitcake touches as well. (The second vintage of this rare wine, the first being 2013. A field blend from a single vineyard at Springton, first owned by the Hamilton family. Because of promiscuous planting, the exact varietal composition is unknown). Drink 2017- 2037

96 Points
Review by: Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate
The 2015 150 Year Old Vines 1858 Field Blend consists of Grenache, Mataro and Malbec, all open fermented and aged 18 months in a single French oak puncheon. On the nose, it boasts terrific, complex aromas ranging from cherries and cinnamon to orange zest and cracked pepper, while on the palate it shows ample weight, concentration and a rich, supple texture. I try to avoid fetishizing old vines (something that's all too easy to do), but this bottling is truly something special, with a lingering, spice-driven and mouthwatering finish that outdistances any others in the Tanunda portfolio. Drink 2018 – 2030

95 Points Review by: Halliday Wine Companion
A true field blend, the three varieties (grenache, mourvedre and malbec) planted in 1858. Hand-picked, destemmed, not crushed, 7 days on skins, 18 months maturation in a single French puncheon. On a quality/price/rarity basis the price can be can be seen as reasonable. Drink by 2035

 

Other Vintages
2013 |  2016 |  2017 |  2018 | 
WINEMAKER
Neville Rowe
COLOUR
Medium ruby with a tinge of purple
BOUQUET
Seamless floral and spicy complexities, with hints of fruits of the forest, pepper and ginger snap.
PALATE
The palate displays the full range of dark berries and Mediterranean herbs with perfect balance between tannin texture and length
GRAPE VARIETY
Grenache, Mourvedre, Malbec
GROWING REGION
Barossa Valley
% ALCOHOL
15.7%
ACIDITY
6.2g/L
pH
3.52
MATURATION
18 Months in French Oak (20% new)

 

 

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