Enjoy Now to 2032/2035
It is difficult to talk about the 'Eric Stevens Purbrick' reds without talking about the man and the history behind them.
Founded in 1860 by a group of Melbourne businessmen (including John Pinney Bear), by 1925 Tahbilk was solely in the Bear family's hands. For a number of reasons beyond their control, the fortunes of the Estate at that time were in decline.
Enter my family: great-grandfather Reginald Purbrick purchased Tahbilk from the Bear family with a plan to subdivide into dairy farms. Fortuitously he was convinced by grandfather Eric to continue operating Tahbilk as a winery. Eric was then handed the reins in 1931, a role that continued for over 45 vintages prior to handing the role to myself after the 1978 vintage.
Eric remained a strong influence on the direction of Tahbilk until his passing in 1991.
One of the first to place his faith in the future of Australian table wines, Eric was at the forefront of varietal labelling in Australia ; but perhaps his greatest legacy was to create the 'Special Bin' range of reds, beginning with a Shiraz in 1948. Selected from the most outstanding casks produced on the Estate from a particular vintage, these wines became known as 'Reserve' in 1985.
From 2002 they fittingly carry his name and signature: 'Eric Stevens Purbrick'.
And so, a new legacy with its roots firmly planted in the history of the Estate was born.
Cheers,
Alister Purbrick | 4th Generation
“You can taste a character of place and feel the voices of the past. These impressive and beautifully crafted wines are wonderful expressions of Australian terroir.”
Andrew Calliard MW ~ Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine
“Excellent retention of colour; the bouquet replays the aromas of a warm day in the Australian bush, the aromas of earth, dried grass and eucalypt, coupled with a powerful blast of blackcurrant and dried herbs on the long, full-bodied palate. The management of oak and tannins has been exemplary.”
Wine Companion ~ winecompanion.com.au
“For more than four decades, the late Eric Purbrick oversaw winemaking at the historic Tahbilk Winery in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley. [Editor – in fact Nagambie Lakes, a sub-region of the Goulburn Valley]. This marque wine honouring him is from very old vines which, in turn, account for its deep, intense flavours that will soften in time.”
John Fordham ~ The Sunday Telegraph
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