The '1860 Vines' Story
“Every surviving vine in this block was planted in 1860, with a rising number of gaps, dramatically increased by a freak frost in ’07. The price should be at least $500 a bottle.”
James Halliday
As original as the Estate itself, these un-grafted, pre-phylloxera Shiraz plantings are amongst the oldest in the world. The vines have survived Phylloxera – the vine louse that decimated Europe’s vineyards and arrived at Tahbilk in the late 1800s – as well as Mother Nature’s droughts, floods, killer frosts and ‘plough disease’.
Of Tahbilk’s 1860 Shiraz vines, Victorian Government viticulturist, Francois de Castella, observed in the late 1920s, “… the vines have survived the insect [phylloxera] in a truly remarkable manner owing to the sandy nature of the sub-soil … are not suffering at all from the presence of the insect …”
“As vines grow old they become increasingly fragile. Their gnarled and twisted trunks look thick, but this is an illusion. The interior of the trunk slowly decomposes, leaving the bark and a thin support of wood to supply the vine with nutrients to survive. Thus ‘plough disease’ can kill a vine in 30 fateful seconds if a piece of agricultural; machinery makes contact with the trunk.” James Halliday
Alongside a continuing portfolio of glowing reviews, the Estate’s ‘1860 Vines’ planting was nominated by renowned USA Wine & Spirits magazine as one of the 25 Great Vineyards of the World.
The vineyards selected were those where the terroir – the total environment of a place, including soil, climate, aspect, vine and even history “is most clearly perceptible in the wine.”
Since the 1979 vintage inaugural release under Alister’s tutelage, these wines have become one of the world’s most sought-after wine collectables and, more importantly, sublime drinks. Wines of elegance and understatement … blockbuster character is not the philosophy here.
"These old vines always produce a wine of subtlety and elegance which will become more powerful and complex if cellared. Having said that, it's probably more around its authenticity and the rarity of a single vineyard wine made from vines planted in 1860."
Alister Purbrick | Fourth Generation
