Barossa’s Filsell Vineyard turns 100 this year, and Grant Burge is celebrating its eligibility for the Barossa Centenarian Vine ‘club’ with the limited edition release of Filsell 100 Shiraz.
Barossa is home to some of the oldest continuously producing vineyards in the world. In 2009, the Barossa wine region established the Old Vine Charter to register vineyards by age so that older vines could be preserved, retained and promoted.
So, how does the age of a vine contribute to the quality of a wine? Drinks Trade puts that question to Craig Stansborough, Grant Burge’s Chief Winemaker for over 20 years and creator of the Filsell 100 Shiraz.
What is so special about old vines?
Old vines generally have lower yields and deliver grapes with greater flavour concentration and balance. Their well-established root systems are deep (or long, depending on the soil), tapping into moisture, minerals, and nutrients out of reach to younger vines.
How do the attributes of old vines translate into the wine?
They tend to deliver power but with wonderful elegance that is not always achieved with younger vines.
Are there any challenges working with old vines?
Not a lot; it’s mostly positive. The only issue is that given they are old vines and not set up for mechanical harvesting, they need to be hand-picked; this can take longer, so we need to consider this; depending on temperature, we can get a range of ripeness over a week’s picking.
Where in the world do you think old vines make exceptional wines?
Firstly, the debate is how old is old. In the Barossa, the vine needs to be at least 35 years old to use this term. We have many vineyards much older than this, but it is a starting point. South Africa makes some amazing old vine Chenin; in France, the Southern Rhone makes some wonderful Grenache blend from old vines, although these are on American rootstock. I know there are many pockets of very old vines in all countries, but a lifetime is not long enough to try all of this wine.
How is Barossa’s old vine wine unique?
We are very lucky that Phylloxera (a tiny insect that feeds on grapevine roots, eventually killing the vine), which wiped out much of the vineyards in Europe and the Eastern seaboard of Australia, never found its way to South Australia. That is one of the reasons why we probably have one of the greatest collections of old vines on their own roots in the world.
What characters does the old vine Shiraz exhibit that young wine Shiraz does not?
At our allocation tasting post vintage, which we do blind, no one knows what the wine is or where it is from and what we see time and again is the wines from very old vines always shine! It’s amazing how many times we pick out the same vineyards year after year.
Why should people seek out old vine wine?
When done well, they have amazing fruit intensity, layers of flavour and wonderful balance and poise. These wines are truly unique; you are drinking a piece of history. I often reflect on the people who planted these vines long ago, about what their intention or dream was at that time, and how they would feel knowing we are enjoying wine from their hard work 100 years later. That is pretty special.
Filsell 100 Shiraz
Crafted from fruit from the 100-year-old vines at the Filsell Vineyard, the premium Shiraz is limited to 6,000 bottles. The Filsell Shiraz is rich with bold and complex notes filled with kirsch, hazelnut and nutmeg. Think notes of velvety cherry chocolate fruit combined with damson plum, spice and espresso.
Grant Burge Filsell 100 Shiraz ($100) is available at Dan Murphy’s, BWS and premium independents.
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