Tahbilk Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Tahbilk Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Tahbilk Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz – A generous, expressive and elegant blend from old vines, with hints of bay leaf, mint and
pepper weaving seamlessly around dark berry, spice and plum fruit flavours layered with
herbal and cedar notes

Vineyard Details

Tahbilk’s vineyards are grouped along the banks of the Goulburn River and an anabranch of it which flows through the estate. The vines are grown at approximately 134 metres
elevation of gently undulating and flat terrain. The soils are sandy loam with ferric oxide content, which vary from very fine sand near the anabranch to denser loams on the
plains. The estate has Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards dating from the 1940’s to the 1990’s, The oldest of the blocks is the 1949 ‘Old’ Cabernet, planted on very fine red sandy soils. The
blocks planted prior to 1996 are on unknown rootstocks, and are in very good health. They are trained on a single wire trellis with a mixture of head and cordon training; all are cane
pruned. Tahbilk’s vines are sustainably cultivated; composting and mulching takes place which improves soil health by promoting earthworm activity. Mulching helps to control
weeds and conserves water, reducing vine stress. The old vines are hand-picked while younger vines are machine harvested.

Winemakers Notes

The quintessentially Australian blending of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz saw initial releases at Tahbilk from the 1957 and 1958 vintages under Eric Purbrick’s tutelage, believed to be the first such ‘Estate Grown’ blends in Australia. It was not until 14 years later that Eric’s son John resurrected the blend that saw four vintages released in the 1970s and a further two in the 1980s.
The Estate is blessed with significant older vineyard blocks with, among others, Shiraz dating back to 1860 and 1933, and Cabernet Sauvignon to 1949.
It is selected of these aged vine plantings that are the primary source for the ‘OId Vines’ Cabernet Shiraz when, from the 2010 vintage, the blend returned and is now a permanent fixture of Tahbilk’s premium Reds portfolio. With a contributing average vine age of over 35 years they set a new standard for such releases from the Estate.

Tahbilk Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are crafted with a commitment to traditional winemaking values. Fermentation takes place in original open oak vats (over 155 years old), followed by maturation in similarly aged large French oak barrels prior to being bottled. Smaller French and American oak barrels are also used, with the wine from these blended back during the final filtering and bottling. In the face of changing winemaking styles and trends, this has remained the way over the years, delivering wines of true provenance and reflective of each vintage.

Information about the Producer

Established in 1860, Tahbilk is an historic family-owned winery, renowned for their rare aged Marsanne. The estate has the world’s largest single holding of the varietal and produces
Marsanne from vines established in 1927, which are among the oldest in the world. Tahbilk is known as ‘tabilk tabilk’ in the language of the Daungwurrung clans, which translates as
the ‘place of many waterholes’. It perfectly describes this premium viticultural landscape, which is located in the Nagambie Lakes region of Central Victoria. The estate comprises
1,214 hectares, including a seven mile frontage to the Goulburn River. Environmental sustainability is paramount at Tahbilk and in 2013 they became carbon neutral..

To find out more about the Tahbilk winery go to their website

To see our full range of Tahbilk wines go to our dedicated web page

Tahbilk Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz