Seppeltsfield’s 100 Year Old Tawny … is it worth the $2000 price tag?
As beverages go, Seppeltsfield’s century-old tawny is quite the investment. Is it bang for your buck? Wine writer Katie Spain gives her verdict.
Food & Wine
Don't miss out on the headlines from Food & Wine. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IF bottles could talk, they’d have plenty to say. Especially Seppeltsfield’s 100 Year Old Tawny, the latest of which (the 1921 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny) was released on 20 February. It’s a big deal.
The 44th consecutive release is part of what is believed to be the longest unbroken line of century-old, single-vintage tawnys in the world.
At $2000 a bottle for 375ml or $700 for 100ml, it’s quite the investment but is it worth it? Absolutely. It’s not often you get the chance to taste history like this.
Seppeltsfield celebrates its 170th anniversary this year. In the months, minutes and seconds that have passed since the Seppelt family established Seppeltsfield in 1851, Neil Armstrong plonked his size 9½ boots on the moon, global wars were fought, aeroplanes defied gravity for the first time – and a five-generation fortified and winemaking legacy unfolded.
The late Benno Seppelt (son of Seppeltsfield founders Joseph and Johanna Seppelt) created the 1878 Centennial Cellar – where he and generations of Seppeltsfield winemakers matured single barrels of vintage tawny for 100 years before release.
“Benno was a real visionary and entrepreneur,” says current senior winemaker Fiona Donald.
In 1978, the 1878 Para Vintage Tawny became Australia’s first ever wine to be released having spent 100 years maturing in oak.
When Warren Randall eventually took the reins, the tradition continued and the ongoing longevity of the goal, long after Benno’s death, is testament to his vision and the devotion of staff over the years.
The result is an unbroken lineage of every vintage from the current year (1921) back to 1878.
“Every year the new vintage (the current release 100-year-old) is inducted into this collection,” Fiona says. “It’s a real tribute to the Barossa.”
It is also a wine that will outlive us all.
Available from Seppeltsfield cellar door and delivered worldwide.
SEPPELTSFIELD
1921 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny
Barossa Valley
We’ve got the late Benno Seppelt to thank for creation of the world’s only unbroken lineage of single vintage tawny dating back to 1878. We reap the benefit of his foresight, time and patience. Like any exceptional lover, an encounter with this tawny is a difficult to forget. Impossible, in fact. It rolls across the palate in luscious waves of citrus, salted caramel, dates, tobacco, and burnt toffee. It is full of perfect, complex contradictions; voluptuous, smooth, playful, serious, gentle but firm. Make this mouth-watering beauty last. A mere kiss of tawny soaked lips reveals all this and more. Each bottle is hand-filled and individually numbered. Opt for a personalised certificate of authenticity if you really want to impress your mates.
$700 (100ml), $2000 (375ml)
Historic Port Adelaide pub closed until further notice
Port Adelaide’s oldest licensed pub has shut its doors – and it’s unclear if and when it will reopen.
Iconic wine brand pulls pin on Barossa cellar door
A much-loved Barossa Valley cellar door will close and another in McLaren Vale will follow as rising business costs and reduced consumer spending cripple the state’s wine sector.