Raps for Tahbilk

THE exceptional range of new-release wines from Tahbilk looks back to 1860.

THE exceptional range of new-release wines from Tahbilk looks back to 1860, then to 1927, next to the 1960s and 1970s and into the future courtesy of the last museum vertical tastings held at Tahbilk in February 2010.

That tasting featured some wonderful old wines, but there were sufficient failures through oxidation and TCA (cork taint) for the normally affable and quietly spoken CEO Alister Purbrick to let fly with the words: "From this day on, there will never be a Tahbilk wine bottled with a cork."

He has kept to his word with the 2008 reds (bottled just after February '10), even using a screwcap on the 1860 Vines Shiraz, and all the other flagship red wines in the release. The 2004 1927 Vines Marsanne was screwcapped, reflecting the closure's earlier adoption for white wines.

The '60s and '70s had seen the planting of cabernet sauvignon to complement the scarce older plantings. This had several consequences, not least the creation of the Eric Stevens Purbrick range of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, named in honour of Alister's grandfather and sourced from vines not younger than 40 years old.

The other consequence of those plantings was the reintroduction of a 2008 Old Vines Cabernet Shiraz, which had been made intermittently in the '70s and '80s but will now be an annual release.

All the '08 wines had extra finesse and freshness compared with previous top-tier, five-year-old red wines from Tahbilk. And in a fashion similar to Hunter Valley shiraz, alcohol levels of around 13.5% underlined the medium-bodied, food friendly nature of the wines.

My only concern is the inadequate price for the 1860 Vines Shiraz. The loss of 40 per cent of the vines in a freak frost in October 2006 reduced the average production to only 100 dozen a year. The price should not be a cent less than $500, and a limit of one per customer.

2004 Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne
Two trophies and six gold medals in '11 and '12 are one measure of the quality. Still youthful, and the overall aroma, flavour and texture is of a superb young wine with years in front of it; its length is prodigious, fruit flavours girdled by minerally acidity, strongly suggesting a low pH; notes of lemon, citrus, spice and ginger, honey still to come. 11% alc; screwcap. 97 points; drink to 2040; $45

2008 Tahbilk Eric Stevens Purbrick Cabernet Sauvignon
From estate vines with an average age of 40 years. Very good colour and hue - still youthful; has an extra degree of elegance and freshness over past releases (partly due to the screwcap) with the emphasis on the varietal cassis and mint fruit, not the tannins or the oak. 14.5% alc; screwcap. 95 points; drink to 2033; $70

2008 Tahbilk 1860 Vines Shiraz
This vineyard block is unique because every surviving vine was planted in 1860 and there has been no planting to fill the gaps (increased greatly by the 2006 frost). The wine has a bright crimson hue and elegant array of red and black cherry fruit, spice, fine tannins and fruitcake on the finish. 13.5% alc; screwcap. 97 points; drink to 2050; $228