Winemaker Notes
Offers ripe berry and raspberry fruits with savory and spice notes - a complex mid-weight palate and elegant lifted finish. This wine is our premium marque; its elegance, intensity and complexity on the palate reflect the depth of flavor that can be achieved from vines planted 150 years ago. They are a living treasure, and a single vineyard release from vines of this age is a rare feat in the wine world, and one of which we are immensely proud.
Enjoy now - or cellar for another 20 years plus if you have the patience.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 1860 Vines is just magic. Deep garnet in color, it displays intense aromas of blackberry, smoky bacon, earth, cumin and allspice with touch of roasted nut. The medium to full-bodied palate is seriously savory with iron ore, game and truffle nuances countered by crisp acid and a medium-high level of very finely grained tannins. The finish is very long and complex. Drink it from 2015 to 2025+.
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Wine & Spirits
Just over an acre of the original shiraz vines have survived on a sandy knoll at Tahbilk, where phylloxera fears to tread. Those ancient vines produce a scant crop, their fruit remarkably fresh in 2005, a wine that runs on character rather than fruit and alcohol. There's the scent of the outback, of eucalyptus groves and saddle leather. There are also hints of violets, black olives and sage. The fruitiness of the wine becomes more apparent after three days of air, with floral scent of raspberries driving the wine forward. An Australian classic to cellar and a refreshing shiraz to drink.
Though Syrah originated in the Rhône Valley of France, Australia is home to the oldest Syrah (called Shiraz here) vines on the planet. Found in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where phylloxera has never threated viticulture, these ancient vines are between 140 to 175 years old!
Having brought fame and merit to the country’s wine scene since the early 1950s, namely via the debut of Penfolds Grange, today Syrah (Shiraz) claims rank as the most widely planted grape in Australia. In fact, the amount of land dedicated to Shiraz in Australia is now almost equivalent to what it is in France. Australian Shiraz has its own personality with flavors and aromas of intense blackberry, fruitcake, menthol, tobacco leaf and umami. Conveniently one can find great Australian Shiraz at a variety of price points but the very best will be dense, gloriously complex and capable of long aging.