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Tim's Ravings

Posted by Tim Stevens on

Old wines, old vines and me.

I have often spoken of the need for old vines to produce our wines. Here goes an attempt to explain why.

Firstly, what counts as an old vine? There are no official definitions but the general view is that anything over 30 years is old, although some vines in Australia’s more historic districts have managed to clock up a spectacular 150 years.

For the wine, the important thing is that the vine has a big root, trunk and cordon system in order to store reserves of carbohydrates to get it through the inevitable lean times. It’s also critical that the vine is healthy, and free of viral disease in particular that can block water and nutrient flows. With vines such as these, yields can be kept low, allowing the vine to generate concentrated flavours in fewer grapes.

That describes the scientific aspects of old vines, but it doesn’t account for the metaphysical aspects of great wine quality from aged vines. As a recent first-time Dad at 46 (positively ancient for a vine…) I can well testify to the pros and cons of being an older provider.

We – the vines and me – have been through a few seasons, we know what can go wrong and we can take action early to minimise mistakes. It’s called experience. Vigorous young vines, for instance, can misdirect their energy chasing high yields because it’s raining today, even though tomorrow it will be dry. The result is that young vines can produce wine that is fresh and friendly, but they can lack complexity, depth and elegance.

Us older types might not have the energy to sprint around after a football, but we make up for it with wisdom, patience, and being able to balance our time better to extract the best rewards, for father and son, grower and grape alike, from the relationship.

At Huntington Estate, where we believe that time is the true test of a wine, having vines that are 45 years old is a critical ingredient to our wine style.

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