1924 Seppeltsfield, Para Vintage Tawny, Barossa Valley, Australia
Critics reviews
There is something otherworldly about tasting a 100-year-old wine. It is somewhat of an out-of-body experience. Of course, you can taste the wine in your mouth. The perfume floods the senses, but you then seem to step out of your human frame, taking a spectral glance at your flesh and bones body, savouring the moment, taking in the magnitude of the flavour, and revelling with pleasure in such a special drink. I find it extraordinary to think that after 100 years, this ‘Tawny’ is so incredibly different in its perfume and flavour than the 1923 vintage, which I have previously reviewed in Wednesday Wines. It is a couple of shades darker (if possible) and has a profound smokiness at its core that is staggeringly hypnotic. Exceedingly long and all-pervasive, this is one of the most unique flavours in our incredible world of wine. It sounds churlish to say that it is unique because, of course, it is, but it also tastes so different from anything else in the world; it seemingly has not just a page of flavour all to itself but an entire chapter. I am always shocked and elated when I taste these wines and having visited Seppeltsfield and learned first-hand just how special the wines, the history and the people who have treasured this iconic estate, this wine must be on every passionate wine lover’s bucket list, so you know what to do.
Drink now to forever
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com (February 2024)
About this WINE
Seppeltsfield
Barossa Valley
Barossa Valley is the South Australia's wine industry's birthplace. Currently into its fifth generation, it dates back to 1839 when George Fife Angas’ South Australian Company purchased 28,000 acres at a £1 per acre and sold them onto landed gentry, mostly German Lutherans. The first vines were planted in 1843 in Bethany, and by the 1870s – with Europe ravaged by war and Phylloxera - Gladstone’s British government complemented its colonies with preferential duties.
Fortified wines, strong enough to survive the 20,000km journey, flooded the British market. Churchill followed, between the Wars, re-affirming Australia’s position as a leading supplier of ‘Empire wines’. After the Second World War, mass European immigration saw a move to lighter wines, as confirmed by Grange Hermitage’s creation during the 1950s. Stainless-steel vats and refrigeration improved the quality of the dry table wines on offer, with table wine consumption exceeding fortified for the first time in 1970.
Averaging 200 to 400 metres’ altitude, the region covers 6,500 hectares of mainly terra rossa loam over limestone, as well as some warmer, sandier sites – the Cambrian limestone being far more visible along the eastern boundary (the Barossa Ranges) with Eden Valley. Following a diagonal shape, Lyndoch at the southern end nearest Gulf St Vincent is the region’s coolest spot, benefiting from sea fogs, while Nuriootpa (further north) is warmer; hot northerlies can be offset by sea breezes. The region is also home to the country’s largest concentration of 100-year-old-vine Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre.
Barossa Valley Shiraz is one of the country’s most identifiable and famous red wine styles, produced to a high quality by the likes of Rockford, Elderton, Torbreck and Dean Hewitson. Grenache and Mourvèdre are two of the region’s hidden gems, often blended with Shiraz, yet occasionally released as single vineyard styles such as Hewitson’s ‘Old Garden’, whose vines date back to 1853. Cabernet Sauvignon is a less highly-regarded cultivar.
Wines are traditionally vinified in open concrete fermenters before being cleaned up and finished in American and French oak barrels or ‘puncheons’ of approximately 600 litres. Barossa Shiraz should be rich, spicy and suave, with hints of leather and pepper.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
There is something otherworldly about tasting a 100-year-old wine. It is somewhat of an out-of-body experience. Of course, you can taste the wine in your mouth. The perfume floods the senses, but you then seem to step out of your human frame, taking a spectral glance at your flesh and bones body, savouring the moment, taking in the magnitude of the flavour, and revelling with pleasure in such a special drink. I find it extraordinary to think that after 100 years, this ‘Tawny’ is so incredibly different in its perfume and flavour than the 1923 vintage, which I have previously reviewed in Wednesday Wines. It is a couple of shades darker (if possible) and has a profound smokiness at its core that is staggeringly hypnotic. Exceedingly long and all-pervasive, this is one of the most unique flavours in our incredible world of wine. It sounds churlish to say that it is unique because, of course, it is, but it also tastes so different from anything else in the world; it seemingly has not just a page of flavour all to itself but an entire chapter. I am always shocked and elated when I taste these wines and having visited Seppeltsfield and learned first-hand just how special the wines, the history and the people who have treasured this iconic estate, this wine must be on every passionate wine lover’s bucket list, so you know what to do.
Drink now to forever
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com (February 2024)
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