Australia
A little look at some very old bushes.
Australia is a country that has seen human habitation for at least 65,000 years, and possibly longer. People would have migrated there via land bridges that existed in the distant past, or short sea crossings from southeast Asian landmasses. And yet despite all that wealth of human history, grapes have never been planted, or indeed been used to make wine on this continent until extremely recently. The first vine was planted in 1791 on the 24th January, in the governors garden where modern day Sydney now presides. Before that, there were no native vines and as such, no wine.
Despite this late start, relative to cultures that developed in and around the Indus Valley and the Mediterranean, Australia has fast tracked itself into the hearts of wine lovers around the world at record speed. From the 1800’s onwards it was producing wine around most of the south east coast, and by the 1930’s this area produced 75% of the wine made in Australia. Much of which was exported to the U.K.
From the 1950’s onwards however, an evolution has happened. Where Australia was once famous for sweet and fortified wines, it moved into producing vast amounts of cheap quality red and white table wines, and then later again started moving wine production into some of the cooler regions we are familiar with today. Thus began a long and fruitful focus on fine wine making.
Fine wine in Australia
There is no doubt that when it comes to fine-wine production in Australia, Shiraz has been holding the flag as the most widely grown grape for a while now, with Cabernet Sauvignon coming in a close second. (There are some exceptional offerings in Coonawarra, and Margaret River particularly). Barossa valley however is the Shiraz homeland. And it is this region that I will be focussing on as it is also one of the places where there is a uniquely high concentration of old vines, ranging between 80–160 years old.
So what is it about old vines that makes wine better?
It may seem counter intuitive given that we as humans tend to view ‘old’ as being somewhat disparate to quality. When things are old, they tend to become more worn, less good at their function, more prone to damage etc. However, with grape vines, this is no bad thing. A grape vine will indeed produce less grapes when it gets older. But as we talked about in last weeks article grape yield is highly proportional to quality. The less a vine produces in actual fruit, the more energy it has to devote to each grape. Thereby increasing its complexity, ripeness, and intensity.
So you can begin to imagine what a vine over 100 years old might achieve in terms of grape concentration.
Old vines as well don’t tend to be up to the same kind of harsh maintenance regimen that a younger vine can tolerate. Older vines tend to be grown bush style, close to the ground and in a small clump, rather than on pergolas or trellises. This means that aside from being a higher quality grape, it is also a high maintenance grape when it comes to literal human hours needed to maintain the plant. They need hand pruning, hand picking, and generally will require a lot more individual care than a trellis grown vine. This additional labour is part of what drives up the cost of a fine wine from an old vine. (Not a bad rhyme either). But it will also carry with it intrinsic benefits. Grapes will be handled much more carefully meaning the flavour between picking and pressing/crushing will be preserved. Grapes are less likely to be damaged and suffer from any undue oxidisation in the interim between vineyard and winery. There will be less stem and other detritus in the mixture meaning the tannins will be more smooth and supple than otherwise machine harvested batches with a higher proportion of plant matter.
Lastly old vines will tend to produce a thinner and less prolific canopy of leaves. This has multiple positive effects. First and foremost, more sunlight is allowed to enter the vine and ripen the grapes. But it will also increase airflow through the vine protecting it from mould and disease better.
All in all, you can begin to see why some Australian wine producers will proudly display on their bottles that the wine is grown from old vines.
Or as the French would say. Vielles Vignes. It has become a highly marketable trait for a wide variety of fine wines, and Australia is no exception. So next time you are considering wines to invest in from Australia. If you see that it is a wine grown from old vines, you can add that to the checklist of positive attributes that will make the wine you are looking at a potentially solid investment.
So where can I get some good Australian wines to invest in?
As always, we have you covered. We have dropped a selection of excellent wine offerings from Australia this week, covering Barossa Valley, Mclaren Vale, and Margaret River. There is also a particular wine in there that happens to be a personal favourite of mine. We hope you will enjoy the selection we have carefully curated for you.
For more news, knowledge, and wine chats?
As always, happy investing, and for more bite sized pieces of wine knowledge to help you navigate this fine wine market. Make sure to stay tuned for future articles, and check out our previous articles too.
Legacy collection — V Tuscany and grape yields
Legacy collection — IV A deep dive into Rioja
Legacy collection — III Adventures with Whisky.
Legacy collection — II Burgundy and weather.
Legacy collection — I Napa Valley
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All the best!
