Old Grape Vines Does Not Mean Old Tasting Wine

By Tom Marquardt And Patrick Darr

When you hear talk of old vines you think first of Europe. When researchers uncovered Pompeii, they discovered a thriving wine industry, and in Slovenia there are vines as old as 400 years. We recently wrote about wines from Armenia, a country that traces its vineyards to 4000 B.C.

So, when a New World country talks about old vines, well, it’s relative.

Nevertheless, old vines are significant in countries such as the United States and Australia where the wine industry was getting planted in the 18^th century.

Old-vine vineyards have been heralded for decades, but the definition of “old” has been elusive with some producers claiming a 25-year-old vine to qualify.  A new online resource, “Old Vine Registry,” inspired by wine critic Jancis Robinson, gives consumers an opportunity to track producers. In order to qualify for the registry, vines have to be at least 35 years old.

A vine generally loses its vigor after 30 years and is on borrowed time after 50. But the fruit that emerges from these tired vines is usually more concentrated and rustic. They may not produce wine with body and tannin, but they are delicious, elegant wines to drink without further aging.

In the United States, the grape with the oldest vines is zinfandel. In Spain, it’s Garnacha. We’ve enjoyed many old-vine garnachas that cost less than $25 a bottle.

We recently tasted several Australian wines taken from fruit grown on vines more than 100 years old.  They were a stunning accomplishment when you realize how these gnarled vines struggle to provide such little fruit each year.

Australia’s wine industry began in 1788 when the first vines were planted in Sydney.  However, winemaking didn’t take off until the 1830s and 1840s when more grape growers became involved.  Plantings were taken from European vineyards before the root louse phylloxera decimated much of the continent’s wine crop.  Australia was able to flourish in the worst of times for diseased vineyards. Today, many of those vineyards continue to produce fruit, albeit much less. Equally historic, the 5^th and 6^th generations continue to lead their families’ legacies.

Old vines produce few leaves and shoots. The trunks are thick and the bark is impressively textured. It’s hard to imagine they are still viable, but when you drink the result, you are appreciative that they haven’t been replaced by younger, more productive vines.

Producers such as Henschke, Penfolds, Cirillo, Burge and Tyrrell capitalize on the unique quality and personality these old vineyards provide to such grapes as shiraz, grenache, mourvedre and even riesling.

Here are a few we recently tasted:

Tim Smith Barossa Shiraz 2021 ($38).  Barossa has some of the oldest vines in Australia and produces arguably its best wines.  This shiraz was absolutely stunning. Winemaker Tim Smith draws from old vines in as many as 12 vineyards from Barossa and Eden Valley. Bright and effusive

Yalumba Barossa Bush Vine Grenache 2021 ($22).  Made from bush vine vineyards planted from 1920 to 1976, this wine begins with lavender and raspberry aromas. Black cherry dominates the palate with hints of spice and a medium body. This is best enjoyed as an aperitif or alongside simple fare. Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery.

Penley Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra 2021 ($21). Planted in 1988, these estate vineyards produce great cabernet for the price. A nice dollop of anise mingles with the blackcurrant the plum aromas to set the stage for a medium-bodied wine with easy dark fruit flavors. Winemaker Kate Goodman was named 2023 Winemaker of the Year by James Halliday’s Wine Companion.

Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling Eden Valley 2015 ($38). The bottle aging of this wine brings complexity and richness to the grape variety. The old vines are grown on the coolest slope in the vineyard.

Dandelion Vineyards Legacy of Australia XXXO ($25). This non-vintage fortified dessert wine is a treat. Made entirely from pedro ximenez grapes grown on old vines in South Australia, the wine has an amber color with candied orange aromas and a sweet palate of white raisins, red fruit, molasses and spice. The Linder family has been making this special wine since 1944.

Smoke-tainted wines

It has been our experience that most consumers don’t pay much attention to vintages. As long as their daily plonk is on the shelf, they don’t dwell on whether it’s a 2018 or 2019. But they should dwell on 2020 because they not be able to find their favorite wine.

The harvest was hampered by the lingering effects of COVID as workers were slowed by health guidelines.  More devastating in California were the wildfires that decimated crops at harvest time. The LNU Complex Fire, discovered Aug. 17, blazed a path through Napa, Sonoma, Yolo, Monterey and Lake counties. The Glass Fire that began on Sept. 27 ripped through Sonoma and Napa counties.

St. Supery didn’t make any wines in 2020. Other famous producers whose wines exceed $200 a bottle also decided not to make wine for fear of ruining their brand integrity. Anyone who pays for an off wine at this price is not going to be forgiving if there is smoke taint in their wine.

According to the California Association of Winegrape Growers, between 165,000 to 325,000 grapes were not harvested because of concerns about smoke exposure. Top producers chose not to make wine from the 2020 harvest while others hedged their bets, hoping a lab analysis would show no smoke taint.

However, labs were so overwhelmed and the results were not always reliable that wine producers found little confidence.

A smoke-tainted wine would be like drinking from a wet ashtray. It will be that obvious. We haven’t tasted any tainted wines from this vintage, but we’re on the lookout. Even though chemical analysis may not pick up volatile phenols or glycosides, we have to wonder if smoke taint won’t appear until years after the wine is opened.

Given the forecast of future wildfires, researchers are working on methods to remove smoke taint.

Wine picks

Markham Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($24). Good, brisk acidity with varietal grapefruit and citrus notes complemented by minerality.

Chevalier de la Cree Montagny 2020 ($35).  You would be hard-pressed to find a premier cru from Burgundy as good as this for the price.  While California is charging twice as much for their chardonnay, this one from France is a bargain.  We loved it so much we bought a case. The tropical fruit character isn’t masked by oak, unlike many West Coast chardonnays.

Cliff Lede Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($34).  We enjoyed this supple, broadly flavored blend of the musque clone of sauvignon blanc (78 percent) and old-vine semillon from Calistoga. Richly textured with citrus, melon and peach notes with a mineral finish.