Gibson Wines Australian Old Vine Collection Eden Valley Shiraz

Gibson Wines is one of our all-time favourite wineries. We always recommend visiting their cellar door to our visiting friends.

At Barossa Reserve, we categorise the wines that we sell into three levels:

Super-Premium - wines that you would only share with your significant other on special occasions.

Premium - wines that you would take to a dinner party with a small group of intimate friends where the wine will be the talk of the evening.

Great Value - wines that you would take to a family gathering where you have a reputation to maintain. These wines would be the best wines of the day. 

The Gibson Wines Old Vine Collection wines fall into the category of "Super Premium". They celebrate the Barossa’s magnificent old vine resources. The region is home to what is believed to be the world’s oldest Shiraz, Mataro and Grenache vines growing on their own roots. Some of these vines remarkably date back to the 1840s. This is in part due to South Australia having strong biosecurity measures which have prevented the movement of Phylloxera - a potentially devasting vine aphid, which killed off much of Europe’s grapevines in the 1800s.

The Barossa has done much work to protect these ancient treasures, including forming its own Old Vine Charter. In 2009, the Barossa Old Vine Charter was instituted to register vineyards by age, so those older vines could be preserved, retained and promoted.

The Australian Old Vine Collection Eden Valley Shiraz was largely sourced from their Burkes Hill Vineyard, with the Shiraz being 62 years of age. The wine was vinified in small lot (0.5 - 1 tonne) open fermenters, with daily plunging or rack and return. It was matured for 20 months in 70% new French oak barrels.

The result was a dark inky red colour with a purple hue and ample aroma of fruit balanced with perfect acidity. The palate is svelte, medium weight and very complex with perfect acidity and assuring dry tannins for aging potential. The finish is long and generous, leaving spicy berry flavours lingering on the palate.