Gibson Wines
Australian Old Vine Collection Barossa Shiraz
Barossa, South Australia, Australia
This was a blast from the old Grateful Palate days; one of those producers, in that somewhat infamous book, that flew under the radar. Rob Gibson, a self described “dirt man”, made his name at Penfolds where he spent over two decades, which culminated with him leading the viticultural team that identified the best Shiraz for Grange. With his experience and knowledge, he has a knack for knowing where all the best sites are and it’s from these vines that his Old Vine Collection are made. This particular bottling uses fruit from some of the oldest Shiraz vines in Australia, planted in the 1860’s. Heck, even the “young” vines were planted in 1910! It’s almost needless to say that annual production is minuscule with only about 6 barrels made each year.
Popped and poured; consumed over two hours. The wine pours a deep ruby with medium+ viscosity and loads of sediment. On the nose, medium+ intensity with soft blue fruits, purple flowers, black pepper, sweet pipe tobacco, bacon fat, baking spices, and just a touch of eucalyptus. On the palate, there’s a bounty of blue and red fruits, some of them dried. There’s also blueberry pie, leather, tobacco, and baking spice. Tannin comes across medium and well integrated at this point. The acid is medium+ and gives the fruit the freshness and lift it needs. The finish is long, rich and velvety in texture. This is what I want out of an Australian Shiraz. I have two more bottles that I’m in no particular rush to drink but these are fabulous now and should be for at least another 5-10 years.
This was a blast from the old Grateful Palate days; one of those producers, in that somewhat infamous book, that flew under the radar. Rob Gibson, a self described “dirt man”, made his name at Penfolds where he spent over two decades, which culminated with him leading the viticultural team that identified the best Shiraz for Grange. With his experience and knowledge, he has a knack for knowing where all the best sites are and it’s from these vines that his Old Vine Collection are made. This particular bottling uses fruit from some of the oldest Shiraz vines in Australia, planted in the 1860’s. Heck, even the “young” vines were planted in 1910! It’s almost needless to say that annual production is minuscule with only about 6 barrels made each year.
Popped and poured; consumed over two hours. The wine pours a deep ruby with medium+ viscosity and loads of sediment. On the nose, medium+ intensity with soft blue fruits, purple flowers, black pepper, sweet pipe tobacco, bacon fat, baking spices, and just a touch of eucalyptus. On the palate, there’s a bounty of blue and red fruits, some of them dried. There’s also blueberry pie, leather, tobacco, and baking spice. Tannin comes across medium and well integrated at this point. The acid is medium+ and gives the fruit the freshness and lift it needs. The finish is long, rich and velvety in texture. This is what I want out of an Australian Shiraz. I have two more bottles that I’m in no particular rush to drink but these are fabulous now and should be for at least another 5-10 years.