Tahbilk named best value
Tahbilk Winery in Nagambie has been awarded best value white for its 2016 Marsanne at the annual Vintage Cellars best-of awards.
It rounds out a year of accolades for Tahbilk, which was named winery of the year in 2016 by respected wine critic James Halliday.
Famous for its Marsanne and premium Shiraz varietals, the latter grown from a single plot planted in 1860, Tahbilk’s wines have become highly sought after for their age, heritage and authenticity.
‘‘Our Marsanne vines date back to 1927, which makes them the oldest in Australia, and amongst the oldest in the world,’’ fourthgeneration Tahbilk winemaker Alister Purbrick said.
‘‘We make a single-vineyard Marsanne from those grapes, from those vines, and then we’ve got 100 single acres of Marsanne on the property, which is the largest single holding of Marsanne in the world.’’
Marsanne is one of the world’s rarest grape varieties.
In its young form, Marsanne produces a typically dry white wine with a citrus-type aroma.
There are few vineyards experimenting with Marsanne today and the variety has become synonymous with the Tahbilk name.
Outside of its native France, it is only grown in Australia, Switzerland and the United States.
Despite this heritage, Mr Purbrick maintains that upholding the status quo is not an option.
‘‘Even in slower moving industries like the wine industry, things are changing and evolving all the time,’’ Mr Purbrick said.
‘‘It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business, it’s still very easy to go out of business. So that’s why we work hard to overdeliver on the price point of our wines.
‘‘If we gain those occasional accolades then it gives our winemakers and everyone in the company that positive reinforcement that we’re still going in the right direction.’’
Tahbilk sells more Marsanne than all of its red varieties combined.
‘‘Marsanne offers exceptional value for money because the wine is unoaked,’’ Mr Purbrick said.
‘‘The wine ages in the bottle, so it’s really just the cost of growing it in the vineyard without the winemaker extras.’’
The award-winning Tahbilk Marsanne 2016 retails for about $17 a bottle and can be frequently found for between $13 and $15 at major liquor retailers.
‘‘The cost of producing a red to the same price point is significantly higher,’’ Mr Purbrick said.
‘‘It jumps up to $22 to $23 because all of a sudden you’ve got new wood, a greater complexity in the winemaking, and so on.’’
Tahbilk keeps about 20 per cent of its vintage each year for a fiveyear museum release, where the wine develops a more mellow and oaky aroma despite not being wooded.
Its most premium variety is, of course, its 1927 Vines Marsanne picked from only those early vines and picked early to retain a higher natural acidity which develops with ageing.