A rare wine from ancient vines

Central Victoria’s Tahbilk is home to some incredibly special marsanne vines, with the Purbrick family behind the winery honing exceptional styles of this unique white wine.

THE PURBRICKS are one of the First Families of Wine in Australia, and their Nagambie Lakes winery Tahbilk is home to some of the country’s oldest and most important vines. Among those is the largest single holding of marsanne in the world. This rare white variety was fortuitously planted at Tahbilk more than 150 years ago, so the winery has long had a special relationship with the grape.

With marsanne in limited production here and overseas, Tahbilk has a stronghold, particularly when it comes to single-varietal styles. According to fourth-generation winemaker Alister Purbrick, only a handful of others produce straight-up marsanne locally. Even in its spiritual home of France’s Rhone Valley, marsanne is most often blended with roussanne and/or viognier.

Tahbilk produces a range of marsanne wines, including a sparkling (available exclusively to Wine Club members), a cane-cut dessert version and a couple of blends. But its core releases are the Estate, Museum Release and 1927 Vines.

The Estate Marsanne is made to ensure it drinks beautifully when young, full of bright, fresh fruit flavours. A portion of that wine is held back for the Museum Release at around five years of bottle age, offering the chance to compare the two side-by-side without having to wait. “I enjoy marsanne when it’s around five to 10 years of age as it’s still got a bit of fresh fruit flavour, but also some complexity,” Alister says.

Their pinnacle is the 1927 Vines Marsanne, only released once it has received a raft of wine-show accolades, usually at around six or seven years of age. Due to the singular way it is made, the 1927 Vines will last for a minimum of 40 years with careful cellaring. Tahbilk is the only winery to craft such a marsanne, and James Halliday regularly sings its praises, with the 2012 featuring in his recent Top 100 Wines with 97 points.