LIVING ICONS brings together the oldest vines in the McLaren Vale region, all planted in the 1800’s, the single vineyard wines made from these and the custodians who lovingly tend these vines to ensure the health and longevity of these national treasures.
“Old vines aren’t great because they’re old, they’re old because they’re great!”
We are incredibly fortunate in McLaren Vale to have surviving old vines that are over 100 years old. Planted with great foresight and faith in the future of the South Australian wine industry, these vines survived modest establishment practices and fought for survival with limited irrigation in their early years.
They endured disease pressures and avoided the spread of phylloxera. In many instances they accepted retraining to trellis and evaded the 1980’s vine pull scheme. To this day they continue to deliver exceptional quality fruit.
These older vines have root systems that would be infiltrating the underlying geology. As the geology in McLaren Vale is so diverse, wines from these vines have different characteristics due to the differing geology they are drawing on. The older the vine the deeper the vine roots will infiltrate the terroir. It is likely the wines produced from old vines will express the underlying geology on which they are growing.
Vines planted in the 1800s really are national treasures and we strive to ensure their ongoing health and longevity while sharing their stories, creating awareness of McLaren Vale’s pioneering involvement in the Australian wine industry and championing the single vineyard wines produced from McLaren Vale’s last remaining 1800’s planted vines. Each vine has its own unique story, conveyed through its fruit as told by the custodians and winemakers.
