A taste of the world’s oldest Marsanne vines

A vertical tasting of Tahbilk Marsanne trashes any notion that Marsanne has a short shelf life.  Together with its rarer, scintillatingly structured sibling Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne, it counts among my great wine buys of the world.  The latest release of Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne to hit these shores is the 2003 vintage and it’s a beaut, just like the 2005 vintage awarded Top Gold Trophy at the Rutherglen Wine Show which got my vote for white wine of the show.

Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne 2003 (Nagambie Lakes, Victoria)

A tightly structured nose and palate has a terrific drive of grapefruity acidity.  Hurtling along at a pace this whipcracker of a wine reveals complex nutty, lanolin, lemon and grapefruit pith notes on a waxy palate.  Very long and powerfully intense, grapes are picked early and exclusively hail from Tahbilk’s oldest Marsanne vines which, planted in 1927, are believed to be the world’s oldest.  At any rate perhaps the oldest in terms of genetic material.  The 1927 vines came from a nursery whose cuttings were sourced from Tahbilk’s original plantings planted in the 1860s. 11% abv £25.95 at Direct Wines, £161.94/6 bottles at Armit Wines, £29.10 at Hedonism.