Saltram Vintage Old Tawny 500ml 1959 CONFIRM 1959 VINTAGE

Saltram Vintage Old Tawny 500ml 1959 - Buy
98 Points James Halliday Wine Companion 2011
Barossa South Australia
In 1859 William Salter and his son Edward founded the firm W. Salter & Son, which has since evolved into the baronial Saltram label. To celebrate 150 years of winemaking, an extremely limited amount of very rare old tawny from the 1959 vintage has been released. Only 1859 bottles were made to coincide with Saltram's founding year. This eternal wine is drawn from a single growing season, but unlike most vintage fortifieds which have been aged in bottle, Saltram Vintage Rare Tawny has been kept in oak barrels for fifty years to achieve its peerless style.
William & Edward Salter embarked on their operations by planting ten acres of Shiraz. A shed was erected for making wine and a cellar was carved out of a nearby hill. Their first vintage in 1862 produced 8000 litres which they appropriately labelled No.1 Shiraz. To celebrate their centenary in 1959, Saltram set aside their most remarkable parcels of fruit to make a fortified for future milestones. Fruit was harvested after a cool dry growing season with below average rainfall which yielded robust red grapes, perfect to fortify with brandy spirit for the genesis of a wine with rich fruit flavour and complexity which has seamlessly integrated with extended time in barrel after an extended maturation of fifty years. Alcohol 20%2.
Rich dark brown with a yellow green edge. The nose is extremely complex and integrated, with a freshness that shows raisin fruits, chocolate, toffee caramel, nutty rancio, spice and hints of vanillin oak with a balanced well integrated subtle spirit. The palate of this extremely rare tawny Australian style has incredible depth and intensity of flavour that defies its age. An array of complex fruit aromas follow through to the palate. The structure and balance is well supported by extraordinary length, power and complexity that lingers in the mouth. Savour the depth of flavour, complexity and extraordinary length, Saltram 1959 leaves you wanting more. At it's peak, will continue to hold in bottle for many years to come.
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In 1844 a recently arrived immigrant from England named William Salter was one of the first people to purchase land in the newly opened land survey known as the Barossa Valley

He built a stone house for his family naming it Mamre Brook, after Abrahams spiritual home in the book of Genesis. Mamre Brook House still stands today as the spiritual home of Saltram. William Salter and Sons first planted grapes here in 1859, and in 1862 produced 8000 litres of a wine appropriately named No.1 Shiraz. In the history of Saltram there have only been eight senior winemakers, two families dominate the list, Salter and Dolan. Three generations of Salters made wine until 1937, and the Dolan's have played a part at Saltram from the 1950s through until today.

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The Barossa Valley is actually a long plain that sits at an average of 230m elevation, with small hills on the western side and the steeper Barossa Hills leading toward the higher Eden Valley on the east. The region includes the towns Nuriootpa, Tanunda, and Angaston. Saltram is situated on Nuriootpa Road just a kilometre from the town of Angaston. The soils of the Barossa are predominantly red brown loams, which are non-cracking, well structured and relatively free draining - making them ideal for growing grapevines.

Saltram draws fruit from its own 45 hectare Saltram Vineyard that surrounds the Saltram Winery and Cellar Door as well as from other vineyards throughout the region. These vineyards are spread over from the cooler hills of the Eden Valley to the warmer areas across the valley floor. The Saltram Vineyards yield many different varietals, the vast majority are planted to Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, alongside some smaller plantings of non-mainstream varieties such as Malbec, Petit Verdot, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese.

Peter Lehmann, while winemaker at Saltram, lightened the traditional styles and made distinctive reds, and fine ports. He encouraged the planting of cabernet sauvignon, harvested earlier for better pH control and introduced new oak casks Most of the Saltram vines are irrigated via drip irrigation and supported on a variety of trellising systems with more recent planting on single wire trellising and t-trellising systems. Drip irrigation was developed in the 1950s to allow viticulturalists to grow grapevines in climates with low rainfall.

Saltram

The Barossa Valley receives moderate rainfall of approximately 520mm (mostly falling during the winter months), and has high summer evaporation and low relative humidity. This ideal climate produces relatively low disease pressure, which limits the need for chemicals in the vineyard and also maintains the natural environment. Today, vineyards with a range of climatic conditions use drip irrigation as it allows them more control over the amount of water the vines receive. This extra control allows them to stress the vine by not irrigating at certain times, and irrigating it at others in order to control the crop level and quality of grapes the vine produces.

The Saltram Vineyards also have a number of older vines that were planted in the 1950s and 1960s that are dry grown - not irrigated at all. Dry growing the grapes on these vines produces more concentrated flavours and a higher skin to pulp ratio which improves wine colour and tannin levels. In good years, select parcels from theses vines go into the renowned Saltram No.1 Shiraz and various other special blends that make up Saltrams superb range of wines.

One of the more recently introduced flagship reds in the Saltram suite is called The Eighth Maker. Created as a tribute to the past seven Chief Winemakers at Saltram, it has established a new benchmark for Barossa Shiraz, creating a classic wine which captures the tradition of the region. Saltrams flagship No. 1 Shiraz is now considered one of the elite Barossa reds, while the Mamre Brook Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz continue to win accolades and gold medals.

From vintage 2000, winemaker Nigel Dolan took on a more senior role for parent company Beringer Blass as Group Red Winemaker while retaining full control over the style and quality of his beloved Saltram wines. Dolans wines are characterised by a focus on regional and varietal intensity they are made with a firm belief and a deft, masterful touch. As the creator of the much-loved Pepperjack label, Nigel has established himself as an artful winemaker in the traditional mould, and an innovator interested in utilising cutting-edge winemaking techniques and progressive varietals.

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