Old vine cabernet questions....

[D_Walker]

@davetong

@D. Walker

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a bottle of Manso di Velasco. Do we know if anyone is making any cabernet in California with only old vine grapes?

As mentioned earlier, Woodside’s La Questa Cabernet is made exclusively with fruit from Rixford’s 100 year old vines. It is only released in the best years and maybe 3 barrels are made, so good luck finding any.

Thanks. And great avatar!

[Wes_Barton]

@davetong

@Paul Romero

Woodside Vineyards has original vines from the late 19th century. Wes or Dave probably know the exact dates but I think it’s 1895.

Correct as far as I know. The winery dates from 1883 but according to Sullivan the vines were replanted between 1895 and 1905. There’s less than an acre remaining, divided in two separate blocks.

Penfolds Kalimna Block 42 is generally considered the oldest planting of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Barossa Valley, some say in the world. The Kalimna vineyard was planted in the 1880’s.

As far as I know the oldest vines at Ridge were planted in the 1950s.
The Peter Martin Ray vineyard dates back to the 1960s, but Mount Eden replanted their cab in the late 1990s.

(note to self: next time read whole thread before replying)

Yep. What’s left of the La Questa Vineyard was planted between 1895-1905 with cuttings from Ch. Margaux. Martin Ray used cuttings from La Questa to plant his Mount Eden Vineyard. Also, most of the Cab on the Monte Bello ridge was derived from these cuttings, as well as the Kathryn Kennedy Estate Vyd.

I’ve heard the oldest Cab vines on Monte Bello were planted in 1949 and are part of the William Short Vyd. (where the tasting room is), but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s older Cab in the Picchetti Vyd.

Oh, and Emmet Rixford, who planted La Questa, and won world-wide recognition for his wines, wrote The Wine Press and the Cellar http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=rixford+emmet&x=0&y=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; in 1883, which was long considered the California winemaking Bible.