Before the party kicked off, head winemaker Chris Scott dug through the Church Road wine library and unearthed a few old Church Road wines for us to try.
Produced under two different labels, McWilliam’s and McDonald, the oldest dated from the 1950s, with no exact date on the bottle. The other two were from 1967 and 1977 and all made from 100 per cent cabernet sauvignon grapes.
There’s certainly wine that’s older in New Zealand and what is considered the oldest, dating from 1903, was opened in the Wairarapa last year. But a 60-year-old wine is quite venerable by New Zealand standards. Chris thought the 1950s wine was actually fortified (that it had a spirit like brandy added to it) so it was actually quite palatable, if you like sherry.
The wine from 1967 was the pick of the crop though, produced from a good grape growing year in the Hawke’s Bay and you’d happily drink it any day of the week. The media tasting the wine and winemaker Chris were all eager for a second glass.
The 1977 much less so, it was made from a ‘green year’ apparently and was a bit worn with age.
It’s great fun trying really old wines, you never know what you’re going to get. Has anyone out there tried a wine this old (or older) before? We’d love to hear about it.
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Feature image: Church Road head winemaker Chris Scott opens the 1967 McWilliam’s Private Bin Cabernet Sauvignon.
Photography by: Carmen Bird Photography.
