Finesse

Used to describe a wine with elegance and BALANCE. The term implies that the wine is polished and sophisticated. Hearty, rustic country wines would not be described as having finesse, while a well-made Champagne or top white Burgundy might be.

Which of the following terms in Australia is given to the oldest vines?

A. Old Vine

B. Survivor Vine

C. Centenarian Vine

D. Ancestor Vine

Ancestor vines must be at least 125 years old and are considered living tributes to Australia’s European settlers. Penfold’s famous Kalimna “Block 42” (source of both the heritage cuttings planted in Penfolds’ Paso Robles vineyard in 1999, and the cabernet sauvignon blended into the California Collection in 2018) was planted in the Barossa Valley in 1888 and is thought to be the oldest cabernet sauvignon the world over. Given that many of the world’s oldest vines live in the Barossa Valley, it’s fitting that winemakers there were the first in the world to codify what “old” means. For the record: Old Vines are at least thirty-five years of age; Survivor Vines are at least seventy years of age; and—you guessed it—Centenarian Vines are at least one hundred years of age.

“Dare to experiment, to ask questions and to embrace wine as a process of lifelong learning. Expect each bottle to be both a pleasure and a lesson (even when that lesson is “Never, ever order Latvian Verktvine again”). Then you can stop fearing wine and get on with the business of loving it.”

—Jennifer Rosen
Author, Waiter There’s a Horse in my Wine

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