How old is too old? Old vines

As a vine ages, it establishes a root system and framework of trunk and cordons. Over the decades, new layers of growth, like the rings on a tree, result in more solid, twisted and gnarled old vines. The dry-grown ‘Great Grandfather’ Shiraz vines, planted during the 1860s, in Henschke’s Hill of Gracevineyard are a perfect example of pre-phylloxera vine stock that continue to produce low-yielding, intense, flavourful and balanced fruit.