Old Vines, New Vision: How Barossa’s Heritage Grapes Are Shaping Australia’s Wine Future

In the heart of South Australia, the Barossa wine region is undergoing a transformation. Facing dramatic seasonal extremes, the region’s ancient vines – some of oldest on the planet – are not only surviving but thriving.

From the cool, wet La Niña years of 2022 and 2023 to the dry 2024 vintage and the parched 2025 season, these vineyards have become vital assets in adapting to a changing climate. The viticultural legacy of the Barossa, which comprises Barossa Valley and Eden Valley, is proving to be more than just history – it is now a cornerstone of resilience and quality.

Many of these old vines, planted originally for fortified wine production, include shiraz, mourvedre and grenache, along with white varieties such as roussanne and semillon. Today, they are being harnessed for still table wines, showcasing depth, texture and energy rarely matched by younger vines.

The region’s most compelling wines – we tasted 344 for this report – are those rooted in its past, crafted by producers who understand how to translate maturity and site into elegance and expression.

Just over an hour’s drive northeast of Adelaide, the landscape of the Barossa region reveals the toll of climate change. The 2025 growing season was especially severe, with some vineyards receiving no significant rainfall after October 2024. It marked one of the driest seasons in recent memory.

Yet amid the extremes, the resilience of the old vines stands out. “Only in the last 25 years have we begun to realize what we actually had in these old vineyards,” said John Duval, the former chief winemaker at Penfolds who now produces wines under his own label. “In 1986, a lot of them were pulled because they weren’t deemed productive. Now, it’s a no-brainer to keep them and embrace their individuality.”

Duval’s Grenache Barossa Annexus 2023, sourced from vines planted in 1858, demonstrates remarkable depth. Tightly coiled and rich with savory undertones, the wine shows a calm power seldom found in younger valley-floor fruit.

Thanks to South Australia’s strict quarantine measures, phylloxera never arrived in Barossa, allowing ungrafted vines to persist. Today, the region classifies its old vineyards into four tiers: Old Vine (35 years and over), Survivor Vine (75 years and over), Centenarian Vine (100 years and over), and Ancestor Vine (125 years and over). These are not merely marketing terms – they reflect a cultural shift that prizes longevity and maturity.

Recent releases from the cooler 2022 and 2023 vintages offer a clear stylistic contrast between the Barossa and Eden Valleys. The 2022 wines, in particular, deliver early appeal and classical structure, while the 2023s show promise for aging. The valley floor wines tend to be fuller-bodied, while those from Eden carry higher acidity and require more time to evolve.

READ MORE CLARE VALLEY TASTING REPORT: AN EVOLUTION TOWARD PURITY AND PRECISION

At Agricola Wines in Eden Valley, winemaker Callum Powell continues to forge his own path, crafting wines with 100 percent whole-cluster fermentation. “I want the whole vineyard in the ferment,” he said. “The stems bring structure and freshness.”

The Agricola Shiraz Barossa Valley Flaxman Valley 2023 is floral and spice-driven, highlighting Eden’s cool elegance. By contrast, the Agricola Shiraz Barossa Valley K' Sands 2023, grown on vines planted in the 1860s, is denser and more powerful, with a velvety texture and lingering spice.

“We picked this vineyard right at the end of its cycle in 2023,” Powell noted. “It had more flesh and ripeness than Eden.”

In the high elevations of Eden Valley, Pewsey Vale stands out as a riesling benchmark. First planted in 1847, it was replanted in the 1960s under the stewardship of Yalumba’s Hill-Smith family. The Pewsey Vale Riesling Eden Valley The Contours Museum Reserve 2017, released after seven years in bottle, offers a textured mid-palate and high-tension acidity, while the younger Riesling Eden Valley 1961 Block 2023, from 60-year-old vines, emphasizes mineral precision and immediate freshness.

Biodynamically Henschke

Few names in Eden carry as much weight as Henschke. The family’s Hill of Grace vineyard, home to vines planted in 1860, reflects a biodynamic, regenerative approach championed by viticulturist Prue Henschke. “We focus on compost, native plantings, minimal tillage, and the Scott Henry trellis to optimize airflow and dappled light,” she said.

The Henschke Shiraz Eden Valley Hill of Grace Vineyard 2021, a vintage described by Stephen Henschke as “near perfect,” shows exceptional balance and complexity, combining plum, spice, graphite, mocha and cured meat with a refined, textural palate and long aging potential.

“After what we’ve seen in 2022 and 2023,” Stephen Henschke said, “you learn not to take a vintage like 2021 for granted.”

On the Barossa valley floor, Michael Hall’s wines capture the diversity of the region. His Michael Hall Shiraz Barossa Valley Stone Well 2023, which is usually his most full-bodied wine, shows restraint and perfume in a cooler year. The Greenock Roussanne 2023, fermented in 500-liter puncheons, is creamy and fresh, thanks to the vintage conditions and a move away from smaller barrels.

“We’re aiming for more freshness and purity,” Hall said.

In Greenock, Amelia Nolan at Alkina is taking micro-terroir to the next level with soil-specific fermentations. Working with consultants Pedro Parra and Marco Simonit, Nolan emphasizes low-intervention techniques and ferments primarily in concrete to preserve precision.

The Alkina Grenache Barossa Valley Polygon No. 3 2023, made from 70-year-old vines on limestone, is vivid and fresh, with lifted red fruit and fine-grained tannins. Their shiraz from the same site, the Polygon No. 1 2023, offers greater body, supported by integrated structure and acidity.

Nearby at Eperosa, winemaker Brett Grocke continues to lead with clarity and focus. His Eperosa Grenache Barossa Valley SGG 1858 2023 is floral, savory and electric. The standout, however, is the Magnolia Blanc NV – a multivintage semillon with components from 2021, 2022 and 2023, sourced from vines planted between 1941 and 1975. With subtle skin contact and a saline, citrus-edged tension, it stands as a singular expression of semillon in a warm climate.

Barossa’s old vines are not relics of a bygone era. They are tools of precision, anchoring wines through drought, heat and seasonal uncertainty. Their deep-rooted systems absorb nuance from the soil and provide consistency in challenging vintages.

Once undervalued, these vineyards are now at the center of the region’s identity. A new generation of winemakers is embracing mature vines, combining thoughtful farming with low-intervention techniques and soil-specific expression. This is not merely a return to tradition – it is a reimagining of it.

– Ryan Montgomery, Associate Editor

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the tasters at JamesSuckling.com. Note: You can sort the wines below by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.