Old Plains Wine Co was founded in 2002 by Dom Torzi and Tim Freeland, driven by a shared vision to preserve some of the last old-vine vineyards of the Adelaide Plains in South Australia. Many of these vines were planted in the post-WWII era by Italian migrants and returned servicemen, becoming an enduring legacy of the region’s rich wine heritage.
While much of this precious old vine material was lost during the mid 1980s to make way for market gardens, almond orchards and housing developments, pockets remained - often just an acre or two or a few cherished rows kept by families to make their own wine. Today, Old Plains sources fruit from these surviving plots, crafting wines that celebrate the unique character and generosity that only old vines can deliver.
Since their first vintage, Torzi and Freeland have focused on hand-made, small-batch Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet, all brimming with deep, dark fruit flavours and true varietal expression. Traditional vinification is at the heart of their approach: sustainable vineyards, hand picking, whole berry fermentations, gentle basket pressing and gravity-fed ferments, all handled with minimal intervention.
Fermented as whole berries in small open-top fermenters, the must is gravity fed directly without the need for pumping, preserving the integrity of the fruit. The wine spends seven days on skins with gentle pump-overs and minimal hand plunging, ensuring a careful extraction of flavour and texture. A soft basket press follows, with the ferment finishing off in barrel over two days. Maturation takes place for 18 months in 100% French oak - 40% new, 60% seasoned - with two careful rackings before being bottled unfiltered to retain purity.
In the glass, it opens with black-fruited aromatics lifted by notes of nougat and roasted hazelnut. There is serious power here - a full-bodied core wrapped in comforting toasty oak, layered with familiar flavours of dark chocolate and rich fruitcake. Mouth-coating, medium-grained tannins give structure and swirl across the palate, driving through to a long, inky, uplifting finish.
A true reflection of Adelaide Plains old vine heritage, this wine draws character from classic sites in Angle Vale and Penfield Gardens. Here, 60-year-old vines are rooted in thick red clay and loam over fractured limestone, each pocket bringing its own distinct personality to this compelling, beautifully crafted blend.
