THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
Sandbagging Angoves against the flood, Renmark, South Australia 1950s. [Angoves Collection]
as much as they could get. It was not much, and each winery had its own preferences. Rudi Kronberger went for the early-picked material because it was high in acid, whereas Tony Nelson preferred mid-vintage wines. Redman’s also release its Rouge Homme label with the 1952 vintage, creating more pressure on supply. When Ron Haselgrove showed interest in securing wine from Redman’s, he was at first given a small allocation, but when supply dried up the following year, he asked Bill Redman whether he could find some land and develop a vineyard for Mildara. In 1955, a 30-acre block on prime terra rossa land was acquired at £100 per acre. Penfolds followed suit in 1957 with the acquisition of 50 acres at £350 per acre. Soon, the Coonawarra land grab was in full swing as the major wine companies spied new opportunities. During the 1950s, Château Tahbilk, under the ownership of Eric Purbrick, was making its own wine but also selling large amounts of bulk wine to Hardy’s in South Australia. Meanwhile, Roger Warren, one of the great winemakers and blenders of the time, was making sparkling wine at Hardy’s Currie Street premises in Adelaide, which was shipped fully bottled and packaged for Château Tahbilk’s popular cellar door. By the 1960s, the winery was a centre of wine culture. It became the home of the Confrérie de Chevaliers du Tastevin, a worldwide organisation devoted to the cause of burgundy wine. The Victorian chapter (at that time, the Australian chapter) boasted the state’s most well- heeled congregation of politicians, business leaders, pastoralists, and identities in the field of arts and science. Château Tahbilk’s formidable connections gave the winery the highest profile in Victoria at the time. The 1952 Château Tahbilk Marsanne was a landmark release and considered one of Australia’s great white wines of the period.
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