What became of Seppelt's Dorrien vineyard?

[GraemeG]

The last bottling was the 1999 vintage; Barossa valley cabernet.
Did it just disappear into the Southcorp/Treasury production machine and become a source for Penfolds and/or any other brand that wanted top Barossa cab fruit?
I have a bottle of the 1994 still and was wondering about the history of the vineyard. There doesn't seem to be much on-line.
This is the problem with Australia's wine laws that don't give vineyards any special protection.
I am aware that it's nothing to do the Dorrien Estate based in the Barossa.

[marsalla]

Is it part of Warren Randells group?

[phillisc]

Yes great question and just another really dumb 'head office' decision.
Equally, where do the Cabernet grapes from the Drumborg vineyard go now?
Cheers Craig

[Waiters Friend]

Yes great question and just another really dumb 'head office' decision.
Equally, where do the Cabernet grapes from the Drumborg vineyard go now?
Cheers Craig

Was there a Drumborg Cabernet? That's a surprise. I thought it was just Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and especially Riesling. I would be delighted to learn more.

[cuttlefish]

I reckon the Drumborg vineyard is gone or grafted over to another variety, but the Dorrien vineyard might still exist. Surely somebody is privy to this information??

[phillisc]

Yes great question and just another really dumb 'head office' decision.
Equally, where do the Cabernet grapes from the Drumborg vineyard go now?
Cheers Craig

Was there a Drumborg Cabernet? That's a surprise. I thought it was just Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and especially Riesling. I would be delighted to learn more.

Hi Allan, 1984 Drumborg Cab was an epithany in my wine journey...after having an opportunity to try it went out and got a dozen and had the 86, 91, 93, 96 and 99. Unfortunately all gone.
Seppelts also made a cracking white label Padthaway Cabernet as well. Fabulous wines.
Cheers Craig

[Waiters Friend]

Yes great question and just another really dumb 'head office' decision.
Equally, where do the Cabernet grapes from the Drumborg vineyard go now?
Cheers Craig

Was there a Drumborg Cabernet? That's a surprise. I thought it was just Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and especially Riesling. I would be delighted to learn more.

Hi Allan, 1984 Drumborg Cab was an epithany in my wine journey...after having an opportunity to try it went out and got a dozen and had the 86, 91, 93, 96 and 99. Unfortunately all gone.
Seppelts also made a cracking white label Padthaway Cabernet as well. Fabulous wines.
Cheers Craig

Thanks indeed, Craig - great information, and memories for you.

Whene did Seppelt become part of TWE? Does this coincide with the disappearance of Drumborg cabernet, and were the vines a) pulled? b) grafted to pinot noir or another variety? Let the conspracy theorists go forth

Cheers, Allan

[Wizz]

Not a direct answer to the question, but we visited the Seppelt Great Western Cellar Door in 2007, and remember the staff commenting openly about how head office decisions were impacting the brand, would that fit the time of TWE getting involved?

[Sean]

deleted

[phillisc]

Sean bang on!
Yes rationalisation of gems, systematic bastardisation of labels and vineyards and introduction of what can be only described as laughable.... Rawson's Retreat, Thomas Hyland, Samuel Wynn miles from nowhere ( you're not kidding!), Lindies Gentleman's Collection....I could go on and on. Joke wines!
Yes Drumborg Cabernet was at the mercy or the seasons and releases became more sporadic. Yet I have a few vintages of Crawford River...their Riesling is line ball with Seppelts, beautiful wines. However, they also make a great cab and cab blend. We are taking about 30 k's between the vineyards.
Cheers Craig

[GraemeG]

I recall the 2001 Southcorp/Rosemount merger leading to a managerial decision that Seppelt was to become an exclusively Victorian brand for table wines. And that fitted too with the Sparkling operation. They had enough SA-focused brands. They never quite knew what to do with the fortified operation, obviously.
So the Dorrien cab was a distraction in that sense. Makes sense to assume the pick of the vineyard's fruit just went into Penfolds I guess.

Someone called Harry J Morris had a wine blog and in 2011 made a post on the 93 Dorrien. A couple of extracts:
By 1900, Seppelt was the largest winery in Australia with an annual production of two million litres. Hans Irvine and Benno Seppelt met in 1902, and soon formed a partnership. Seppelt continued the expansion of his company, purchasing Château Tanunda in Barossa from the Adelaide Wine Company in 1916 and building a new winery at Dorrien in 1918. That same year, he also expanded his operation into Victoria when he purchased Great Western from Hans Irvine, quickly gaining a reputation for exceptional quality sparkling and still wines. After Benno’s death in 1930, the legendary winemaker Colin Preece was the first in a series of exemplary winemakers who ensured that B. Seppelt & Sons went from strength to strength over the ensuing decades. By 1982, Seppelt was Australia’s largest wine brand.

S.A. Brewing Holdings Limited acquired B. Seppelt & Sons in 1984, and when the Adelaide Steamship Company hit financial difficulties in 1990, it spent a further AU$400 million purchasing the stricken company’s wineries. These included Lindemans and the Penfolds Group, hence the renaming of the wine division as the Penfolds Wine Group. Lion Nathan purchased S.A. Brewing in 1993, changing its name to Southcorp Holdings in 1994 to better reflect its South Australian heritage.

Then this:
From a seven hectare vineyard of fifty year old vines in the Barossa Valley that really shouldn’t produce Cabernet Sauvignon of any note, Dorrien was one of Seppelt’s icon wines made only in years when the quality of the grapes was regarded as exceptional. Handcrafted by chief winemaker Ian McKenzie, the 1993 Seppelt Dorrien Cabernet Sauvignon (13% ABV) spent 18 months in American and Nevers oak before being bottled. As I have mentioned previously (see my blog post An Old Flame), I was not the only person to appreciate its charms as this prodigious medal winner was once counted amongst Australia’s finest wines.
The blog is here: https://harryjmorris.wordpress.com/tag/seppelt/

Oh well, I guess only the vineyard asset manager at Treasury knows where the fruit goes these days.

[phillisc]

Graeme, another great post and more pieces of the puzzle filled in.
Ian Macca McKenzie was a very good winemaker. Yes remember John Splavins, bit of an Adelaide icon when he was incharge of AdSteam... certainly glory days in SA.
My parents knew him well and socialised often.
He had a 'gold bar' on his desk with the inscription..." Grab them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow." He was good in business, shame it all fell over, but think he did ok.
Cheers Craig

[WineRick]

Yes great question and just another really dumb 'head office' decision.
Equally, where do the Cabernet grapes from the Drumborg vineyard go now?
Cheers Craig

Was there a Drumborg Cabernet? That's a surprise. I thought it was just Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and especially Riesling. I would be delighted to learn more.

Hi Allan, 1984 Drumborg Cab was an epithany in my wine journey...after having an opportunity to try it went out and got a dozen and had the 86, 91, 93, 96 and 99. Unfortunately all gone.
Seppelts also made a cracking white label Padthaway Cabernet as well. Fabulous wines.
Cheers Craig

Also made a great Gewürztraminer. In either '76 or '78, Howard Anderson made both a Riesling and a Gewurz that were astonishing - saw them for a number of years at various wineshow tastings, together with the trio of Lindeman's 1970 Hunter Semillons.