Château Tanunda

This majestic bluestone winery and vineyard property is a living testament to the colourful history and pioneering spirit attached to Australia’s pre-eminent wine region. Now, thanks to the passion and dedication of its new owners, the Geber family, this iconic Barossa estate is celebrating a new lease of life.

Built in the late 1880s, Château Tanunda is:

• Home to some of the earliest plantings of vines in the Barossa Valley, dating back to the 1840s
• Australia’s largest (37,674 square feet) and oldest wine Château
• A designated monument in Australia’s Register of State Heritage Places

Château Tanunda’s origins go back to the 1860s and the decimation of Europe’s vineyards by the phylloxera plague. Sensing opportunity in Europe’s pain, the three founders of Château Tanunda built a Bavarian-style Château dedicated to the production of fine quality wines.

For a while this grand vision would become the largest winemaking facility in the Southern Hemisphere. European immigrants had been planting vines in the Barossa since the 1840s, so the region was a natural choice. The resulting wines, made from grapes produced by 560 local growers (paid a pound per gallon – a substantial sum at the time), were transported on company-owned ships to a wine-starved Europe.

Château Tanunda’s success was the Barossa’s success. For years it was the heart of Barossa winemaking.  On the rafters you will see some of the most famous names in Australian wine history, past and present, all of whom have worked at the Château.

• Kevin Sobels 
• Bill Seppelt
• Jeff Mann
• Stephen John (Winemaker of 1972 Jimmy Watson Trophy Winner, 1971 Seppelt Dorrien TT147/71 Cabernet made at Chateau Tanunda)
• Peter Taylor
• Geoff Merrill - Geoff Merrill Wines
• Craig Stansborough - Grant Burge Wines
• Robert O’Callaghan – Rockford Wines
• Kevin Glastonbury - Yalumba

 In 1994, in recognition of its rich history, Château Tanunda was placed on the Register of State Heritage Places – but by then its glory days were a memory. Abandoned by its then owner, Australian wine giant Southcorp, the property was a shell of its former grandeur. When John Geber chanced upon it in 1998, and bought it a day later, he embraced the challenge of restoring this magnificent property to its iconic status.

We invite you to discover the wonders of Château Tanunda's history by learning about the original custodians of the estate, the Seppelt family history, and more recently the revival of the Château through the Geber family.

With over 250 acres of vineyards of its own vineyards situated in Tanunda, Bethany, Vine Vale and Eden Valley, the Château has an enviable array of high quality fruit to choose from. It is this diversity of ‘terroirs’ which enables us to create our classic and refined house style. 

Our wines come from some of the oldest vines in the Barossa, and the world. This includes our 1858 Field Blend, possibly the oldest planting of Grenache Malbec and Mourvedre in the world, as well as Semillon vines over 150 years in age. We have Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre vines that are over 100 years in age, as well as Riesling vines over 90 years in age. The essence of these old vines is captured in the Chateau Tanunda Old Vine Expressions collection, which showcases the best of the Barossa from a selection of 50, 100 and 150 year old vines. 

Château Tanunda produces superb handcrafted wines that are sourced from the finest quality Barossa fruit. Each parcel brought into the winery is individually graded twice before blending. We handcraft our wines by combining traditional methods and modern technology. Our limited release wines are hand-picked, destemmed but not crushed, basket pressed and are neither fined nor filtered. We believe in minimal intervention to allow the true character of the grapes to express themselves. The combination of traditional methods with the best technology creates a unique character in the wines. Barrel aging and master blending is our skill and art form. The vineyards are our soul; the basket press winery is our heart; the wines are our passion; everything is finely tuned to produce delicious, distinctive and elegant wines.

The following techniques ensure we craft the finest quality wines that truly reflect the vineyards, variety and the region of the Barossa Valley:

• DE-STALKED: disregarding harsh tannins
• WHOLE BERRY FERMENTS: small batch temperature controlled 3 ton fermenters and old and new oak
• WILD YEAST FERMENTS
• HAND PLUNGED - PUMP OVERS: twice daily
• BASKET PRESS TECHNOLOGY: imported equipment from France. The Rolls Royce of Winemaking

 The especially imported wine making equipment from France, is considered the Rolls Royce of Winemaking. Delicate Soft Pressing that occurs in up to a 24 hour cycle results in a clarity of style and fruit not achievable by any other modern press.