2024 James Halliday Hall of Fame: Wine
An eligible wine will have won its category in this guide on five occasions or more. Inductees to the James Halliday Hall of Fame: Wine are expected to be roughly as rare as its first recipient.
Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1923, Barossa Valley
We are proud to announce the Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny, in this case , as the first inductee into the James Halliday Hall of Fame: Wine. James Halliday, in describing the current release’s 100-point grading, wrote that "It is the one and only wine whose history, past, and future demands it." He could also be describing its entry into the Hall of Fame.
The simple fact that you can buy a 100-year-old wine is incredible; as is the wine’s 144 year consecutive lineage, as is – if you’re ever lucky enough to enjoy a drop – the truly wondrous, life-enhancing, overwhelming taste of it. The importance and quality of this wine is beyond refute; it is a gift from generations past, a wine altar on which we worship, an ode in a bottle to Australian wine history. – Campbell Mattinson
The wine is every bit as awesome as its predecessors, the intensity and the flavours lingering in the mouth for a seemingly endless time. Its acidity has none of the edgy cuts that can sometimes need a spice-laden biscuit or chocolate to tame the acidity, though don’t feel embarrassed if you have either one or both anyway. 100 points? Of course. It is the one and only wine whose history, past, present and future demand it. But that’s not all. The design team has risen to create a stunning upgrade of the box and the print on the 100ml bottle in which this nectar of the gods is sold. – James Halliday
James Halliday says the Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny has no parallel anywhere in the world.
James Halliday AM on the Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny
The word unique is used all too often, but it really is unique and can never ever, ever be repeated. The Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny has no parallel or example anywhere else in the wide world. Through the multi-decades that the Australian wine industry has taken shape – Seppeltsfield has been front and centre.
The first time I sipped Para I was thunderstruck. I couldn't believe that you could have such intensity and complexity of a single wine. [I was] swept along with the bright flavour...intensity of flavour.
Australia has many treasures in its vinous lockers, but almost nowhere else can you find such a distilled magic.
2024 James Halliday Hall of Fame: Wine
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More Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny
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Seppeltsfield
100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1923
Fortified | Barossa Valley -
Seppeltsfield
100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1922
Fortified | Barossa Valley -
Seppeltsfield
100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1921
Fortified -
Seppeltsfield
100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1920
Fortified -
Seppeltsfield
100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1919
Fortified -
Seppeltsfield
100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny 1918
Fortified
The 2024 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide here – and at all good bookstores.
This is an edited extract from the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by James Halliday, Campbell Mattinson, Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Mike Bennie, Ned Goodwin MW, Philip Rich and Shanteh Wale. Cover art by Ka Mo.
