A 150-Year-Old Wine

We are recording the world’s only unbroken continuous collection of vintages from 1878
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150 Year Old Wine

The Story

Seppeltsfield was established in 1851 in Australia’s Barossa Valley, by Silesian migrants fleeing religious persecution. Since 1878, it has laid down oak barrels of its finest “port” wine each year. This complete collection is unique and has received all the superlatives of the world’s most important wine critics including Robert Parker’s 100/100.

What is fortified wine?

Fortified wine is made  by stopping the complete fermentation of grapes through the addition of almost pure alcohol which kills the yeast. The resultant wine has a degree of sweetness from the untransformed grapes. Normally tawny port (aged in barrel) is a blend of multiple vintages but the Seppeltsfield collection focuses on what the Portuguese call “Colheita” which is barrel aged single vintage port. And Seppeltsfield is the only winery to have created an unbroken collection of this magnitude. The wine gains in complexity and intensity the longer it remains in barrel.

What you're acquiring

A given amount of wine still ageing in barrel.

Full, transferable ownership: hold, sell, or gift your wine at any time.

The entire collection is immutably preserved and its provenance recorded through blockchain technology.

What patronage brings

Complimentary OCTARR membership, with priority access to all future projects

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Participation in "slow-growth" value - OCTARR's belief that holding and nurturing a world-class collectable over time, rather than trading it, is where its deeper cultural and social worth is found.

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An ongoing role in the collection's story as it matures, is studied, or is exhibited, rather than a one-off transaction.

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A transition from the volatility of speculation to the stability of stewardship - patient preservation and shared craftsmanship.

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Register Interest
Making Paper from DARA
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Meet Frédéric Gironde, papermaker at Papiers Ruscombe in Margaux, where paper is still made by hand, one sheet at a time, from linen, hemp and old textiles.
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Video
The Cassini Map collection
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The first map of France made by scientific survey took a century, four generations of the Cassini family and fifty wealthy backers. Nathan Waks on a landmark in the history of mapping, and its connection to DARA.
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Essay
14-year-old prodigy from South Korea receives Nathan Waks’ 18th-century master cello
jung-a-kim-receives-nathan-waks-cello
At the close of the inaugural Classic Cello International Competition in London, 14-year-old Jung A Kim received a prize no competition had offered before: the loan of Nathan Waks’ 18th-century Italian cello.
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News
Latent Memory
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OCTARR is very proud to present Latent Memory: the first work in Harto’s Memoria Viva series, printed on paper made from Dara, our 350-year-old French oak.
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News
Air on a C String
air-on-a-c-string
The first in a series of excerpts from Jung A Kim’s debut concert on Nathan’s cello: a program we’ll be unpacking piece by piece over the coming weeks, each fragment revealing a different facet of the instrument’s voice, and of Jung A’s extraordinary gift.
carcassi-cello
Video
Why a 350-year-old oak makes the world’s most expensive wine barrels
350-year-old-oak-wine-barrels
Something new to share: an exclusive interview with Jean-Luc Sylvain, owner of Sylvain Tonnellerie.
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Interview
Why we chose OAK
why-we-chose-oak
In 2006, I was a part owner and CEO of Kilikanoon, a boutique Australian wine brand. I used to receive daily news alerts with wine related content. One caught my eye. It described the recent felling of a magnificent 350 year old French oak, planted by order of King Louis XIV, the famous Sun King.
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Essay
Why we chose Seppeltsfield Centenary Collection Tawny.
why-we-chose-seppeltsfield-centenary-collection-tawny
After a long career as a professional cellist, a new millenium dawned, and serendipitously, I found myself deeply involved in the rapidly expanding Australian fine wine market. Seppeltsfield was a sleeping giant with a treasure trove of ancient fortified wines. Its impending sale was an opportunity too good to be true.
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Essay
The Last Teapot- an overlooked masterpiece by Georges Braque- co founder of Cubism.
the-last-teapot--an-overlooked-masterpiece-by-georges-braque
Georges Braque is best known as the co-founder of Cubism with Pablo Picasso at the beginning of the twentieth century. His very late works are little known, as most have never been offered for sale.
the-last-teapot
Essay
Paintings should be seen, cellos should be heard
paintings-should-be-seen-cellos-should-be-heard
“Jimmy’s Cello” is in fact how I came to know this amazing instrument. James Whitehead was an eminent British cellist who had emigrated to Australia after WW II, and subsequently had a wonderful career in Adelaide, as its preeminent cello teacher as well as a distinguished performer. His cello was legendary.
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Essay

Wine's passport

Wine Information
Maker:
Seppeltsfield Winery
Collection Start Date:
1878
Place of Birth:
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Wine Style:
Colheita (single vintage barrel-aged tawny port)
Provenance
1851:
Seppeltsfield Winery established by Silesian migrants in the Barossa Valley
1878:
First vintage of this collection laid down, beginning the unbroken collection
1878-2027:
Barrels filled with each new vintage, creating a singular collection spanning 150 years.
Present:
Barrels remain in situ at Seppeltsfield where they can be visited today
2026:
Begins new chapter through OCTARR fractional tokenisation
Identification
Winery Establishment:
1851
Authentication:
The wine has been in barrel since 1878 at the winery and regularly audited by 3rd party professionals
Status:
World’s only unbroken continuous vintage collection
Inscription ID:
coming soon

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