The main game: When "alternative" varieties cross into the mainstream

 

When does an “alternative” variety become mainstream? It’s an interesting point. Take pinot gris/grigio, for example, It was once seen as an alternative grape but now seems to be everywhere.

Similarly,  sangiovese and tempranillo are now so common that it almost seems silly to call them alternatives.

And if availability in casks is any guide several other “alternatives” are rapidly flowing into the mainstream.

The fruits of the 2020 harvest at Calabria

The Riverina-based Calabria family has just released its new Banta Box range of two-litre casks that feature well-established varieties such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, cabernet-merlot, shiraz and rose and a couple of “alternative” varieties in montepulciano and nero d’avola (due out later this year).

Montepulciano, most famously grown in the eastern Abruzzo region of central Italy, produces a soft, rich red featuring red and black berry fruits and a touch of spiced cherry. The Banta Box version is a medium-bodied red made to enjoy young and delicious alongside pizza, meat and tomato-based pastas and lamb.

Nero d’avola, which is one of the most important red grapes of Sicily, produces a robust wine with flavours of dark berries, plum and cherries with a savoury finish. It’s a good match for hearty beef-based dishes although it will also go well with a good hamburger.

All the range sells for a recommended $13.99 and will be available through independent retailers.

It’s interesting to see such wines in a cask and can only suggest that what was once alternative is fast becoming mainstream. If you are looking for a less-expensive way to taste different varieties, this is a good way to go.

For more information or to find a stockist near you, go to www.bantabox.com.au

 

World blends: Taking regional and varietal blends to a new level

Winemaker Andrew Baldwin, senior winemaker Steph Dutton and chief winemaker Peter Gago
in Penfolds' California vineyard. Picture: Penfolds

Penfolds have been blending different varieties and fruit from different regions for more than five decades. But they have taken it a step further with their latest venture, the California Collection.

There are four wines in the first release, 2018 Quantum Bin 98 Cabernet Sauvignon ($950.00), 2018 Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon ($220.00), 2018 Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon ($120.00) and 2018 Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz ($90.00).

Bin 98 is a blend of 87% Napa Valley cabernet with 13% shiraz from Penfolds’ South Australian vineyards. While the price in Australian terms might seem excessive, it’s not uncommon for top Napa cabernets to cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, if not more. The wine was matured in new American (80%) and French (20%) oak before bottling.

Interestingly, all the oak used in making the wines was sourced from South Australian coopers AP John, who have been supplying Penfolds and many other Barossa wineries for years.

It’s not the only Australian influence involved in making the wines – they are fermented in open fermenters of the style used by Penfolds in the Barossa and are made using the same techniques, thus giving them a distinct Penfolds “house style”. 

Bin 149 is a blend of Napa Valley and South Australian cabernets, matured in French (80%) and American (20%) oak, while Bin 704 is pure Napa Valley matured in new French (40%) and one-year-old French oak and the Bin 600 is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (78%) and shiraz from the Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles. The Paso Robles fruit has a distinctive Penfolds background, with the vineyards being planted in the late 1990s with cuttings from some of Penfolds’ best blocks from their famous Kalimna and Magill Estate vineyards.

Senior winemaker Steph Dutton and winemaker Andrew Baldwin have worked on the ground in California with chief winemaker Peter Gago to ensure the wines reflect that Penfolds style while incorporating the best of their local characters.

It’s an intriguing step for Penfolds, who naturally are looking to expand their presence in the United States following the virtual collapse of the Australian wine market in China. The wines will be available online (www.penfolds.com) at their cellar doors at Magill Estate and the Barossa and a selected fine wine outlets from March 4

Find out more at www.penfolds.com 

Good news from behind the smoke haze

Many New South Wales wineries had a dreadful time of it in 2020, with quite a few making no wine at all because of bushfires and subsequent smoke haze. Fortunately, some were spared and have managed to produce very good wines.

One that escaped the worst was Robert Stein at Mudgee, whose location at the end of a valley and an elevation of 600m meant the bushfire smoke did not settle over their vineyards. In particular, their prized riesling was spared and they were able to produce a 2020 version ($35). Just to make sure, though, the fruit was tested before and after fermentation and regularly taste tested to make sure there was no smoke taint. 

The winery plans to release some other reds and whites from the 2020 vintage and is looking forward to more normal conditions for the 2021 vintage, with the fruit looking exceptional at this stage.

More at www.robertstein.com.au

Singularly stimulating: Individual vineyards can provide a wonderful taste test

 

The French word terroir is packed full of more meaning than you could imagine being contained in just seven letters. It conveys messages of unique qualities provided by a particular patch of soil and is frequently applied to vineyards to suggest what makes the product of that vineyard different from others.

While the Australian wine industry thrives on blends, particularly when it comes to larger-scale commercial labels, there are plenty of small patches that receive attention from consumers.

Henschke’s Hill of Grace, for example, is a wine derived from one vineyard and one variety and it is possibly the most sought-after Australian wine outside of Penfold’s Grange.

Smaller wineries, just because of their size, tend to produce more single vineyard wines but there are some bigger wineries that favour this approach too.

Tyrrell's NVC vineyard, first planted in 1921

The Tyrrell family of the Hunter Valley definitely like to explore this ide3 and it is exemplified in the 2021 release of eight single vineyard wines.

Naturally, since we are talking about the Hunter, shiraz and Semillon feature heavily, with four shirazes, three semillons and a long chardonnay in the line-up.

The wines just released are 2015 HVD Semillon, 2015 Belford Semillon, 2016 Stevens Semillon, 2018 Belford Chardonnay, 2018 Stevens Shiraz, 2018 Mother’s Shiraz, 2018 Old Hut Shiraz and 2018 NVC Shiraz. The semillons are all about $40 and the others $50.

As a generalisation, the best Hunter semillons tend to come from old river beds and flats, with light, almost sandy, soil, while the top shiraz vines seem to thrive on richer, volcanic hillside blocks.

The 2018 vintage was an excellent one for shiraz and all these are lovely examples of the Hunter’s medium-bodied style, with fruit the driving character and oak playing a restrained supporting role. It’s fascinating to line them up and smell and taste the differences emanating from their vineyard sources and not winemaking artifice.

Similarly, the semillons show typical Hunter citrus and straw with some of the toast and honey characters of aged semillon just starting to emerge.

All up, it’s an intriguing look at the products of some of the Hunter Valley’s best vineyards and the wines are well worth seeking out.

You can find out more at www.tyrrells.com.au

 

Can do: Creative use of aerosol spray paint has its place in the wine world

 

Most business owners would look warily at someone wandering around their property armed with spray cans of paint.

That’s not the case at the family owned Longview Winery in the southern Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, at least on one day of the year.

That’s the day Longview holds its Piece Project event.

The Piece Project sees the best Australian street and graffiti artists go head to head in a live battle creating their own large pieces of art. Then the winning artwork becomes the label of Longview’s premium Shiraz, “The Piece”.

The winning artwork from 2016 and as it appeared on The Piece label.

Some of the favourite artworks also are selected to go on permanent display around the winery.

The Piece itself is a seriously good shiraz for which Longview selects its best rows of fruit that are then selectively hand picked to produce the winery’s absolute best red. Whole bunches are fermented in small open fermenters and the resultant juice given minimal French oak treatment to ensure the fruit is the star of the show. Only 200 dozen are made each vintage.

Obviously, it is not cheap plonk, selling for $80-$90 a bottle, but it is a top example of cool-climate shiraz that repays cellaring for a decade or so.

The Piece is not the only Longview wine where art plays a part in the label design. The Macclesfield range features on its label details from an abstract sculpture hewn from local pink marble that reflect the undulating topography of the vineyard.

It started with a Macclesfield riesling but now includes cabernet sauvignon, syrah, chardonnay and gruner veltliner, an Austrian grape that has found a favourable home in the Adelaide Hills. The reds and chardonnay sell for about $45, with the Riesling and gruner veltliner about $30.

Another imported variety that has found favour at Longview is the noble Italian nebbiolo, responsible for the famous reds of Barolo and Barbaresco. Longview’s Saturnus ($50) is an excellent Austgralian interpretation of the style, showing great depth and flavour and repaying cellaring.

Much more approachable is their Rosato rose ($26), made from a dedicated clone of nebbiolo that is one of my favourite Aussie roses, with red berries, flowers and spice, with a lovely crisp finish. Also very approachable is the Fresco ($32), pictured, a blend of nebbiolo, pinot nero (the Italian name for pinot noir) and barbera, which shows cherries, strawberries and blackberries, with spice and a mineral acid backbone, with the fruit again showing the way

Longview also produces a varietal barbera ($40), an intriguing and tasty Vista shiraz barbera ($23), Queenie pinot grigio and Whippet sauvignon blanc (both $23), LV shiraz cabernet ($23), Yakka shiraz and Devil’s Elbow cabernet sauvignon (both $30).

If you can get to South Australia it’s well worth a trip to this picturesque winery in the southern Adelaide Hills.

More details at www.longviewvineyard.com.au