Left field: An intriguing result when you take an uncommon grape variety and give it unconventional treatment

The northern Italian grape variety savagnin is not widely grown in Australia. Indeed, it’s something of an accident that it is here at all. Grapegrowers and wineries looking for the “next big thing” were keen to plant the attractive Portuguese variety albarino locally and began obtaining cuttings they thought were this species. Unfortunately, due to a mix-up somewhere, what they planted was actually savagnin. Apart from a name that is far too close to a French variety much loved in the New Zealand wine district of Marlborough, savagnin is a very attractive variety in its own right, thought to be closely related to traminer and sharing some if its spicy, floral characters.

However it happened, Soumah winery in the Yarra Valley has taken this uncommon variety and subjected it to some highly unconventional practices. For starters it is wild fermented in a mix of clay eggs and seasoned oak and then left on lees and solids for some time. Then, the winery has been blending differing vintages, including the 2015, 2019 and 2020 crops, in a solera system similar to that used in making fortified wines such as muscat and topaque (what used to be known as tokay). However, what is produced is not a fortified style but still very much a table wine, albeit with extra complexity and depth and, dare we say it, funky characters. It shows citrus and spice on the nose, with a rich, complex palate and crisp finish, belying its age and time in barrel, with some components going back to 2015. It’s a delicious drop now, with Soumah suggesting pairing it with an aged comte cheese or any French cow’s milk cheese, or with a dish of pasta ribbons with asparagus, parmigiana Reggiano and a touch of cream. It also can stand up to richer chicken or lighter pork dishes. At this stage it is only available for pre-order to Soumah wine club members through the Soumah website (www.soumah.com.au) for about $80 a bottle. However, Soumah has a range of more conventional wines including its Savarro (based on savagnin) and a range of delicious Yarra Valley chardonnays and pinot noirs, plus pinot grigio, viognier, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon and a sparkling and a sweet wine made from the possibly even rarer Italian variety brachetto.

Delicious duo: A very different pair of whites just waiting to be tasted

 

Taylor Made NV King Valley Prosecco

A new addition to the Taylor Made range from Taylors Wines, this King Valley prosecco shows green apple and honeysuckle characters on the nose and palate with a refreshing crisp acid finish. Enjoy by itself or with appetisers such as smoked salmon blinis or bruschetta. About $25. Available at select independent fine wine retails or through www.taylorswines.com.au  Rating: 91

Hardys 2017 HRB Chardonnay

Thomas Hardy first started blending parcels from various regions of Australia in the 1860s and this tasty drop carries on that tradition. Blended from fruit from the Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley and Tumbarumba, this shows citrus and stone fruit on the nose and palate, with a touch of creaminess and well-integrated oak and a long, complex finish. A stylish modern chardonnay. $32-$39. Ask at fine wine outlets or try www.hardyswines.com Rating: 95

Spread of shiraz: It's not just South Australia where this amazing variety has flourished

The famous historic tower at Tahbilk

While the Barossa and McLaren Vale may seem to dominate the Australian shiraz scene, other state provide plenty of good examples of the variety.

Go to Victoria and explore the big, rich wines of Rutherglen (Campbells, Baileys, Morris, Chambers, Pfeiffer and Brown Brothers among many), the wondrous range from Heathcote, Central Goulburn Valley (Tahbilk (where they make a marvellous drop from vines planted in 1867) and Mitchelton), the Pyrenees (Taltarni, Blue Pyrenees, Mount Avoca, Dalwhinnie, Sally’s Paddock and more) and Great Western (Seppelt, who also make a marvellous series of sparkling shirazes culminating in the legendary Show Sparkling Shiraz, and Bests), not to mention the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong regions.

The range in New South Wales is almost as varied. Do you try the distinctive wines of the Hunter Valley, cool-climate versions from around Orange, the rich and robust wines of Mudgee, good-value quaffers from the Riverina … ?

The Hunter is home to some of Australia’s oldest shiraz vines, and there are plenty dating back more than a century. Mount Pleasant, for example, has the aptly named Old Paddock (1921) and Old Hill (1880) blocks providing marvellous medium-bodied reds, not to mention the delicious Rosehill shirazes, first planted in 1946.

Neighbours Tyrrell’s have several vineyards planted more than a century ago, including 4 Acres (1879), 8 Acres (1892), Johnnos 1908, previously known as Long Flat) and the pride of the collection, the Old Parch (1867, perhaps the earliest planted shiraz in New South Wales).

While they may not be able to source shiraz from such ancient vineyards, Tulloch, Gundog, De Iulius, Pepper Tree, Briar Ridge and Tower Estate are among numerous Hunter wineries making very drinkable versions of shiraz.

Over in Western Australia, the Great Southern region than encompasses Mt Barker, Frankland River, Denmark and the Porongorup districts also produces some lovely examples (Plantagenet, West Cape Howe, Alkoomi, Frankland Estate, Ferngrove, 3 Drops, Singlefile and more), and while cabernet sauvignon might overshadow shiraz in Margaret River there are also some more than useful versions produced there.

And being the parochial Queenslander that I am, I have to mention some of the lovely wines coming from the Granite Belt, led by those of Ballandean Estate, with its shiraz plantings dating back more than 50 years. There are plenty of others there, too. It’s worth spending a weekend in the district, sampling the local wines and food.

One grape, many guises: The wonderful varied world of shiraz

The Freedom vineyard, possibly Australia's oldest shiraz. Pictures: Langmeil Wines

The Australian spiritual home of shiraz is undoubtedly the Barossa, where there are quite a few wines made from vines planted more than a century ago. Intriguingly, as the vines age, the wines become perhaps more approachable and less alcoholic. I’m no great fan of 15%-plus examples, finding them less food-friendly and more overwhelming, particularly when paired with lashings of new American oak. 

For this reason, I have always preferred Penfolds Magill Estate (matured in new and used French oak) and St Henri (matured in big old oak) to Grange (very rich and concentrated and featuring lots of new American oak). While Magill is sourced totally from Penfolds estate of that name in suburban Adelaide, much of Grange and St Henri come from Penfolds’ Barossa vineyards, including the aptly renowned Kalimna and Koonunga Hill vines. It’s not publicly documented but I suspect a lot of the fruit for the company’s legendary Grandfather and Great Grandfather tawnies also comes from those vineyards. 

That aside, there are so many wonderful shirazes to be found in the Barossa it would be impossible to name them all, even it several columns. Among the lovely old-vine wines is the Langmeil Freedom shiraz, made from vines planted in 1843, while Saltram releases another magnificent red sourced from very old vines and St Hallett’s Old Block comes from vines with a minimum age of 50 years and with some from vines planted in 1858.

And you just have to venture to the neighbouring Eden Valley to finds such wonders as Henschke Hill of Grace, Mount Edelstone, Tappa Pass and The Wheelwright and Brockenchack with its Jack Harrison and Zipline shirazes (and William Frederick when it is in stock). 

Similarly, McLaren Vale has some lovely examples of the variety, from Woodstock’s Old Stocks, Coriole Willunga 1920 Reserve, Paxton, Gemtree, Yangarra, to name but a few). It’s also interesting to compare the different characters of the various sub-regions such as Blewitt Springs, which can be lighter and with more spice and pepper than those from areas closer to the coastline. And exploring the wonders of Hardys Tintara and their Chateau Reynella shiraz offerings is another amazing treat.

Then you can go off to other South Australian regions such as Langhorne Creek or the Clare Valley and the Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra (its reputation now is based on cabernet sauvignon but it was shiraz that first put the area on the map and there are numerous wines from old and younger vines) and the Limestone Coast, Padthaway or the Riverland and find even more variations on the theme.

Next column, I will look at other states to examine their contributions to the wonderful world of shiraz.

Reds everywhere: Shiraz is all over the country and our bottle shops in many different guises

 

Part of the Glaetzer-Dixon vineyards in Tasmania

Not only is shiraz the most widely planted wine grape variety in Australia it is one of the most versatile.

In the latest figures I could find, from 2018, about 40,000 hectares of shiraz were planted around Australia, with the next most popular variety, cabernet sauvignon, having about 25,000ha planted. By contrast, the two most popular white varieties were chardonnay (21,000ha) and sauvignon blanc (6000ha).

It’s found in virtually every wine-producing area of Australia, although in far smaller quantities in some very cool regions such as Tasmania, where pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling are more common. 

Indeed, a Glaetzer-Dixon 2010 Mon Pere shiraz made by Nick Glaetzer won the 2011 Jimmy Watson trophy at the Melbourne wine show, the first Tasmanian wine ever to win Australia’s best known wine trophy. Another Tassie winery, Home Hill, also won the Watson in 2015 with a Kelly’s Reserve pinot noir.

As to its versatility, shiraz can be used for anything from a fresh early drinking rose (Jacob’s Creek, Paxton, Blue Pyrenees, Hardys Stamp just to name a few) through cool-climate spicy peppery versions to full-bodied high-alcohol brutes from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale and on to some of Australia’s best-known fortified wines.

Seppelt Para always has a good dose of shiraz along with grenache and mataro/mourvedre while Hardys Show Port is based on shiraz with a good splash of grenache and there are plenty of tawnies about the place that depend on the variety to provide drinking pleasure.

In next week's column I will look at how shiraz performs around the country, and there's plenty of delightful and different drops to be found.  

The magic of age: How Hunter semillon transforms with time in the bottle

 

Tyrrell's Short Flat vineyard, the source of much of their top semillon

If you are tasting a young Hunter Valley semillon for the first time it can make you wonder what all the fuss is about.

A young Hunter Semillon can be very pale, almost colourless and show only faint aromas of citrus and possibly straw. And thee seems to be a lot more acid on the finish than the fruit can sustain.

Unfortunately, you may have to wait five years or more for the variety’s full glory to show.

But when it does, it is something else again. That colourless wine has transformed into a green-gold explosion of honey, citrus and toasty characters that almost overwhelm the senses.

Whenever I am at a wine show exhibitors’ tasting, I head for the aged Semillon classes as there a just so many gems to taste. Even the wines awarded bronze medals can be something special while the gold medal winners are often sublime.

I have always had a couple favourite Hunter semillons, Tyrrell’s Vat 1 and Mount Pleasant Lovedale. I prefer Vat 1 but it really just a matter of style. Both, particularly with bottle age, are amazing, world-class wines that are under-appreciated and under-valued. While some top wines now can fetch $100 or up equivalent quality Australian chardonnays sell for much more, while comparable French white burgundies are literally hundreds of dollars a bottle more.

Intriguingly, many of the best are also quite low in alcohol, with many in the 10% to 12% range, proving you don't have to have lashings of alcohol to make wines that last.

Tyrrell’s and Mount Pleasant are not the only producers to look for, they’re just a couple of my favourites. Seek out wines from Tulloch, De Iulius, Brokenwood, Gundog Estate, Briar Ridge and McLeish Estate, among many, who have young and old examples on offer.

For more information go to

www.winecountry.com.au

www.tyrrells.com.au

www.tullochwines.com

www.brokenwood.com.au

www.gundogestate.com.au

www.briarridge.com.au

www.mcleishestate.com.au

www.mountpleasantwines.com.au

 

 

High style: It's up and away for higher-altitude vineyards

 

Patina's vineyard at Orange

When a winemaker from the Orange region of central New South Wales meets one of their counterparts from Queensland’s Granite Belt, one of the first questions likely to be asked is ‘'How high are you?’’

No, it’s not about the effects of non-medical use of cannabis or other illicit drugs, it’s about the height of their vineyard.

It’s a bit of a boasting game given that both are among the highest viticultural regions in Australia, with many vineyards in Orange between 600m and 1100m above sea level and most of those around the Granite Belt ranging from 700m to 1000m.

To say they qualify as cool-climate areas is something of an understatement as both can experience snow during winter and generally are a lot cooler than districts closer to their respective coasts.

So if you want to see what cool-climate wines are all about, seeking out some from the Orange district is a good way to start.

One that is particularly successful with chardonnays is Patina, established in 1999 by Gerald Naef on the slopes of Mt Canobolas.

Gerald says one benefit of higher-altitude vineyards is the high difference in day-night temperatures. During the day the grapes accrue carbohydrates via photosynthesis in the leaves, then at night during respiration the vine borrows back some of these stores from the berries. The lower the nighttime temperature the less the vine needs to borrow during respiration resulting in more intensity in the grapes.

The result is more flavour concentration at lower alcohol levels, something evident in Patina’s latest release chardonnays, the 2019 Estate ($40) and 2018 Reserve ($60). They’re lovely examples of cooler-climate chardonnays that show concentration, complexity and elegance without being too big.

Patina is not limited to chardonnay, however, with their pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, riesling and cabernet merlot definitely worth seeking out.

Nearby Bloodwood winery, established by Rhonda and Stephen Doyle in 1983, thus making it one of the oldest in the region, has been making rieslings for quite a few years but Stephen says they are still working out exactly what the best style for the vineyard is.

He know, however, that riesling, regardless of the residual sugar content, should sit on a knife’s edge between fruit and acidity. He’s been looking to build more texture on the palate, usually be allowing the wine to sit for six months on fine lees.

The 2018 version ($32)  is a lovely example of the style, with citrus and floral characters balanced by mineral acidity. It’s still a baby as a 2010 version tasted at the same time shows lovely citrus and honey aged characters, still balanced by great acidity.

Find out more about these wines and buy them at www.patinawines.com.au and www.bloodwood.biz