Aussie Rules?

Certain subversive elements in the Irish wine biz threatened to turn up at Croke Park for the Australia Day Tasting clad in rugby jerseys and football shirts of the non-Gaelic variety but, for whatever reason, it didn’t happen. Perhaps as well, for there’s no doubt that ‘Croker’ is a superb venue for what’s become an annual shindig, one we wouldn’t want to put in jeopardy.
For the critic, the event provides a valuable opportunity to assess current trends in the Australian Wine Industry; to get a handle on progress over the last twelve months; and to find wines that you haven’t tasted before. This year’s event performed well on all three counts.
Trendwise, there’s no doubt that Verdelho is making a bid to become ‘Australia’s Sauvignon Blanc’. Grown in cool climates – the Loire, New Zealand’s South Island – Sauvignon has an appealing lemon acidity and mineral zip that refreshes drinkers as quick as if they’d stood naked under a waterfall. From a warm locale it can be cloying, even sickly, and its appeal fades faster than a e5 pair of jeans. I’ve never waxed lyrical, or anything like, over an Aussie Sauvignon Blanc. Nepenthe, from Adelaide Hills is about as good as it gets, in my opinion. Verdelho, in contrast, offers winemakers the opportunity to deliver a pleasant easy-drinking alternative to budget Chardonnay, whilst at the same time enabling them to side-step the trap of making alcoholic fruit salad. If you haven’t tried Aussie Verdelho, Houghton’s, from WA, and probably the progenitor of the species, is the one to start with.
Australians, of course, are the world’s prime marketeers of wine, role models for the rest. Therefore an essential element in the tasting is to check out the ‘brands’, the household names which they’ve taught us to buy instead of Château Unpronounceable and its ilk. This will probably get me assassinated, but it has to be said: the quality of those brands at entry level or just above has stagnated. The challenge of competing with the ‘New New World’ seems to be taking its toll. This isn’t just an Australian problem by the way – some of the base level stuff coming out of California (which has now displaced France as the 2nd top importer into the UK) is truly gruesome. From this criticism I will exempt Hardy’s Nottage Hill whose quality is consistently impressive right across the range.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of what the Australians do with Shiraz and in this respect the Croke Park tasting did not disappoint. Initially, I made for the d’Arenberg and Penfolds stands because between them these guys have forgotten more about Shiraz than many have learned. They present a fascinating contrast in style – D’Arry’s, a cross between European sophistication and Down Under exuberance; Penfold’s, all balance and subtlety, rampant fruit kept in check by very smart winemaking. What later became evident was that distinct regional styles have emerged – big, bruising Barossa that starts to throw punches the minute it comes out of the bottle (Peter Lehmann); feminine, sweet-fruited McLaren Vale; the lean, laconic Westerner – exemplified by Plantagenet’s classy Mt. Barker. There are still ones that don’t fit the pattern – Brokenwood from Hunter Valley, a compromise between the first two styles; the self-consciously European Capel Vale; restrained Setanta ‘Cuchulain’ from Adelaide Hills and St. Andrews from the Clare Valley. ‘Find of the show’ was La Testa 2000 from McLaren Vale. I wasn’t alone on this one; many people were talking about a Grange competitor at less than half the price but they were rather missing the point. La Testa is a wizard Shiraz, capable of being judged on its own merits; made from premium fruit, aged in top-dollar French oak and cuddled and fussed over by a guy who really knows what he’s doing. Like The Armagh, like Hill of Grace, what good purpose does comparison serve? Setanta and La Testa are distributed by Inis Wines of Burtonport, Donegal and anyone who hasn’t browsed their exciting little portfolio is missing a treat.
Best budget wines by a mile were the Gnangara Shiraz and Chardonnay from Evans & Tate in WA which I found on the Clada Group stand. While we’re on the subject of Chard, it was good to find that the Aussies seem to be listening at last. There are less tropical fruit stalls around than ever before and even Rosemount Show Reserve, flag-waver for the old big-and-buttery style, while still pretty uncompromising seemed somehow leaner, more lemony. The Aussies are struggling a bit with entry-level Chardonnay, frequently putting dollops of Semillon or Sauvignon in to keep acidity levels up. I really don’t think it’s the answer.
Other highlights? Two superb 2003 Rieslings, Watervale and Polish Hills adjacent to Clare Valley I think. The Watervale in particular was hard as nails, needing putting away for a year or two but the class was overt. The Evans & Tate Margaret River Chardonnay was as pleasing as when I last tasted it in situ. Château Reynella’s version impressed too. A very smart Shiraz-Mourvèdre in the McPherson Basilisk range was complemented by a genuinely exciting Marsanne-Viognier. I sampled an elegantly restrained Cabernet made in Coonawarrra by Balnaves, a name new to me. Pinot Noir did not have a great presence; Tamar Ridge from Tasmania was among the best.. Brown Brothers were full of interest as usual – loved their Barbera, not very Piedmontese but great food wine, I thought.
Were I to chose a ‘Best of Show’ – an invidious task – the Polish Hills Riesling would have come very close, as would the La Testa Shiraz. But, when push came to shove, a blend of sense, sensibility and sentiment took over.
Di Cullen who died in March last year was a pioneer of Margaret River winemaking and fervent advocate of Bordeaux grape varieties. Though she handed over the reins to talented daughter Vanya in the late ‘80s, Di retained daily involvement with the wines and what great wines they are. The Cullen production is always a byword for class and the 2001 Cabernet/Merlot is no exception; glorious aromatics, complex flavours, mellifluous mouthfeel, stonking length; altogether, bliss in a bottle. Vanya has bestowed the soubriquet ‘Diana Madeline’ on this, their flagship. What an ‘in memoriam’ for mum it is. The spirit of Di Cullen lives on.