Aussies relearn the alphabet
By Susan Keevil The Chard- and Cab-happy Aussies may have come late to this new strategy - until last year, the majority of down under wines exported to the U.K. were vinified from (dare I say it?) these two overplanted staples. Much the same was true for the U.S., too. Fortunately, change is afoot in the land of Oz.
I am in regular contact with a number of top U.K. wine merchants and they report a growing consumer demand for something fresh. A quick glance at their inventories reveals the top five Aussie "ABC" wines of the moment appear to be Shiraz, Grenache, Sémillon, Riesling and Pinot Noir. Of these, Shiraz is selling like free money to thirsty customers eager to uncork something different.
The more cynical view might be that such unsung varieties as barbera, graciano, tempranillo, tarrango, gewürztraminer, arneis and nero d'Avola (the latter is the oddest and most obscure of the troop) are being vinified as marketing gimmicks - put on the shelf to grab attention and give a quick new-flavor buzz - rather than wines of real integrity. The simple fact is, however, that a lot of these varieties actually arrived with viticulture pioneer James Busby, who established vine cuttings sourced from France and Spain (680 in all) in the Sydney Botanic Gardens in 1831 (the first European settlers brought lesser quality cuttings in 1788). It's just taken the rest of us a few centuries to recognize their presence. Fortunately, more than just a few growers believed in them, keeping the faith long enough to outlast the Chardonnay boom.
Take Best's, for example. This estate has been growing pinot meunier since 1860. The wines, still from the same original old vines, are deliciously rich and smooth on the nose, velvety on the palate with plenty of red fruit and smoky complexity - far too sumptuous to throw away in a traditional sparkling wine blend, and far too good to grub up in favor of money-making cabernet. Brown Brothers has had a thing for tarrango (gamay-like) since the 1960s - which gives it a track record far longer than the current marketing phase. Château Tahbilk has been a famous believer in the whacky-flavored marsanne since its first great vintage with the grape in 1953, and before. Likewise, Houghtons has been growing verdelho (the same grape as grown in Madeira) since the 19th century, and has turned it into an Australian classic. Given its potential for lively, grapefruity, spicy flavors, it's about time we caught on, too.
Arneis and nero d'Avola are two Italian grapes with significantly less pedigree on Aussie shores, but in the right hands, they deserve attention as far more than mere flavor bites. Garry Crittenden has grown arneis at Dromana Estate on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria only since the 1990s. Cool coastal fogs here are just as refreshing as the mists of Piedmont, where this grape gets its true expression. Crittenden's Arneis I is redolent of floral perfume; its palate is fabulously rich and buttery, yet well trimmed by plenty of acidity to keep it tangy. As for Sicilian nero d'Avola, this grape has recently made it big time in its homeland (see "Sicily's rising tide," October/November 2004, p. 14), and its success has prompted the Aussies to have a go, too. Because the Sicilians have found shiraz so successful when planted alongside it, Aussies figure that this southern Italian local will work equally well in shiraz heartland, too. They've zeroed in on the Heathcote region, one of Australia's most favorable (and fashionable) shiraz enclaves, as a good place to make a serious go of it.
For grapes with a more proven track record, the Aussies are looking to sémillon, pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and petit verdot, varieties that are really beginning to find their footing there. Each is capable of showing some richly varied expressions according to their terroir.
Sémillon has long been renowned for its affinity with Hunter Valley soils, making steely wines that fill out and become buttery and honeyed with eight years (or more) bottle age. Look for the wines of Tyrells, Mount Pleasant and Brokenwood - if you can get your hands on a 1994, all the better. Sémillon is also loved for its fat, peachy, buttery renditions from the Barossa, and its more elegant but fruity versions from Margaret River: They're as round and rich as wood-aged Chardonnay, but with a marmalade twist.
The cooler regions, like the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, grow the country's best expressions of sauvignon blanc. The finest example is Shaw & Smith's, which rings with green apple freshness and a delicious gooseberry finish, proving that Australia produces more than buttery behemoths when it comes to whites.
Things get tangier, too, and even more distinguished up north in the Clare and Eden valleys. This is
riesling territory. The big names are Henschke, Grosset and Mount Horrocks, renowned for elegant wines with all the grip and gasoline (in a good way!) you'd expect from this fantastic variety. Over in Western Australia, in cool, southern Frankland (which shares similar fresh temperatures with Clare Valley), riesling also shines, most notably from individual vineyard sites. At Frankland Estate, for example, the Cooladerra, Poison Hill and Isolation Ridge vineyards claim their own terroir and are bottled separately as liquid proof.
There's no reason why pinot noir should succeed in Australia's vicious heat, but succeed it does in Mornington Peninsula, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland. Yes, it's cooler in these areas, but it's also cool in Alsace, and its Pinot isn't nearly as good, nor even as barnyardy, as some of these.
But no matter how Burgundian some of these Pinots might be, it's the relatively new heartthrob Petit Verdot that I expect to see standing alongside Cab and Shiraz. Like those two, this is a black-hearted wine that thrives in the country's red-earth and sun-drenched conditions. Particularly good are the versions coming out of Margaret River in Western Australia. This is, after all, acclaimed territory for Bordeaux varieties, and petit verdot (albeit only a tolerated occupant of Bordeaux) is one of them. Cullen, Western Australia's top estate, has just released a stunning blend called Mangan - a showcase for petit verdot along with malbec and merlot. Other grapes, not yet assigned a perfect terroir, but with an undeniably strong future down under, are mourvèdre (mataro), durif, marsanne, pinot gris and zinfandel. All but pinot gris (which is likely to find its niche in cooler, riesling-friendly sites) are chunky, strong grapes quite at home in hot-climate vineyards.
In short, Australia is not to be under- estimated. The big labels we see so often provide only a limited snapshot of the country's winemaking potential.
London-based European Editor Susan Keevil is a freelance wine journalist and regular commentator on the U.K. merchant scene.