Articles

• Dalwhinnie; The reign of terroir, by Huon Hooke, 8th May 2012

  2012-05-13 23:40:36

  What is it about Dalwhinnie? Is it that this Pyrenees vineyard manages to produce great shiraz more often than anyone else in the region - elder statesman Taltarni included? Is it that Dalwhinnie manages to avoid the regional eucalyptus and peppermint characters in its red wines more successfully than any other in this densely gum-tree dotted region? Or is it because I have an early affiliation? I was involved in the 1981 and '82 vintage wines while working at the original Yellowglen vineyard near Ballarat.

  All of the above, probably.

  Dalwhinnie was established at Moonambel in the Pyrenees in 1976 when Ballarat architect Ewan Jones bought 120 hectares of land from his friend Wal Henning, an earth-moving contractor who established Taltarni vineyard but sold it soon after. Jones was also a friend of Stuart Hooper, who established Bannockburn vineyard at Geelong, and Ian Home, who established Yellowglen at Smythesdale, near Ballarat, at much the same time. The triumvirate were all successful Victorian businessmen who concurrently discovered a love of wine and food, and were determined to explore southern Victoria's aptitude for viticulture.

  Bannockburn and Dalwhinnie were unqualified successes. Yellowglen, where I worked my second vintage immediately after studying at Roseworthy, was the least successful: Smythesdale's gold-bearing soil was just too poor for vines and the climate too severe. The uneconomic vineyard and nascent wine brand were eventually sold to Mildara Blass, and rapidly became a huge bubbly brand with no affiliation to any particular region. It's now part of Treasury Wine Estates.

  In the first three vintages, 1980 to '82, Dalwhinnie wines were vinified at Yellowglen with Neill Robb (of Redbank winery) nominally in charge. As dogsbody at Yellowglen, I fondly recall driving from Smythesdale to Moonambel repeatedly in the autumn of '82 to sample the Dalwhinnie grapes and test them for ripeness. It was my job to look after the 1981 reds in barrel (rather badly, I'm afraid), but they did turn out better than the '82s.

  So it was with great interest that six months ago I attended a retrospective Dalwhinnie tasting to mark the 30th vintage.

  Every Moonambel shiraz and cabernet, with a smattering of chardonnays and pinot noirs, and several single-block shirazes - Eagle, South West Rocks and Pinnacle - were on the table.

  The Moonambel shiraz is the star of the range. It showed promise from the beginning in 1980, and steadily grew in stature as the vines matured, reflecting the seasonal vagaries with the inevitable ups and downs, and building depth, concentration and extract as the vines matured. Since 2000, the wines seem to have slipped into a higher gear. They're not only deeply flavoured, rich, fleshy and dense - at the same time spicy and elegant, as you might expect in a moderately cool climate - they have an extra dimension of complexity, too. Is this what happens as vines mature fully? I'd like to think so.

  Tasting back through the 30 shirazes, we can clearly see the cold summers when the grapes didn't ripen to their optimum ('82, '87, '02) and the hot, droughty years when stressed vines spat the dummy ('81, '93, '03).

  And yet 1996, ''the coolest vintage on record'', according to vigneron David Jones, produced a great wine. It seems as the vineyard matured and the vigneron and winemakers gathered experience, they made better wines from the cool, marginal seasons. On the other hand, the climate-warming phenomenon means there are fewer seasons that lack sunshine and heat to ripen the fruit adequately.

  For the record, the greatest shirazes in my view are 2004, 1996, 2008, 2009 and 2010 (the '10 may trump them all in time). These all score 96 on my card. Then, with 95 (also a gold-medal score) are 2006, 2005, 2001, 1998, 1994 and 1992. Then come a number of wines on silver-medal scores: 2007, 2000, 1997, 1991, 1990, 1988 and 1986. If the high marks have gone mainly to later vintages, it's because the wines have improved - rather than because the older vintages haven't aged well. Today's wines will provide an even more exciting retrospective tasting in another 10 or 20 years.

  As well, screw caps were introduced from 2008, which should ensure the wines open more consistently when mature.

  As much as I love the hedonistically rich, monumentally powerful, dense red wines of Warrenmang, and in a different way Summerfield, and the value-for money of Blue Pyrenees Estate, for me Dalwhinnie most enshrines great Pyrenees red wine. It hits the sweet-spot most often and its best vintages set the standard for the region.

  I'm not a big fan of eucalyptus or gumleaf aroma in red wine and it is icing on the Dalwhinnie cake that this vineyard manages to mostly avoid that characteristic.

  Another remarkablefact about Dalwhinnie is that its Moonambel range - shiraz, cabernet and chardonnay - have always been made by contract winemakers. After the Yellowglen years it was Mitchelton (under Don Lewis) throughout the '90s, Mount Langi Ghiran in 2001-02, then Punt Road (under Kate Goodman) to the present day. Winemaking consultant Gary Baldwin of WineNet has been a guiding influence since 1990. Ewan's son, David Jones, has been Dalwhinnie's viticulturist since the mid-1980s (and sole owner with his wife, Jenny, since 1994).

  David's viticulture has been fastidious all along. But it's not the winemaker or vigneron alone that make a wine great, it's the terroir.

  In the final analysis, the Dalwhinnie site is special. It explains the greatness of the wines.

  The 2010 reds will be released later this year; the chardonnay in a few weeks.

  huon@huonhooke.com

• 

  Yabby Lake awarded trophy for the best varietal Chardonnay

  2012-02-21 03:04:53

  Last night at the Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show, Victoria's Yabby Lake Vineyard was awarded a forth trophy for its 2010 Single Vineyard Chardonnay, taking out the AP John Coopers Perennial Trophy for Best Varietal Chardonnay.

  Set for release 1 March, the single vineyard wine also achieved thrilling results at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show in late 2011, where it took out three trophies - Best Chardonnay, Best Single Vineyard Wine of Show and Best Victorian Table Wine.

  Winemaker and General Manager Tom Carson said the team was thrilled by the recent recognition in Sydney and Melbourne of the great potential of Chardonnay at the Yabby Lake Vineyard.

  "We are excited about the quality of chardonnay fruit coming off our Yabby Lake Vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula and really delighted to see wine drinkers seeking out the purity, complexity and restraint that we are striving for in our chardonnay," Tom Carson said.

  The Yabby Lake Block 6 Chardonnay 2010 also achived exceptional results at the Sydney Royal Wine Show, achieving gold in its class. The 2010 Single Vineyard Chardonnay (RRP $44) and the 2010 Block 6 Chardonnay (RRP $80) will be released on 1 March, alongside the single vineyard pinot noir and two single block pinot noirs from the vineyard.

  Media Release - 17 Feb 2012

• Roederer becomes champagne’s biggest in Biodynamics

  2012-02-10 00:36:42

  Louis Roederer now operates the largest combined organic and biodynamic estate in Champagne following the purchase of 14 hectares of Leclerc Briant vineyards.

  Roederer already has 26ha of vineyards farmed under biodynamic and organic viticultural practices following a trial which began in 2000, according to Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, chief winemaker at the Champagne house. This existing area is managed half under a biodynamic regime and half under an organic approach, as part of what Lécaillon described as a “trial program”, employing “strict, scientific protocols.” However, Lécaillon stressed that the project is not designed to bring biodynamic certification and labelling to Roederer’s Champagnes, but forms part of an experimental approach in both the vineyard and cellar to improve quality.

  “Our goal is to learn more, and get a better, more expressive product,” he explained. The latest acquisition by Roederer takes its total biodynamic and organic vineyard area up to a total of 40ha, which Lécaillon said was “the biggest in Champagne”.

  The additional land was previously used to provide biodynamic grapes for the Leclerc Briant brand, however, this 30ha domaine has been systematically sold following the death of owner Pascal Leclerc in October 2010.

  Initially, as first reported by the drinks business in January 2011, Lanson-BCC acquired 13ha of Leclerc Briant vineyard in the Marne Valley around the village of Verneuil, while Louis Roederer confirmed that it too had purchased 2ha of the brand’s biodynamic vineyards around Cumières.

  However, the rest of the domaine, which had passed to Pascal Leclerc’s daughters, was more recently bought by Roederer, and comprises vineyards in the premiers crus of Hautvillers and Cumières.

  Pascal had begun experimenting with biodynamic farming at his estate in 1970, and converted the entire domaine to the controversial practice after the 2000 harvest.

  24th January, 2012 by Patrick Schmitt

• 

  Vietti Moscato; Tickled pink for summer, by Huon Hooke

  2012-01-25 03:40:15

  Light in alcohol and easy on the wallet, chilled moscato is the ideal drink on a warm day.

  Moscato’s popularity in Australia is booming. But don’t make the mistake of thinking they are all much the same – there’s a vast gulf between the best and worst, the cheapest and dearest. And the gap is widening……

  ....Take Vietti, which I’ve always thought of as the Rolls-Royce (or should that be Ferrari?) of moscato.

  This has a dreamy scent, which is muscaty, yes, but also a lot more; flowery and spicy and full of mysterious detail, and in the mouth it has a marvelously persistent effervescence, which balances a carefully determined sweetness and delicate, grapy fruitiness. The acidity is there, but it’s not shrill or assertive, like so m any local versions (which are probably acid adjusted, because the grapes are grown in regions that are too hot).

  This is a wine that I could happily drink several glasses of as it is just so lip-smackingly moreish. And at 5.5 per cent alcohol (lower than many Australians), you can almost drink the whole bottle. Evan at $39, the quality justifies the outlay…..

  Huon Hooke, The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 24 January 2012

• 

  Revival of the Fittest

  2011-10-13 02:26:10

  Beaujolais has spent the past 40 years on a rollercoaster of popularity, with scandal, waxing and waning quality, demand followed by surplus and a bewildering array of styles. Right now, the ride continues as a growing band of producers fights against the popular notion of Beaujolais as a light, juicy, confected wine. They aim to make dense, structured wines that need cellar time to reach their best. In some ways, Beaujolais had been a victim of its own success. The popularity of Beaujolais nouveau in the late 20th century shaped the public’s perception of it as a frivolous drink. It also shifted the focus of most producers to nouveau and generic, simple, fruity wine. When demand fell (as it was bound to), the region was left with a large surplus destined for distillation. Today, Beaujolais nouveau and the simple generic village wines are still produced but more and more growers are focusing on the serious end of things; the cru communes, single vineyard and single site wines, come of them with remarkable attributes . The focus on making serious gamay-based wines in the Beaujolais region is not new. The people there have recognized the importance of the vineyards surrounding Brouilly, Moulin a Vent, Chenas and the other cru communes for centuries. But the current trend goes to beyond those communes and their standards. Today, they are pushing into formidable reds with tannin, barrel aging and concentrated fruit, and often eschewing the Beaujolais technique of carbonic maceration. They are more akin to the celebrated Cote de Nuits wines. Many of the Beaujolais vineyards have moved towards organic and biodynamic practices, lowering yields and gaining a sense of site. The good news is that a handful of canny importers are now bringing quite a few of the 2009 wines into Australia. The names will be unfamiliar to most, but they are well worth seeking out. The 2009 vintage was terrific in many European regions and a startling one in Beaujolais, which produced powerful, full-bodied wines, just the thing for a region attempting to gain a reputation for serious, age-worthy wines. Burgundy producers and negotiant Domaine Louis Jadot makes a formidable range from the Chateau des Jacques – a property in the cru domain of Moulin a Vent that is bought in 1996 – from which is separately vinifies and bottles five different clos (parcels). The Louis Jadot team approaches these wines as if making serious pinot noir, and the results are a bunch of powerful, brooding reds, thoroughly laced with fresh oak and crying out for five or more years in the cellar.