Bennie’s description of Bindi’s Block 5 vineyard in the Macedon ranges reminded me of that famous photo of Burgundy’s Romanée-Conti vineyard with the old stone Cross on the vineyard wall. The Romanée-Conti vineyard originally belonged to the Abbey of Saint Vivant, and the medieval monks approached their vineyard lands as almost hallowed ground, believing each individual vineyard site was a unique expression of God’s handiwork.

Oh, the romance and mystique of the single vineyard! Bindi’s Block 5 is up there with Henschke’s Hill of Grace as one of Australia’s most famous vineyard sites. And just as the wine from Romanée-Conti vineyard is different in character from its neighbour across the road, La Tâche, according to Bindi’s winemaker Michael Dhillon, the wine from Block 5 is “always darker in fruit expression and immediately more spicy and earthy than [Bindi's] Original Vineyard. It is less immediately perfumed and has more tannin and fruit power. The wines from this vineyard require more bottle ageing to develop the same suppleness and delicacy as the Original Vineyard but even in their youth these wines are more profound.” Yes, the analogy to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti does indeed seem apt.

In her review of the 2009 vintage of Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir, Jancis Robinson remarked that “you’d be thrilled by this in Burgundy.” Indeed, Dhillon has a very Burgundian, terroir-driven approach to managing his vineyards. Labour intensive practices such as hand-pruning and hand harvesting are complemented with the use of biodynamic and organic principles. Everything is done with an eye to fully expressing magical qualities of the very special terroir.

The Bindi property was originally purchased in the 1950s. Only six hectares of the 170 hectare farm are planted to pinot noir and chardonnay. The sheltered, north-facing, shattered quartz over siltstone and clay Block 5 vineyard is only a half hectare. The wine spends 15-17 months in French barrels of which about 35% are new. In a typical vintage only 150-200 cases are made. The current vintage retails for around $100. A bargain if you can find it!

Last night I enjoyed another Heathcote shiraz – a wine I wasn’t familiar with, the Syrahmi Climat 2009.  Like 2003, 2009 was a dry, hot vintage in Heathcote. Adam Foster, who makes the Syrahmi range, sourced the grapes for the Climat from the Mt Camel Ranges, 45km north of the Heathcote township. It’s a wonderfully aromatic wine with well defined fruit flavours and fine tannins. Foster opted for a 60% whole bunch fermentation – a technique commonly used in France’s Rhone Valley to enhance the fragrance of their shiraz.

I was lucky to receive a sample of the Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. I’ve always been a big fan of Balgownie’s wines, and the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 certainly didn’t disappoint.

Fruit for the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the 33 hectare Bendigo vineyard, situated on a gentle slope overlooking Myer’s Creek at Maiden Gully. Here the alluvial clay soils and continental climate provide ideal conditions for low yields and a long ripening period, which helps to create wines of intense flavours and great ageing potential. Originally founded in 1969 by pioneer winemaker Stuart Anderson, since 1999 the estate has been owned by brothers Des and Rod Forrester, who have expanded the winery and added another vineyard in the Yarra Valley.

The Wine Spectator’s Harvey Steiman has commented that “even the most highly prized cabernets in Australia can show strong herbal or vegetal characteristics.” Due to cool conditions and spring rains, fruit for 2009 vintage of the White Label Cabernet Sauvignon was picked at optimum ripeness, so the wine shows no hint of herbal or vegetal characters referred to by Steiman. In fact, the ripe fruit flavours of this wine were matched with enough acidiy and tannins to make the vintage a great candidate for ageing. (Steiman was very impressed with the Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1998, which he tasted in 2008 after ten years of bottle age.) (Aging Australia’s Reds: A Decade in the Bottle: A blind tasting suggests how well the top Australian reds can age by Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator 15 October 2008)

“Favourite” and “bargain” are two common descriptors critics use to describe the Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Campbell Mattinson of The Wine Front scored the 2008 vintage 94 points. Here’s his review:

Balgownie Estate cabernet is a personal favourite and this 2008 edition is a particularly good example.

It’s bold and ripe and tannic but it still manages to feel easy-going and mid-weight; it’s like drinking the best of a few different worlds. It tastes of blackcurrant, roasted cedarwood, chocolate and mint and it feels satiny and polished in your mouth. It’s a classy wine. It does carry quite a deal of chewy tannin but it’s a real cabernet; so it should. It will drink well both young and old. (The Wine Front, 24 January 2011)

Merrill Witt, Editor

Showcasing the distinctive character of cool climate shiraz from Victoria’s Grampians region, the pack honours the late Trevor Mast – the winemaker responsible for creating the benchmark Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz, and, as Tyson Stelzer of the Wine Spectator observed, “a visionary decades before “cool-climate” became a buzzword in Australian wine.” (Before acquiring Mount Langi Ghiran in 1987, Mast worked for both Seppelt and Best’s) (Trevor Mast, Australian Wine Pioneer, Dies at 63 Winemaker at Mount Langi Ghiran showed how outstanding cool-climate Aussie Shiraz could be by Tyson Stelzer, Wine Spectator, 14 March 2012)

Mast’s defining vintage was the Mount Langi Ghiraz Langi Shiraz 1989. With its spicy, pepper infused and floral characters, crisp texture and fine boned tannins, the wine quickly attracted international attention. In 1996, with only eight vintages behind it, the 1994 Mount Langin Ghiran Langi Shiraz graced the front cover of the Wine Spectator, sharing the stage with the iconic Penfolds Grange and Henschke’s Mount Eldestone Shiraz! ( Innovative and infectious ‘whiz-kid’ of wine industry by Ineke Mast and Gordon Gebbie, The Age, 16 April 2012)

Apparently Mast went out on a limb with his 1989 vintage. In a very wet season, he kept his nerve and left the grapes on the vine during the rain. After the vineyard dried out, he was able to pick perfectly ripened shiraz, producing an exceptional wine in what was generally regarded as a poor vintage. (Of course, the trick with cool climate shiraz is to insure that the grapes ripen properly so the wine is not acidic or harsh.)

Mast’s meticulous attention to vineyard management continues today under the direction of general manager and viticulturist Damien Sheehan. Fruit is hand selected and hand picked from exceptional vines originally planted by the Italian Fratin brothers in 1963. Sustainable production practices, like the planting of nature corridors and the avoidance of synthetic chemicals,  are used to protect the fragile eco-system and the integrity of the red loam and ancient granitic soils.

Dan Buckle, who is now in charge of wine-making at Mount Langi Ghiran, continues to win rave reviews for the flagship Langi Shiraz. The Wine Front Campbell Mattinson scored the 2008 vintage 96 points:

There’s no doubt that it’s a good wine. It’s cool climate and spicy but it announces itself in your mouth from the get-go. It’s the ropey burst of tannin that really got my heart going but only, of course, because it’s backed by licoricey, boysenberried, dark cherried fruit power. It’s succulent and structured, lengthy and – as a result – compelling. Cedary oak helps give it polish and class. This release furthers the notion that Mount Langi is at the top of its game at present. (The Wine Front, 6 June 2011)

Merrill Witt, Editor

On a recent visit to Australia, the Wine Spectator’s Harvey Steiman also picked up on the trend towards what he describes as chardonnays with less alcohol, less obvious oak, more savoury flavours and smoother textures from wild ferments and ageing on less. “Prevailing opinion suggests,” he remarked after meeting with Australian winemakers, wine writers and sommeliers, “that an emerging style modeled more on white Burgundy may supersede Australia’s reputation for making broad, big-fruit Chardonnays.” Action in Australian Chardonnay: New styles modeled on Burgundy make it the buzz of the country now by Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 2 December 2011)

Neither critic, however, was dismissive of the depth, power and elegance of the best examples of the older style of Australian chardonnay. Robinson singled out “unashamedly full-on wines” like the Giaconda Chardonnay 2008 and the Hunter Valley’s Harkham Aziza’s Chardonnay 2011 as highlights of a recent tasting of 35 Australian chardonnays. Harvey Steiman was rhapsodic about a recent vintage of Devil’s Lair from the Margaret River, which displayed “rich fruit – pineapple, pear, tropical fruits – layered nimbly in a plush-textured package, finishing with length and finesse.”

Here are some of the wines in the new, more restrained style that most impressed both critics:

Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2010, Yarra Valley

Yabby Lake Single Block Release Chardonnay 2009, Mornington Peninsula

Phillip Shaw No. 11 Chardonnay 2009, Orange

Pierro Chardonnay 2008, Margaret River

Shaw + Smith, M3 Chardonnay 2010 Adelaide Hills

Sidewood Chardonnay 2010, Adelaide Hills

Heggies Chardonnay 2010, Eden Valley

Oak Ridge 864 Chardonnay 2010, Yarra Valley

Merrill Witt, Editor

David Hawkins of One Aussie Wines responded to my Facebook post with the following comment: “Peter Gago may be correct, but I’ve had plenty of wines with corks that were up or down and the wine was fine…unfortunately TCA doesn’t offer any clues and that’s a more relevant fault for most people. I’ve also had heat affected bottles where there was no leakage or cork movement.”

Penfolds’ move is certainly sparking a fair bit of controversy. Hooke followed up on his article in the Herald with a post on his website. He noted that for Penfolds one of the key factors behind the move back to cork is increasing exports to markets like China where expertise on how to store, transport and properly care for wine is still developing.

But whether reverting back to cork is the best answer to gauge whether a wine has been heat damaged is debatable. Ian Riggs, chief winemaker at Brokenwood, was just as skeptical as David about whether cork was a better barometer of care than screwcap. He told Hooke:

Why don’t they just admit that they have buckled to the demands of their export markets and gone back to cork? To state that it is a way of showing up badly stored wine reeks of April Fool’s Day. So now, wine from all over the world is going to be replaced as soon as there’s a slightly pushed cork or signs of weeping? Here’s an idea: get better storage up to the point of sale to the customer and then start an education program to get the wines looked after once purchased. The odd thing is that a wine under screwcap has a better chance of surviving adverse conditions than one under cork. (Penfolds Cork Disclosure, HuonHooke.com, 16 April 2012)

Riggs also questioned whether evidence of heat damage necessarily means that the wine is spoiled: “It may have been badly stored but there’s no loss of wine as the seal hasn’t been broken. The wine may been a bit more advanced (if heat affected) but it will still be in a presentable state. Once the cork has pushed and even if the storage temperature drops, the cork can’t go back to a perfect seal.”

Improving wine storage conditions in Asian countries like China is certainly of critical importance. I almost cried when I heard a report of Lafite being stored in a 30 degree celsius carpark in one of China’s main cities!

But with China’s growing interest in fine wine, technical know-how and strong history of fast-tracking development, I’m guessing that it won’t be long before its wine storage facilities are plentiful and state-of-the art. Also, preference for screwcaps seems to be growing in the US, which is now the world’s largest market for wine. Today Shanken News Daily reported that following the change of New Zealand’s Nobilo’s closure from cork to screwcap in 2011, the brand has been growing at double digits in the US.

So the debate over which is the perfect closure for a whole variety of reasons continues to rage on!

Photo Credit: Buckingham Valley Winery, Pennsylvania

Merrill Witt, Editor

The article brought back memories of a collection I once inventoried for another doctor, who also had a very deep collection of Wendouree verticals.  Both doctors had created their cellars for long-term drinking pleasure. As the heart surgeon explained, “There’s no wine I buy for investment purposes. They are made to enjoy, not just to look at like trophies on the wall.”

The decision to buy multiple vintages of the Wendouree range may have a little bit to do with having a place on the winery’s coveted mailing list. (No easy task!) Wendouree proprietors Tony and Lity Brady only sell wine via their mailing list. Allocations are strictly limited and prices are deliberately kept at reasonable levels, so few customers pass up to opportunity to take what’s offered!

The Bradys see themselves as custodians of a priceless treasure. Many of the vines on the 28 acre Clare Valley property date back to 1892. The beautiful historic stone winery is also over 100 years old.

The Bradys purchased “A.P. Birks Wendouree” (the full name, as it still appears on the label) in 1974 and have limited production to straight varietals or blends of shiraz, malbec, mataro, cabernet sauvignon, and a dessert muscat of Alexander.

The wines are meant to aged – one of the main reasons why collectors hold onto their verticals.  As wine writer Jamie Goode commented, “I have to be honest: these are my sort of wines. Unusual for modern Australian reds, they’re not terribly alcoholic. They are wines for the long haul, and sacrifice some early drinkability and seductive deliciousness from some future development – a wise investment. I can’t think of a more consistently excellent Australian producer.” (The Clare Valley, Part 4: Wendouree by Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com)

I’m always keen to discover what makes a wine exceptional. In the case of Wendouree, the quality of the terroir  – low yielding, dry-grown, old vines on shallow red loam over limestone  – is obviously very special. Work in the vineyard fits the best practice mode in being very meticulous and un-mechanised. Herbicides are avoided and the grapes are only hand-picked when each bunch is deemed to be at optimal ripeness.

But you can’t overlook what happens in the winery. In a very interesting interview with Goode, Tony explained that “The critical technology in winemaking is the method.” A few highlights: Lita and Tony use small open top fermenters, which have the advantage of blowing off alcohol by about one degree. Malolactic fermentation is finished in tank not in barrel, because it’s important and the tank offers more control: “If you finish fermentation in wood the wine looks good young but it’s not good for the long term,” Tony told Goode.

Other winemakers, I’m sure, would debate this last point. But it does highlight, in my mind at least, how making great wine is at some point an alchemic process. No matter the degree of skill, technical analysis, technology etc, with the right material a great winemaker just knows how to make magic happen!

Merrill Witt, Editor

A selection of back vintages of Wendouree are available on the Cellarit Wine Market

• Released after only three years of bottle age!

• Made from near 100 year old vines from the acclaimed Filsell vineyard in the Barossa Valley!

• Aged for 22 months in American oak and French oak – 70 per cent new!

Few wines in Australia, let alone the world, can match the pedigree of the Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz. First released in 1988, the Meshach is truly one of Australia’s icon wines.

It’s an elegant, beautifully structured wine that is designed to be aged and enjoyed with food. James Halliday scored the most recent 2006 vintage 96 points. Here’s his review:

Good colour retention, as it should be; a very classy combination of a top vintage, high quality fruit, and practised winemaking; blackberry, plum, licorice and cedar are synergistically fused on the long, medium- to full-bodied palate. The cork quality is good, and may allow the wine to complete its journey. Shiraz.  (James Halliday Australian Wine Companion)

The signature style of the Meshach is very much representative of the winemaking philosophy of its maker, Grant Burge. A fifth-generation Barossa vigneron with more than 40 years of winemaking experience under his belt, Burge is a great believer in creating wines with enough structure, depth and complexity to age for a long time.

In an interesting video interview with Langton’s Andrew Caillard, Burge explained that the Meshach is at its best in its second decade. By then the “in your face” flavours and characters of the incredibly concentrated fruit from the old vines have softened. The wine becomes a bit lighter in body and develops complex savoury aromas and characters, which serve to balance the sweetness of the old vine fruit without diminishing its vibrancy.

Grant Burge is an example of a very successful family-owned business. The winery owns close to 400 hectares of vineyards across the Barossa and Eden Valley including the famous Filsell Vineyard, which was planted in the 1920’s.

If you’re a fan of this wine, you may be interested to know that you can apply to join The Meshach Club. Membershis is limited to only 200 places, and benefits include a a guaranteed pre-release allocation of six bottles of Meshach per year.

Well, I certainly hope that you are one of the savvy ones. At around $75 on release St. Henri is a real bargain compared to its fabled sibling Grange! But as Steiman also notes, “while Grange tastes amazingly good upon release and continues to develop extra nuances in the bottle, St. Henri takes a few years to show what it has.” So properly cellaring a newly released St. Henri is essential if you want to enjoy the wine in its prime.

Determining the optimal drinking window for the St. Henri can in fact prove quite a challenge. Steiman called the phenomonal 1976, which he gave 95 points, “almost under-developed for a 32-year-old wine.” Here’s his glowing review:

Rich and meaty in flavor, with a gamy grace note to the vibrant blackcurrant and plum flavors, riding on a supple frame. Fine tannins, round and generous, with power and elegance. Just now developing an old-wine character…Spectacular.

That is not to say that younger vintages aren’t drinking well. The Wine Advocate has a drinking window of 2013 to 2025+ for the spectacular 2006 vintage. And as Steiman comments, “It’s not that the unready wines are harsh or difficult to drink. On the contrary, they are really pleasant. But they get so much better with longer cellaring.”

So what makes the St Henri such a great wine for ageing?

St Henri was originally made in the 19th century by the Auldana Winery, which was next door to Penfolds’ Magill Estate. (It takes its name from the original winemaker’s son Henri). After Penfolds bought the property in 1944, Penfolds  winemaker John Davoren recreated the style. While Max Schubert was experimenting with new American oak for his nascent Grange, Davoren continued the practice of maturing the St Henri for 12 to 15 months in the traditional large format, 1460 litres, fifty year old, well seasoned oak vats.

Both approaches to barrel maturation have certainly proved their worth, confirming The Wine Front’s Campbell Mattinson’s observation that if the components of a wine are in balance as young wines, even if these various components are very different to one another, the wines will age well. (Oak and the Aussie Red by Campbell Mattinson, Langton’s Magazine)

St Henri is also a blended wine, made to a house style. Some years, depending on vintage, a percentage of cabernet sauvignon will be added. The 2006, for example, is 11% cabernet sauvignon but the 2007 is 100% shiraz. Fruit for the wine is sourced from exceptional vineyards at Robe and McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Padthaway, the Barossa, Coonawarra and Adelaide Hills.

Current chief Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago believes that one of the advantages of blending is that it allows the winemaker to pick and choose from different vineyards in order to get the right individual characters for the wine. The inclusion of fruit from the Adelaide Hills and cooler regions, for example, is a nod to Davoren’s original preference for fruit that was less ripe than what Schubert had selected for his Grange.

As Steiman notes, less-ripe fruit and no oak influence can make a wine seem simple when young. But after 10 to 15 years of bottle ageing, St Henri reaches a stage of evolution where the depth, completeness and other nuances of ageing come to the fore. Oh, the “rewards of patience.” (St. Henri—Penfolds’ “Other” Shiraz by Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator. 15 October 2008)

Merrill Witt, Editor

Current and back vintages of Penfolds St Henri Shiraz are available on the Cellarit Wine Market.

Consumers are also becoming more terroir savvy. I have friends who say they prefer the tropical fruit flavours and crisp acidity of Orange sauvignon blanc, for example, even if they can’t recall exactly which wines they’ve tried.

Family-run De Bortoli, one of Australia’s best independent producers, has re-labeled its entry level Windy Peak brand, and now the region where the wine is made is clearly displayed on the label. De Bortoli owns substantial vineyards in the Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, King Valley, the Riverina and even has a vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand.

The move to include the region on the Windy Peak label looks like smart marketing for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s recognition that even the budget-minded consumer is becoming more discerning about where and how a wine is made. Secondly, it highlights that Windy Peak is a quality product sourced from De Bortoli’s own vineyards. (Unlike some of those wines I’ve seen from the so-called critter brands – you know, the ones with the cute little marsupials on the label – that vaguely state that the wine is from ‘south eastern Australia’!)

De Bortoli launched the new label for the Windy Peak range at a luncheon in Sydney at Matt Moran’s and Peter Sullivan’s new Woollahra venture Chiswick. The setting reminded me of a stylish but comfortable Southern Highlands home. Our room overlooked a beautiful lawn and a kitchen garden brimming with fresh herbs. The food was delicious and, while the flavours were sophisticated, the presentation was unpretentious. A perfect complement for wines designed for every-day drinking.

The highlight for me was the fish and prawn pie. The restaurant has only been open a few weeks, but I’m guessing the pie will become a signature dish. It worked absolutely beautifully with the light but flavourful Windy Peak Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010 (rrp $14) – my favourite wine of the meal. Campbell Mattinson of the Wine Front scored this wine an impressive 90 points:

When Windy Peak pinot noir is on song it’s a candidate for The Perfect Light-Red Wine. This is a good Windy Peak pinot. It’s not profound and I wouldn’t really expect it to age, but as a young red quaffer it’s delicious. And velvety. And has a surprising amount of flavour persistence. It tastes of dry, bitter herbs and fleshy strawberries, red cherries and pine. It may even hold a bit of sappy, twiggy character too. It flows through the mouth nicely and has a chewy, textural element to the finish. Tremendously quaffable. (The Wine Front, 14 July 21)

The fresh and well-balanced Windy Peak Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2011 (another great bargain at $14) went very nicely with the sliced kingfish with breakfast radish, chive aioli and parsley.

Not surprisingly, the conversation at our table soon turned to De Bortoli’s sublime dessert wine, the botrytis semillon Noble One. We all waxed lyrical about the last time we had been lucky enough to imbibe this very special drop, especially some of the older vintages. It would have gone beautifully with the carmelia eclair, almonds and sugar plums for dessert. Oh well, may be next time! (see also Part 2, The Riverina Shines with Some of the Best Botrytised Wines!, Cellarit Wine Blog, 19 November 2010)

Merrill Witt, Editor

Peter Leske of La Linea was on the panel, and I couldn’t help wondering how he felt to have his Norteño Tempranillo 2010 compared to Spanish greats like Vega Sicilia’s Pintia 2006 and the Telmo Rodriguez Matallana 2006, for example.

Vega Sicilia, of course, holds the mantle as Spain’s most prestigious producer. Its flagship cuvee, the Único, a Ribera del Duero tempranillo, is widely regarded as one of the world’s best wines. The Pintia is from a more recently established bodega in Toro. It had all the hallmarks of great tempranillo – earthy aromas, spicy, dark fruit and chocolate flavours with subtle touches of vanilla and cedar, velvety tannins and a deliciously long finish. The exquisitely aromatic Telmo Rodriguez Matallana from Ribero del Duero slowly revealed its deep layers of flavours, which were supported by ripe, firm tannins.

But what about the Australian examples? Even though the Australian wines on show were disadvantaged by being younger in vintage than their Spanish rivals, they displayed the confidence and finesse that Australia’s talented winemakers are bringing to this revered Spanish variety.

The Mayford Tempranillo 2010, from a small, family-run winery in Porepunkah Victoria that is high above the Ovens River, was one of the highlights. Like the Matallana, it is fermented with natural yeasts – a practice that many Australian winemakers are embracing as it helps to impart the sense or place or terroir in the wine. With perfumes of black cherry, earth and spice and velvety, fine grained tannins, it was a beautifully balanced wine displaying gorgeously pure fruit flavours. Incidentally, Campbell Mattinson of The Wine Front described the Mayford Tempranillo 2010 “the best Mayford wine to date” and scored it 95 points. (The Wine Front 5 December 2011)

Tempranillo is often compared to pinot noir because its personality can vary quite widely depending on where it is planted.  Regional differences were indeed highlighted when the Mayford Tempranillo was compared to the La Linea ‘Norteño’ Tempranillo 2010. The ‘Norteño’ is a special bottling of barrels from La Linea’s Amadio Kersbrook Vineyard in the northern Adelaide Hills. Here the elevation is lower (340 metres) and the climate warmer and drier than La Linea’s cooler Echunga vineyard in the south. It’s a bigger, more robust wine than the Mayfield Tempranillo, with more assertive tannins and ripe, darker fruit characters. Closer in character to the intensely concentrated Pintia, it is also a wine that designed for bottle ageing.

The future looks bright for Australian tempranillo! Six wineries – La Linea, Gemtree, Mayford, Mount Majura, Yalumba’s Running with Bulls and Tar & Roses, have joined forces to create TempraNeo – a collective of Tempranillo makers inspired by the variety and the potential it holds for making wines of character and interest. (They’re also keen for us to get the pronunciation right – hence the spelling!) The group has an educational focus and promotes an active cross-fertilisation of ideas that is sure to inspire exciting new developments in a variety still establishing recognition in Australia.

Merrill Witt, Editor