Yearly Archives: 2011

Barons re-releases bush-tucker beers

6 July 2011Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Barons Brewing of Sydney recently relaunched two beers seasoned with native Australian ingredients – Lemon Myrtle Witbier and Blackwattle Original Ale.

The beers are part of Barons varied portfolio that includes a lager, pale ale and extra special bitter. Barons also distributes other brands, including Belgian lager, 88 Balls, Czech lager, Bakalar and Australian brews, Razorback Red Ale and Charlotte’s Hefeweizen.

Baron’s introduced Blackwattle Original Ale back in 2005 and the Lemon Myrtle Witbier in 2008. As the names suggest, they’re seasoned with lemon myrtle and roasted black wattle seed. They claim to be the only brewery using native ingredients. Perhaps they are now. I don’t know. But in 2008 Chuck Hahn released a one-off winter ale, seasoned with native pepperberries.

Where Hahn’s beer was a potent, idiosyncratic style to either love or hate, Baron’s two brews flow like water – so watch out.

Barons Black Wattle Original Ale 330ml 6-pack $20
This dark amber brew weighs in at 5.8 per cent alcohol. The alcohol boosts the opulent malt flavour, giving the palate great warmth and appeal. The dominant flavours are caramel and golden syrup-like with a touch of roasted grain (this may be the wattle seed) and mildly bitter, balanced finish.

Barons Lemon Myrtle Witbier 330ml 6-pack $20
Modelled on Belgian wheat beer styles, like Hoegaarden, Barons is a particularly brisk ale with wheat beer’s natural high acidity, light body and smooth texture. A distinct and pleasant lemony note adds to the beer’s zest and freshness. It’s bottle conditioned and therefore cloudy.

Penfolds releases Grange, St Henri, Magill, RWT and Bin 707

6 July 2011Wine, Wine reviewChris Shanahan

There’s always a buzz of excitement at the release of a new Grange vintage. It’s a global event now and a confident Penfolds includes in the release its other flagship wines – Yattarna Chardonnay, Reserve Bin Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, St Henri Shiraz, Magill Estate Shiraz, RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz and Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is an extraordinary line up of wines by any measure – and priced accordingly. But when we look at top Bordeaux reds, still in barrel in the cellar, fetching up to $2,000 a bottle, and being produced in much larger volumes, Penfolds’ prices appear modest indeed.

The reds, in particular, enjoy a long pedigree for quality and cellaring ability. They also trade in large volumes at auction – meaning they can always be liquidated, and creating profitable opportunities for astute collectors. But, as the accompanying table shows, timing is everything and it’s probably easier to lose money than make it on Penfolds reds.

Indeed, the table demonstrates that it may be better to buy Grange at auction than in a retail store. The 2005 vintage, for example, fetches less at auction now than it did in retail stores on release last year. Indeed most vintages, including many classic years of the past, cost less at auction than the current release 2006 at retail.

On the other hand, Grange, especially the good vintages, can appreciate over time. But increases are unevenly spread. If, for example, you bought a bottle of 1971 at $9.99 on discount at Farmer Bros in the late seventies, you’re sitting on a handsome gain. You could pocket around $945 at auction – a handsome return.

Or if you bought a bottle of 1983 for around $50 in 1988, you could turn it into about $405 – a good nominal return, but perhaps not sensational in real terms. Note, however, that the beautiful old 1983 fetches almost $200 a bottle less than the brash, new-release 2006.

We held this year’s new-release Penfolds red tasting at Chateau Shanahan with guest panellists, Wine and Food editor, Kirsten Lawson, winemaker and food writer, Bryan Martin, and Jill Shanahan.

To add interest, we poured a 1983 Grange from our cellar alongside the new-release 20006 vintage.

The comments below are all mine. But we agreed on the night that these were distinctive wines of rare dimension – each with its own personality.

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2007 $89.99

Regions: Robe, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Padthaway, Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills.

Variety: 100 per cent shiraz.

Maturation: 12 months in 1,460-litre oak vats, more than 50-years’ old.

The diverse fruit sourcing suggests the winemakers pulled out all tricks to make an outstanding St Henri in an ordinary vintage. Because of its focus on fragrance, fruit and soft tannins, we taste this one first and it appeals all around. We love its pure varietal aromas, flavours, softness and suppleness. It’s a very even, balanced, subtle wine with proven long-term cellaring potential.

Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz 2008 $114.99 (available at cellar door only)

Region: Magill vineyard, Adelaide.

Variety: 100 per cent shiraz.

Maturation: 12 months in 72 per cent new French and 23 per cent new American oak hogsheads. The balance in one-year-old French oak

This is the wine that saved the Magill vineyard from urbanisation. It’s the site of Dr Christopher Penfolds’ Grange cottage and the cellars where Max Schubert developed Grange. Today it’s the home of the Penfolds brand, if not’s its main winery. This wine, however, is made on site in the original open, concrete Grange fermenters.

Although a wine of many parts, it was the least favoured at our tasting – simply upstaged by magnificence. It’s a generous wine, marked by comparatively high acid, savouriness and spice and bright berry flavours pushing through quite obvious (very high quality) oak flavours. Like a kaleidoscope, it offered different patterns and shades during the night.

Penfolds Barossa Valley RWT Shiraz 2008 $174.99

Region: Barossa Valley

Variety: 100 per cent shiraz

Maturation: 14 months in French oak hogsheads, 83 per cent new, 17 per cent one-year-old.

John Duval developed RWT in the 1990s as a fragrant, opulent, supple expression of Barossa shiraz, matured in French oak – a counterbalance to the sheer power of American-oak-matured Grange, also based on Barossa shiraz.

This dense, red-black, crimson-rimmed wonder simply blew us away, from its high-toned aroma to its luxuriously fruity, deep, silky texture to the perfectly matched cedary oak. This is a great wine, as good as Barossa shiraz gets.

Penfolds Grange 2006 $599

Region: Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and Magill.

Varieties: 98 per cent shiraz, two per cent cabernet sauvignon.

Maturation: 18 months in new American oak hogsheads.

Where RWT reveals the fragrant, opulent side of Barossa shiraz, Grange is a more thunder-in-the brain wine – opaque, red-black colour with immense fruit, American oak and tannin influences. The flavour elements are merging by the time it’s released at five years. But that’s just the beginning of a journey that might last for decades. Certainly our 1983, tasted alongside the 2006, has decades of life ahead.

Because it evolves for so long, Grange offers a unique, endless view of its vintage conditions. The1983, for example, has always expressed the exceptional flavour concentration and formidable tannins of a particularly hot, dry season. Over the years the character remains, despite time’s mellowing influence.

The new-release 2006 will never be like the 1983. It comes from a more benign vintage. So, even as a young wine, its sweeter, juicier fruit flavours harmonise with the silky, if huge, tannins. Grange’s signature opaque, colour, American oak, abundant tannins and great flavour concentration are all there. But there’s a lovely harmony and lovability about it even now, despite its rare dimension.

I rate this as one of the great Granges.

Penfolds Grange 1983 $518 (mean auction buyer’s price)

Regions: Barossa Valley (Kalimna and other vineyards), Magill Estate, Modbury Vineyard

Varieties: 94 per cent shiraz, six per cent cabernet sauvignon

Maturation: 100 per cent new American oak hogsheads.

After seeing the beginning of the Grange journey in the raw young 2006 vintage, we moved closer to the destination in the 1983. The product of a hot, dry season this has always been a big, dense, tannic Grange, described succinctly in the 1990 edition of The Rewards of Patience as, “Blockbuster Grange with massively powerful fruit and oak. Enormous strength. Will live for decades”.

Four years on, tasters for the 1994 edition, predicting a drinking window of 2000–2015, commented, “Dense, powerful chocolate/spice/plum/briar aromas with some American oak-derived coconut. A highly concentrated wine showing pronounced extract and tannins balanced with sweetness of fruit and obvious American oak. The wine is beginning to show some complexing ‘cigar box’ characters but is still very youthful. This will be a great Grange”.

By the fourth edition in 2000, tasters pushed the drinking window out to 2020 and with fruit descriptors in overdrive wrote, “Red/purple, intense, rich, brambly/blackberry fruit with touches of cedar and liquorice. Beautifully concentrated, with abundant blackberry/apricot fruit and plenty of meaty/cedary characters, plush, pronounced tannins and underlying sweet oak. Super wine”.

In the 2004 edition, the tasters pushed the drinking window out another decade to 2030 for this “superbly concentrated wine”. A mood swing four years later in the sixth edition saw the drink-by date pulled back to 2025. The tasters described the 1983 as, “A profoundly concentrated vintage with years of cellaring potential”, noting its “muscular tannins”.

On 23 June at Chateau Shanahan Grange 1983 again revealed its muscular tannins, concentration and great staying power. Coming off the youthful fruitiness of the younger wines, though, the old-wine aroma shocked Kirsten Lawson with its “oceany”, “meaty” and “decaying” aromas – just three descriptors of a wine now deeply endowed with secondary and tertiary bottle-age aromas and flavours. We could throw in old leather, grandma’s furniture, cedar, chocolate and soy, too – and we did. These all adorned the deep, sweet, still-vibrant fruit and strong tannins that came from those tiny, thick-skinned shiraz berries in the hot, drought-affected 1983 vintage. The wine will drink well for decades.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $189.99

Regions: Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Wrattonbully.

Varieties: 100 per cent cabernet sauvignon.

Maturation: 14 months in 100 per cent new American oak hogsheads.

Bin 707 is simply Grange made of cabernet sauvignon instead of shiraz. It’s about power, flavour concentration, American oak and longevity. Originally sourced from Block 42 of the Kalimna Vineyard, northern Barossa, it now owes more to Coonawarra, hundreds of kilometres to the south – although the Barossa contributes in this vintage. The 2008 is another beautifully balanced blockbuster – impressively aromatic, revealing floral character as well as deep, underlying cassis-like varietal notes, with a mere hint of leaf. The palate’s impressively concentrated, the flavours reflecting the aroma – though over time the lovely cassis-like character dominates. The fruit is layered with powerful but fine, silky tannins, with the oak almost impossible to separate from the fruit flavours.

What your bottle of Grange is worth

	Mean auction hammer price	Seller’s approx nett price	Buyer’s approx nett price
Penfolds Grange – vintage
2006 – current release, good vintage	No sale	No Sale	No Sale
2005 – last year’s release, average vintage	$440	$396	$506
2004 – good vintage	$440	$396	$506
2003 – average vintage	$410	$369	$451
2002 – good vintage	$430	$387	$495
2001 – average vintage	$400	$360	$460
1996 – good vintage	$495	$446	$569
1995 – average vintage	$365	$329	$420
1990 – good vintage	$630	$693	$725
1989 – average vintage	$360	$324	$414
1986 – good vintage	$550	$495	$633
1983 – good vintage	$450	$405	$518
1982 – average vintage	$355	$320	$408
1976 – good vintage	$575	$518	$661
1975 – average vintage	$405	$365	$466
1971 – good vintage	$1,050	$945	$1,208
1970 – average vintage	$480	$432	$552
1962 – good vintage	$1,950	$1,755	$2,243
1958 – exceptionally rare bottle	$3,950	$3,555	4,543
1955 – good vintage	$3,250	$2,925	$3,738

Source:www.langtons.com.au
Seller’s price assumes 10% commission to Langtons
Buyer’s price assumes 15% buyer’s premium paid to auctioneer and GST

Wine review — Capital Wines, The Hut by Dalwhinnie and Yarra Loch

3 July 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Capital Wines “The Foreign Minister”
Canberra District Sangiovese 2010 $25
Capital Wines recently released this sangiovese (Italian red variety) together with their tempranillo (Spanish red variety). Capital Wines partner, Jennie Mooney, says it’s a blend of three sangiovese clones, including two Brunello clones, grown at Pialligo Estate and made by Andrew McEwin at Capital Wines. The wine came out of oak barrel earlier than usual, allowing the vibrant, sweet, cherry-like varietal flavour to flourish. It’s a light to medium bodied style with the sweet, pleasing fruit flavours to the fore – but supported by soft, easy-on-the-gums tannins. It’s a style to enjoy in its youth and probably all the better for not trying to be too serious.

The Hut By Dalwhinnie Pyrenees

Chardonnay 2010 $25
Pinot Noir 2010 $25
Shiraz 2010 $28

David Jones of Dalwhinnie, located at Moonambel in Victoria’s Pyrenees region, visited Canberra recently promoting his new “The Hut by Dalwhinnie” range. The wines are all estate-grown and made show the hallmark bright fruit and elegant structure of the more expensive premium wines. David says they’re made for current drinking and targeted at the on-premise trade and independent retailers. The delicate barrel-fermented chardonnay offers clear-cut white-peach varietal flavour and delicious, fresh soft acidity. The pinot offers bright, pure dark-cherry varietal flavour and good pinot structure and texture. There’s a hint of mint in the bright, medium bodied shiraz and a good bit of juicy, savoury tannin.

YarraLoch Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010 $27–$30
YarraLoch is a small, well-capitalised Yarra Valley operation, with 13-hectares of vines planted at Coldstream, Whittlesea and Kangaroo Ground. Varieties planted include arneis, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, shiraz and viognier – indicating the amazing range of terroirs in the valley. The pinot’s a very attractive, delicate style. The aroma combines floral notes with varietal ripe-cherry and savoury oak. These come through, too, on a silk-smooth, beautifully balanced palate, layered with sweet fruit and fine tannins. The flavours remained fresh several days after opening our sample bottle, indicating the staying power of this understated, irresistible drop.

Wine review — Capital Wines, Stella Bella, Hewitson, Yangarra and Turkey Flat

29 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Capital Wines “The Ambassador” Tempranillo 2010 $27
Kyeema Vineyard Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales
The two tempranillos reviewed this week, though of comparable quality, reveal different faces of this Spanish variety – and its potential to go mainstream in Australia in the long term. The Ambassador, from six-year-old vines, emphasises vibrant, red-berry varietal flavour and the variety’s naturally assertive, but fine and soft tannins. It starts fruity, then the tannins move in reassuringly. Jennie Mooney writes, “It is the first year that we had the depth of fruit to allow the wonderful tempranillo tannins to start to sing. In previous years we have softened them off in barrel”.

Stella Bella Tempranillo 2008 $30
Karridale and Rosabrook, Margaret River, Western Australia
Where Capital Wines tempranillo focuses on vibrant, youthful fruit and natural grape tannins, Stella Bella’s brings in the influences of additional oak and bottle ageing. Winemaker Stuart Pym writes that it, “leans towards this style [of Toro, Spain] – showing brighter sweeter characters, but in the Riserva style – being at least three years old with eighteen months in oak as a minimum”. The red-berry varietal flavours are off in the background and now showing secondary, aged character in a matrix with barrel-derived flavour and textural influences.

Hewitson Old Garden Mourvedre 2009 $120
Koch Family Vineyard, Rowland Flat, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Mourvedre, aka mataro, is a very late ripening variety and a great survivor in Australia’s hot, dry growing regions. This version, from Dean Hewitson, comes from a vineyard planted in 1853 by Friedrich Koch and still tended by his descendents. Hewitson believes it may be the world’s oldest mourvedre vineyard. Though the palest colour of three mourvedre’s reviewed today, its fruit is clearly very powerful as it effortlessly gobbles up 18 months’ maturation in all-new French oak. There are cherry- and chocolate-like fruit flavours in this deep, savoury red. It seems even more lifted and aromatic than usual in the 2009 vintage.

Yangarra Estate Mourvedre 2009 $32
Yangarra Estate Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Peter Fraser’s 100-hectare vineyard focuses predominantly on shiraz and grenache, but with significant plots, too, of other Rhone Valley varieties – including the white viognier and roussanne and the red mourvedre, cinsault and carignan. The mourvedre’s a deep, purple-rimmed, dense, spicy wine – its ripe dark-berry fruits deeply layered with its assertive but soft tannins. Fraser writes of mourvedre, “early on it has beautiful aromatics with angular tannins, but as the seeds go brown and the tannins become rounder and softer, the alcohol becomes prominent and brightness and aromatics are dulled. 2009 is the first vintage where we think we have got the balance of ripeness spot on”.

Turkey Flat Mourvedre 2009 $32
Turkey Flat Vineyard, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Peter and Christie Schulz’s Turkey Flat vineyard has shiraz vines dating from 1847 as well as mature, dry-grown mourvedre vines, source of this wine. It’s deeply coloured, purple rimmed and on first opening the oak influence is obvious (20 months in new and seasoned French puncheons). But tasted over several days the beautiful, ripe and spicy fruit dominates a rich but gracefully structured wine – and the oak becomes background seasoning, adding as well to the substantial tannin structure of the wine.

Stella Bella Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2010 $21
Margaret River, Western Australia
This is a distinctive Margaret River twist on the ubiquitous sauvignon blanc style – quite a departure from those we see from Marlborough, New Zealand. Semillon accounts for a large part of the difference in aroma, flavour and texture. From this neck of the woods semillon leans to a distinctive grassy, “canned-pea” aroma. Barrel ferment some components at higher temperatures, tank ferment others at lower temperatures, throw in sauvignon blanc, keep all of the components on yeast lees – and then blend it all together. You get a distinctive, pungent, dust-dry white with greater textural richness than straight sauv blanc.

Vintage 2011 — rain, disease fail to dampen grape output

29 June 2011UncategorizedChris Shanahan

Widespread predictions of a dramatic, disease-driven collapse in grape production this year proved way off the mark. The Winemakers Federation of Australia estimates a total wine-grape intake of 1.62 million tonnes in 2011 – one per cent up on 2010 and marginally short of the five-year average of 1.63 million tonnes. Production remained well short of the 1.8 to 1.9 million tonne peaks of vintages 2004 to 2006.

Winery intake of sauvignon blanc of just 86 thousand tonnes (up nine per cent on 2010) underlines New Zealand’s dominant role supplying Australia’s top selling white variety.

For the first time since 2007, white production outstripped red – perhaps reflecting greater disease damage to late ripening red varieties. Intake of red grapes declined from 858,111 tonnes in 2010 to 779,283 in 2011; white intake increased from 744,901 tonnes to 839,453 tonnes.

Paralleling white’s overall resurgence, chardonnay (404,610 tonnes) shoved shiraz (322,676) aside as our number one variety. Chardonnay intake increased around 23 per cent from 329,441 tonnes. Shiraz intake plummeted 84 thousand tonnes, or 21 per cent, from 406,775 tonnes in 2010 – almost certainly a direct effect of disease.

Thick-skinned cabernet sauvignon, our second most popular red variety, proved more resilient than shiraz, its intake increasing from 227,197 tonnes in 2010 to 231,869 tonnes in 2011.

This comparative success supports anecdotal evidence of a strong cabernet vintage in, among other places, the Barossa, Canberra and the nearby Hilltops region.

Winery intake of merlot, our number three red variety, mainly a blender, increased marginally from 111,684 tonnes to 113,1190 tonnes.

Intake of pinot noir, used in production of both red table wine and clear sparkling wine, declined by eight per cent from 38,830 tonnes to 35,790 tonnes. But the preliminary estimates don’t indicate which style is likely to be most affected by the shortfall.

Volume of Australia’s surprise fifth ranking red, petit verdot, dropped from 19,789 tonnes to 17,359 tonnes. You’ll see this Bordeaux variety occasionally as a straight varietal. But it’s generally a blending component with the cabernet cousins – cabernets sauvignon and franc, merlot and malbec.

After petit verdot, a comparative newcomer to mainstream Australian winemaking, comes another of our great survivors, grenache. It succeeds in fortified and table wines. It’s part of the warm-climate grenache-shiraz-mourvedre trinity, and appears increasingly in its own right. Grenache intake rocketed 53 per cent from 10,497 in 2010 to 16,069 tonnes in 2011. Such a big leap suggests new plantings coming into production. But we don’t know the answer at this stage.

After grenache, production of other niche varieties falls away markedly. For example, winery intake of mourvedre, subject of three reviews today, totalled only 4,437 tonnes in 2010 and 5,296 tonnes in 2011. Like petit verdot, it’s mainly a blender – but we have some wonderful old vines in our warmer areas and it can make a marvellous wine in its own right.

And that much-talked-about “alternative” variety, tempranillo (two reviews today), seems just a blip on our vineyard radar at 2,422 tonnes intake in 2010 and 3,045 tonnes in 2011. I do, however, predict a much bigger future for this variety given the high quality, distinctiveness and easy-drinking appeal of the wines it makes.

Another niche red attracting attention, sangiovese, increased from 3,526 tonnes to 4,150 tonnes.

The white side of our ledger looks decidedly weaker than the red side – in that we have not a single big mover and shaker after chardonnay.

While intake of number two ranked sauvignon blanc grew nine per cent, from 79,053 in 2010 tonnes to 86,043 tonnes in 2011, the variety’s suited to only a small portion of Australia’s current, comparatively warm producing areas. We have neither a Marlborough nor close runner to chardonnay as cabernet is to shiraz.

Our old workhorse, semillon comes in a tad behind sauvignon blanc at 82,243 tonnes in 2011 – up on 2010’s 78,960 tonnes. Semillon’s a great partner to sauvignon blanc in blends but has only limited appeal in its own right. Despite all the talk, and unquestioned quality and uniqueness of Hunter semillon, it remains a niche regional specialty.

Perhaps the surprise among white varieties is pinot gris (or grigio) at a respectable 43,217 tonnes (down from 44,778 tonnes in 2010) – putting it ahead of pinot noir.

The great, noble riesling maintains its perennially niche position, popular taste blithely ignoring wave after wave of publicity for it. Volumes changed little, from 32,188 tonnes in 2010 to 32,720 this year. It remains Australia’s great wine bargain.

Another surprise, albeit on a small absolute scale, is the near doubling intake of muscat-a-petit-grains-blanc from 13,952 tonnes in 2011. The Winemakers Federation attributes this to growing popularity of moscato styles.

Two varieties widely used in cheaper popular blends made solid contributions to the national grape crush, even if their names seldom appear on labels. Muscat gordo blanco contributed 54,459 tonnes and colombard 58,694 tonnes this year.

Widely talked of savagnin (originally misidentified as albarino) fails to rate a mention in the federation’s estimates. But its aromatic sibling, gewürztraminer, contributed 12,116 tonnes.

That useful warm region white, verdelho, grew from 13,588 tonnes to 14,323 tonnes in 2011, while viognier (sometimes blended with shiraz) declined from 12,464 tonnes to 10,729 tonnes.

Sultana, once the sultan of our cask wine industry, continued its long-term decline, with winery intake falling from 2,575 tonnes in 2010 to 1,713 tonnes in 2011.

But chenin blanc hung in there, declining marginally year-to-year from 6,857 tonnes to 6,770 tonnes.

Anecdotally, the late, cool vintage seems to have produced some marvellous wines – intensely flavoured and high in natural acidity. This promises to be very good for regional specialties. On a large scale, though, writes WFA president Stephen Strachan, “the vintage is too big. It may seem harsh, but a harvest in excess of 1.6 million tonnes (despite the rejections) is out of step with the realities of sustainable production and the market opportunity for premium Australian wine”.

In other words, there was little rejoicing in many quarters at the bigger than expected crop. And for growers who lost everything to disease, the pain is severe.

James Squire gets a new suit

29 June 2011Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Oh dear, oh dear – Lion Nathan’s Malt Shovel Brewery recently revamped the labels on its popular James Squire range. Apparently the old labels looked too similar, confusing the brand’s poor, loyal drinkers. “They often weren’t sure which beer in the range they were drinking”, writes brand director, Ralph Simpson. Perhaps they conducted market research at 3 am.

Brand directors love leaving their mark. But as Australia’s wine industry learned to its detriment, radical label changes can undermine a brand – alienating existing followers and creating confusion about what it stands for.

Fortunately the six brews in the range haven’t changed – leaving the heart of James Squire brand intact. However, my first reaction to the new labels was that they’d introduced new beers – and then a doubt, “maybe they’ve dumbed them down?’ Labels should reassure us, not create doubts or suspicions.

James Squire Four Wives Pilsener 345ml 6-pack $18.99
This is made by Tony Jones at the Lion Nathan owned Malt Shovel brewery. It’s a world-class interpretation of the Bohemian model, delivering the tremendous malt richness of the style (pale and Munich malts) as well as the distinctive aromatics and intense, lingering bitterness of Saaz hops.

James Squire Nine Tales Amber Ale 345ml 6-pack $18.99
Original Amber Ale was the first off the James Squire production line under Chuck Hahn in 1998. Now renamed as Nine Tales, it retains the original style: a deep copper colour with slightly citrusy hops aromas hovering over the fruit and malt. The fruit, malt and hops continue on a warming, supple, gently appealing palate.

Wine review — Dog Trap Vineyard, Yangarra and Wynns

26 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Dog Trap Vineyard Canberra District Shiraz 2010 $12
Dr Dennis Hart bought the Dog Trap vineyard, then contracted to Hardys, on the outskirts of Yass in 2003. He makes a small quantity of cabernet sauvignon on site but sells much of the fruit to other makers and has part of his shiraz crop vinified at Brindabella Hills, Hall, by Brian Sinclair. Brian’s boss, Roger Harris, says the vineyard grows beautiful fruit. The quality shows in this vibrant, delicious, light-style shiraz with its lovely red berry flavours and brisk acidity. It surely rates as the district’s best-value red at $12. Available at www.dogtrapvineyard.com.au

Yangarra McLaren Vale Viognier 2010 $25
Down in McLaren Vale, Peter Fraser specialises in Rhone Valley varieties, grown on a cooler, elevated, east-facing ridge. The viognier is an outstanding example of the variety, with pure apricot-like aroma and flavour and a richly textured, slightly viscous palate – but not over the top and oily as the variety can be. Fraser removed all the non-perfect berries from the bunches before naturally fermenting the wine “in older French barriques [225-litre oak barrel]. They have been lees stirred and topped monthly, and aged in barrel for nine months”, he writes. This process added a pleasing texture without inserting oak flavours.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz 2009 $8.75–$20
Bargain alert! The big retailers periodically punish Wynns for making such good wine – by slashing the price to plain silly levels. Just a few weeks back Coles’ 1st Choice and Woolworths’ Dan Murphy outlets beat the price down to $8.75. Watch carefully as it could happen again. If it does, pile in. The 2009’s a beautifully aromatic, vibrant, cool climate shiraz featuring ripe but spicy and juicy fruit flavours and ever-so-fine, soft tannins. It’s sourced from central and northern Coonawarra and matured for just six months in older French and American oak barrels. A year after its release, it drinks beautifully, but there’s a decade or so left in it.

John Gladstones on wine, terroir and climate change

22 June 2011Book reviewChris Shanahan

Wine, Terroir and Climate Change
John Gladstones, Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2011
$59.95

John Gladstones wrote this mesmerising book for the world’s grape growers and winemakers. But it’ll appeal to a wider audience – including those interested in the concept of wine and “terroir”, or readers looking for a concise but painstaking discussion on natural and human-induced climate change.

Gladstones outlines the ambitious scope of the book at the outset. He writes, “This book tackles two contentious subjects that underlie the future of viticulture. Terroir is much spoken of, but nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has attempted a comprehensive definition and integration of its elements in the light of modern science. To do so is an ambitious task, given the many remaining gaps in knowledge. Some of my conclusions may prove to be wrong. But I trust at least that they will help lead to a fuller understanding.

“Climate change, which makes up much of the book’s latter half, must obviously influence all planning for future viticulture. But in approaching the subject it became evident that neither public understanding nor the ‘official’ position of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was necessarily accurate. Much in the argument for global warming by anthropogenic (man-caused) greenhouse gases appeared questionable. I therefore undertook as deep a study of the basic scientific evidence as I was able. The result was disturbing, though more as to the science underlying the global warming thesis than to the future of viticulture”.

The book, like Gladstones earlier Viticulture and Environment (1992), places temperature at the centre of grape growing. He sets out the reasons for this in chapter two of the new book, titled Temperature: The Driving Force. The theme weaves through the book and crystallises into practical advice for grape growers in maturity rankings of grape varieties, viticultural climate tables and reference climate tables.

For the general reader, as opposed to vignerons and grape growers, Gladstones’ methodical dissection of “terroir” is wonderfully enlightening.

The French word, for which there is no English equivalent, has become part of the mainstream wine vocabulary and stands for the environmental forces behind a wine’s individuality. The idea is central to France’s appellation system – based on distinctive regional wines, and drills down even to individual vineyard sites.

Gladstones defines “terroir” as “the vine’s whole natural environment, the combination of climate, topography, geology and soil that bears on its growth and the characteristics of its grapes and wines”. And he links these forces to the practicality of the market, writing, “The important thing is that a wine’s defined origin conveys a meaningful message to buyers and consumers, mostly as to its style though not necessarily as to its quality”.

We then read compellingly through the elements of terroir: temperature, broken into sections on vine phenology (physiological development), diurnal temperature range, day length, growing season temperature summations, individual sites, growth and fruiting, ripening temperatures, temperature variability and within-season variability.

A controversial conclusion from this section is that the best wines come from regions with the “lowest diurnal temperature range” – seemingly at odds with the notion of great wines coming from continental climates like Canberra’s. Clonakilla’s Tim Kirk quipped to me, “I haven’t forgiven him for what he said about Canberra [in his 1992 book]”.

Gladstones then discusses light intensity and exposure, rainfall, atmospheric humidity, wind and ripening period ideals for wine styles. Next under his gaze come geography, topography and soil, broken into several sections: latitude, altitude, topography, air drainage and frosts, aspect and slope, soil and above ground microclimate, proximity to water bodies – concluding with the common threads running through known best viticultural sites.

After this, Gladstones moves underground, examining soil water relations, soil and root temperatures, development of the vine root system, the root system and fruit ripening and an hypotheses (and objections to it) on hormone-driven root control of ripening.

The next two chapters study vine balances and management (soil-atmosphere water balance, vines and root maturity, vine size and crop load and irrigation strategies) and vine nutrition (nitrogen, potassium and other nutrient elements).

Finally, he arrives at geology and soil types, two of the most mentioned but perhaps most problematic aspects of “terroir”. He presents the challenge: “associations between wine characteristics and soil type alone, and likewise to some extent geology, have nevertheless proved elusive when studied objectively”.

After looking at soils and geology in literature, soil structure and drainage, soil thermal properties, soil types and vine nutrition and relationships to geology, Gladstones concludes that there probably is a geological flavour element to “terroir” – most plausibly from deep roots of mature vines tapping elements close to bedrock.

A chapter on organic and biodynamic viticulture charts the many advantages of organic management and concludes that it probably aids the expression of “terroir”. However, biodynamics appears to add no advantage and, writes Gladstones “at worst, they represent an unhealthy retreat into irrationality and mysticism… they have no place in an enlightened 21st century”.

Unquestionably Gladstones’ conclusions on climate change are the most controversial element of the book. The section, however, is a magnificent read for its broad sweep across a complex topic. It’s written concisely, logically and expansively and is accessible to non-scientists like me. It’s richly referenced for further exploration of the issues.

Gladstone discusses pre-industrial climates, the evidence of sea levels and early history, including viticultural records, natural causes of climate change, including earth-sun geometry, volcanic activity, solar irradiance and magnetic field, and modelling pre-industrial temperatures.

He then examines anthropogenic causes of climate change, including carbon dioxide and water vapour, aerosols and other pollutants, and land uses and effects. Next he examines modelled temperature feedbacks, principally ice and snow cover and clouds.

After a detailed study of the attribution of causes, including and examination of data sources, statistical methods and climate modelling, he concludes that “warming by anthropogenic greenhouse gases has been much over-estimated”, and “The 20th century’s true warming, as recorded in sea surface temperatures, is at least largely accounted for by natural climate fluctuations, for which the most credible cause on decadal to centennial timescales is fluctuation in solar output and magnetic field”.

He also concludes that we’re likely to be now dipping into a natural cooling period to about mid century. He anticipates this will likely offset admitted human-induced warming in that period.

Gladstones’ controversial conclusions underline the inherent uncertainty in predictions of any kind. His calculations put human-induced warming at much less alarming levels than those driving public policy. He could be right. But then, he could be wrong, too. Nobody knows with certainty.

Gladstones’ views on climate change lead to his conclusions that the world’s great wine “terroirs” will ride out any changes. He also concludes “rising atmospheric CO2 concentration will itself probably increase the optimum minimum and mean temperatures for vines”, and that “Sustainable production methods and improving quality and reliability across both market segments will help further establish wine as a world beverage of preference and moderation. The 21st century stands to become wine’s golden age”.

Wine review — Yangarra, Hewitson, Cullen and Shelmerdine

22 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Yangarra Estate Vineyard Roussanne 2010 $25
McLaren Vale, South Australia
Roussanne, a Rhone Valley white variety, occasionally appears on its own in Australia, but more often in tandem with viognier or marsanne. Jancis Robinson called it the “shy” member of the trio as it avoids the viscosity of viognier or tannins of marsanne. In this version, vigneron Peter Fraser subtly sets the comparatively delicate roussanne fruit flavour in a web of barrel-ferment characters that add more to texture than flavour. A soft but bright and savoury white with a difference, it keeps inviting another sip. Fraser says it’s estate grown and made, with quality selection drilling down to individual, healthy berries.

Hewitson Gun Metal Riesling 2011 $21.50–$26
Eden Valley, South Australia
Our first 2011 white review gives exciting hope for the vintage. In this cool season, Dean Hewitson’s austere, stony, elevated Eden Valley site, near Mengler’s Hill, delivered a highly aromatic white (lemony and floral) with high natural acidity and intense, lingering, citrus and apple-like varietal flavours. The delicate but austere acid intensifies the wine’s flavour, and adds to the clean, fresh, brisk, dust-dry finish. It’s a style to enjoy now in its lively, fresh youth – or, alternatively, during its evolution over the next decade.

Cullen Mangan Malbec Petit Verdot Merlot 2010 $39–$45
Margaret River, Western Australia
The deeper, fuller and more overtly fruity of today’s two Cullen wine draws its firing power from malbec and petit verdot. Together they make comprise 70 per cent of the blend. The two varieties “provide the middle palate with richness and depth, while the third [merlot] adds lovely aromatics and good acidity, which contribute to the excellent structure of this wine”, writes winemaker, Vanya Cullen. The excellent structure includes an assertive line of ripe tannins in harmony with the rich, lively black-cherry fruit flavours. Mangan is a strong but elegant red at a modest 13 per cent alcohol.

Cullen Diana Madeline 2009 $105
Margaret River, Western Australia
Vanya Cullen regularly achieves what so many Australian winemakers seek – fully ripe fruit flavours at comparatively low sugar levels. Low sugar levels, of course, mean less alcohol – in this beautiful red, just 12 per cent. It’s a blend of cabernet sauvignon (88 per cent) with six per cent cabernet franc and four per cent merlot – the cabernet sourced from vines planted by Vanya’s parents in 1971. Vanya writes, “the wine was naturally fermented and matured for 13 months in French oak, of which 55 per cent was new”. It’s an extraordinary, harmonious, elegant cabernet, easily among the best yet made in Australia.

Shelmerdine Shiraz 2008 $29–$32
Heathcote, Victoria
What are we to make of two wines from the same producer, same variety and same region, but one selling at $32, the other at $65? What we found on the tasting bench were significant style differences but a tough call on quality variance – the majority of tasters rating the cheaper wine ahead of its more expensive cellar mate from the Merindoc vineyard. The $32 wine rated highly for its bright fruit, exceptionally lively palate and fine, savoury tannins – a big but balanced shiraz, relying as much on acidity as tannin to give structure.

Shelmerdine Merindoc Shiraz 2008 $59–$65
Heathcote, Victoria
Winemaker Sergio Carlei made this from a four-tonne, hand selection of shiraz from the Merindoc vineyard – a three-hectare, amphitheatre block in the southern foothills of Victoria’s Heathcote region. It’s slightly deeper coloured than the cheaper Shelmerdine shiraz – and from the first sniff we’re enjoying gamey, earthy notes in with the underlying fruit. The fruit gives sweetness to the generous palate and the gamey, earthy, mushroom-like flavours add a distinctive savour to the richly textured palate. Both wines blossomed for five days after opening. In the end we rated Merindoc half a star ahead of its cellar mate.

Cascade’s nifty iPhone app

22 June 2011BeerChris Shanahan

Cascade Brewing, part of the Foster’s Group, recently released a nifty, free iPhone app, The Brewer’s Nose.

While the app helps users link with other beer lovers via a Facebook site, the real appeal is access to a database of 600 beers.

The database describes alcohol, bitterness, sweetness and fullness, provides a brief, reliable tasting note and offers food-matching suggestions.

You access the database by tapping in key words – or, far, far cooler, by touching the “scan” button and letting the iPhone read the barcode on the bottle or stubby in your hand.

It worked quickly and well in our tests, provided, of course, the beer was in the database.

The database isn’t nearly as Foster’s-biased as you might think. It features a good range of competitor and craft brews, but falls short on exotic imports. Presumably this will change over time.