Yearly Archives: 2011

Wine review — De Bortoli, Cullen and Penfolds

19 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

De Bortoli

Windy Peak Victoria Chardonnay 2010 $11.40–$16
Gulf Station Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2010 $13.20–$20

Our top chardonnay makers, including De Bortoli, long ago moved away from the fat and oaky old-fashioned styles. In this vibrant, delicious pair, from Leanne De Bortoli and Steve Webber, we taste chardonnay as good as it gets in the middle price bracket. Windy Peak – sourced from various Victorian regions, including the King and Yarra Valleys – is the softer of the two, in a subtle, taut but generous way. In Gulf Station, high acidity accentuates the lean, citrusy varietal flavour teasing its way through the richly textured, bone-dry palate. Both wines drink well now, but I expect the Gulf Station to gain complexity over the next 3–4 years.

Cullen Kevin John Margaret River Chardonnay 2009 $75–$105
Penfolds Yattarna Derwent Valley Chardonnay 2008 $72–$130
We move from two really nice chardonnays to a sublime pair – one from a tiny producer, the other from the massive Treasury Wine Estates. Yattarna, a blend of the best material available to Penfolds in any season, comes in warm 2008 mainly from the Derwent Valley. The cool origins show in the delicacy and intense grapefruit-like varietal flavour underpinning this superb white. Sipping away, the fine texture and subtle, barrel derived complexities gradually reveal their presence. Cullens, from three separate blocks on the family vineyard, presents melon and citrus varietal flavours on a wonderfully, bright, complex, deeply layered palate.

Cullen Margaret River Red 2009 $20
Vanya Cullen’s impressive $20 blend of merlot, malbec and petit verdot weighs in at just 12 per cent alcohol – yet tastes fully ripe. The healthy soils, and consequent healthy vines (probably a result of biodynamic management), have much to do with this ability to achieve ripe flavours at low sugar levels. The medium-bodied wine features high-toned red-berry aromas and a lively palate reflecting these same berry flavours. Vanya says merlot and malbec comprise the majority of the blend, making it fleshy and supple. It must be the petit verdot, then, providing the farewell tweak of austere, savoury tannin.

Chilly climate at ANU wine symposium

15 June 2011UncategorizedChris Shanahan

Chateau Shanahan holds in trust eight crystal wine decanters for the son of the late Professor Tony Barnett, Chair of Zoology at the Australian National University from 1971 to 2003. Barnett and his wife Kate collected the decanters over many years.

Barnett developed an appreciation of wine as a student at Oxford University in the 1930s. He often spoke of a friendship with distinguished British wine writer, Edmund Penning-Rowsell, author of the magnificent “The Wines of Bordeaux”.

Each decanter surely represents a chapter in Barnett’s long life. We even have a hunch about which one hosted his much-talked-about, last bottle of Chateau Cheval Blanc 1947, one of the great Bordeaux’s of the 20th century.

This fragile old link to Barnett’s university life in the UK provides a symbolic connection with University House’s seventh wine symposium held on 20 and 21 May.

Just as Oxford sparked Barnett’s interest in wine, the House’s first symposium, in the 1950s, owed much to the long, traditional link between English universities and fine wine. But the interest now has a global focus and a strong Australian accent – as I witnessed at the memorable 1979 symposium and at last month’s event.

The 1979 event featured luminaries and winemaking stars of the day, including Professor Helmut Becker of Geisenheim, Germany, and Max Schubert, Wolf Blass and Cyril Henschke from Australia.

Just three years in the industry, I recall meeting for the first time many leading industry figures, including James Halliday. A lawyer, vigneron, author and columnist, Halliday had already become an influential opinion maker. He returned this year as the symposium’s after dinner speaker. We’ll return to his topic later.

A generation later, University House’s 2011 symposium recognised the Canberra district’s 40th anniversary. Brian and Janet Johnston launched the second edition of “Wines of the Canberra District: Coming of Age”, delegates tasted Canberra wines at the end of day one, toured our vineyards on day two, the dinner featured local wines, selected by Nick Bulleid and Nick Stock, and speakers wove Canberra into their presentations.

Brian Croser (Tapanappa Wines) and Dan Buckle (Mount Langi Ghiran) talked, respectively, on Canberra’s two proven specialties, riesling (“the noblest white”) and shiraz (“past present and future”).

Writer Nick Stock put alternative varieties in perspective. And Libby Tassie followed up with more technical aspects of growing these varieties.

However, climate change will be long remembered as the first, last and lingering topic of the symposium – as much for the topic as for debate about the debate.

Professor Andrew Pitman, head of climate science at the University of New South Wales, presented the first paper “Climate change and its local effects in Australia”. And to the surprise of those expecting a tame after dinner talk on Canberra district wines, James Halliday concluded the symposium by questioning the extent of human-induced climate change.

Halliday declared that he was making a sales pitch for a new book, “Wine, Terroir and Climate Change”, by Dr John Gladstones. He quoted his own words from the book’s cover, “For anyone interested in the future interaction between climate, climate change and viticulture, this book simply has to be read. Dr John Gladstones’s painstaking research is the foundation for his equally carefully constructed conclusions that robustly challenge mainstream opinions”.

The packed hall fell silent. After charting his own scepticism about climate change, Halliday said he’d been mesmerised by Andrew Pitman’s view the day before that sceptics had no place on the face of the earth. Halliday then summarised Gladstones’ conclusions and said, “His views of climate change will be vigorously debated, but not by me”.

I listened in fascination as I’d begun reading Gladstones’ book the day before the symposium – turning direct to the climate change chapters towards the end.

The day before, like Halliday and probably others, I’d been irritated by Andrew Pitman’s brook-no-dissent invective. Before presenting the science, Pitman told us, repeatedly, that we simply had to believe the experts. I’m not a scientist, so I expect scientists to guide me through the complexity of climate change — especially the enormous areas of uncertainty. Instead, Pitman muddied his science by insisting on us having faith in the experts.

Much of the uncertainty relates to calculating the extent and timing of temperature rises and separating anthropogenic from natural changes.

In a Canberra Times article prompted by Halliday’s talk, astronomer Brian Schmidt wrote, “I believe that science makes progress by continually challenging itself, looking for failed predictions, inconsistencies, or alternative ways of approach a problem. Few scientists become famous by towing the party line, it is by finding fault with the status quo, and improving it that scientists make their mark. So it is no wonder that there is not unanimity in any area of science – climate change is no different. The vast majority of scientists who study climate change believe anthropogenic CO2 is leading to a warming of the Earth, but there are still some who challenge this assertion. Long may this continue – but only if these challenges are based on a fundamental understanding of the science at hand, and not some anecdotal or highly limited form of phenomenological evidence”.

Now, Halliday based much of his symposium speech on Gladstones’ book – not on anecdotal or phenomenological evidence.

After a detailed discussion of the natural and anthropogenic influences on climate change, Dr Gladstone concludes, “that warming by anthropogenic greenhouse gases has been much over-estimated. The widely publicised claims of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other greenhouse proponents have depended too much on computer models unable to encompass the complexity of real climates; on uncertain data, dubious assumptions and in some key cases biased statistical procedures; and particularly in ignoring the historical record of past climate warmth. Much of the thermometer record of warming over the last 100–150 years, which the IPCC ascribes more or less exclusively to greenhouse gases, has more likely other causes”.

He further concludes that “greenhouse gases can have caused no more than 0.2ºC of warming [over the twentieth century], which equates to only 0.4–0.5ºC temperature rise for each successive doubling of atmospheric CO2 or its combined greenhouse equivalent”.

As a somewhat confused non-scientist seeking guidance on climate change, I hope that scientists might therefore review and comment on Dr Gladstone’s research and conclusions. He might be right. But he could be wrong, too. I simply don’t know.

Wine review — Shelmerdine, Yealands Estate, Running with Bulls, Dandelion and Penfolds

15 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Shelmerdine Pinot Noir 2010 $26–$36
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Stephen Shelmerdine writes, “Between the drought-affected vintage 2009 and rain-influenced vintage 2011, vintage 2010 is now shaping up as an absolutely classic year”. I’m not sure what “classic” means, but Shelmerdine delivers the goods in this lovely pinot from his family’s Lusatia Park Vineyard, high in the Yarra Valley. The buoyant, red-fruit perfume of pinot leads to a medium bodied palate, featuring vibrant fruit, spice and savouriness, cut by quite firm but fine-boned tannins. The wine grew in interest over several days on the tasting bench, eventually joining us for dinner on day four.

Yealands Estate Pinot Noir 2009 $17–$22
Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand
In Australia we can make pretty good regional shiraz and cabernet for around $10. But the starting price for half decent pinot seems to be around $20, and exclusively the domain of cool growing regions. This puts Marlborough, New Zealand, in a dominant position to capture the emerging pinot noir market. Yealands is one of a growing number of producers there putting out the genuine article at a fair price. From Marlborough’s Awatere Valley, it captures much of pinot’s unique perfume and flavour. It’s medium bodied and savoury with a structure as much dependent on high acid as it is on tannin.

Running with Bulls Vermentino 2010 $17–$19
Barmera, Murray River, South Australia
This Italian white variety from the coasts of Liguria, Sardinia, Tuscany and Corsica is attracting some attention in our hot inland regions, like Barmera. “The conditions are perfect for a variety like vermentino, which thrives in the heat”, writes Yalumba, owner of Running with Bulls. Yalumba’s version preserves the freshness of the grape and adds a little texture through skin and yeast-lees contact. It’s a simple, savoury and appealing wine to quaff with basic food – to me a more sympathetic approach than the Chalmers’ more highly worked version.

Running with Bulls Tempranillo 2010 $14–$19
Barossa and Wrattonbully, South Australia
Shhhhh! Don’t tell the editor but this is actually a review of two equally good but different tempranillos under Yalumba’s Running with Bulls label – one from the warm Barossa, the other from somewhat cooler Wrattonbully. The Barossa version presents heaps of blueberry and plum-like varietal fruit flavour in the aroma and flavour. But firm, savoury tannins move in very quickly, giving an authoritative red-wine grip and finish. The Wrattonbully wine seems more savoury and earthy from start to finish, without fruity high notes – a tight and grippy red to enjoy with roasted red meat.

Dandelion Vineyards Lion’s Tooth Shiraz Riesling 2008 $27–$30
McMurtrie’s Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia
The Dandelion label presents wines from mature single vineyards in the Barossa, Eden Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale. Lion’s Tooth, from the very hot 2008 vintage, comes from Nat McMurtrie’s McLaren Vale vineyard. Dandelion Partner, Zar Brooks, says hand picked shiraz was “naturally fermented in open fermenters on top of some riesling skins for seven days”. After a good aeration, this deep and brooding red began releasing its sweet, ripe-dark-cherry aromas. The ripe black-cherry flavours carried through to a deep, layered savoury and fruity palate – a rich and sturdy but not plump style.

Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Chardonnay $71.25–$90
Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Penfolds “white Grange” project of the early nineties produced the company’s flagship white, the multi-region Yattarna Chardonnay, and this superb sidekick from the Adelaide Hills. Putting the two in a Burgundy context, we might compare the oh-so-refined Yattarna with Montrachet and the more robust Reserve Bin A with Meursault. In 2009 the style seems a little less powerful than the 2008 – the aroma combining “struck match” character with intense grapefruit and nectarine-like varietal notes. The intense palate presents the same flavour characters, all tied together by lean, taut, brisk acidity. It’s a complex, distinctive wine to enjoy for many years.

Declining beer consumption hides shift to quality

15 June 2011BeerChris Shanahan

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on 3 June suggest little change in Australia’s per capita consumption of alcohol between 2005 (10.31 litres) and 2010 (10.37 litres).

But the figures, expressed in litres of pure alcohol available for consumption per person over 15 years, indicate a slight decline in beer from 4.62 litres to 4.56 litres, an increase in wine from 3.53 litres to 3.81 litres, an increase in spirits from 1.21 litres to 1.30 litres and a decrease in ready-to-drinks from 0.94 litres to 0.70 litres.

The slight decline in volume of beer consumed, however, reveals nothing of the dramatic qualitative change over the last decade or so.

We get a glimpse of this in the ‘The Local Taphouse’s Hottest 100 Craft Beers of 2010″, published on Australia Day, 2011. Voters nominated nearly 500 different Australian craft beers – a figure that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

Beer review — North Coast Brewing and Atlas Brewery

15 June 2011Beer reviewChris Shanahan

North Coast Brewing Company Red Seal Ale 355ml $5.50
This brilliant, golden-amber ale, from Mendocino County, California, really pushes the excitement buttons, as it’s seductively delicious to drink but also very complex. It combines generous, gentle, supple malt with a delightful hops flavour and a lingering, teasing hops bitterness, deeply integrated with the malt flavour.

Atlas Brewery Latitude Highland Pilsner 500ml $8.80
Brewer Norman Sinclair’s exceptionally fine, delicate pilsner style comes from Kinlochleven, Scotland. Sinclair uses highland water, British ale malt, continental lager malt and German and Slovenian hops to produce a pale, dry, beautifully balanced lager with a delicate lemony/hoppy tang – sufficiently subtle and delicate to enjoy with sashimi.

Wine review — Shelmerdine, Campbells and Houghton

12 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Shelmerdine Heathcote Viognier 2010 $23–$26
Viognier, a white variety noted for its cameo role in some northern Rhone Valley reds, and the sometimes glorious whites of Condrieu, enjoys several identities in Australia, too. As a straight white wine it ranges from big, fat and alcoholic with a distinctive apricot-like flavour, to more restrained, slow-evolving versions like those Nick Spencer makes at Eden Road Winery. Shelmerdine’s sits in between these styles. It’s big and alcoholic, but exuberant, juicy and vibrant rather than fat. It’s intensely aromatic with zesty apricot and nectarine-like flavours and a sweetish, vibrant, slightly grippy finish.

Campbells Bobbie Burns Rutherglen Shiraz 2009 $19.95–$23.40
I missed Campbell’s recent retrospective 40-vintage Bobbie Burns tasting, but Colin and Malcolm Campbell say the wines held up well and “the vintages from 2004 onwards shone with notable consistency and quality”. Certainly the 2009 scrubs up – starting with the lovely fruit perfume evident in so many 2009 reds from across eastern Australia. The palate’s vibrantly fruity and ripe without pushing into “porty” territory. Although it’s soft and easy to drink, there’s ample tannin providing structure, with oak subtly in the background. This is a long way removed from the old-time, ballsy, gum-crunching Rutherglen shiraz styles.

Houghton Wisdom Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 and Frankland River Shiraz 2009 $30–$35
Thomas Hardy and Sons (Houghton’s owner) became BRL Hardy, then The Hardy Wine Company, then Constellation Wines Australia – now owned (after a mass sell off of vineyards and wineries by its American parent company) by CHAMP Private Equity. This was all very unsettling because some brands lost the vineyards and wineries they were based on. Fortunately, the two new-release Houghton reds remain superb regional specialties. The medium-bodied shiraz has a core of ripe fruit, overlaid with Frankland River’s spicy, savoury notes and fine tannins. The Margaret River wine delivers cabernet’s classic cedar, black-olive and herbal aromas on a generous, elegantly structured palate.

Stout and porter time – Red Duck and Malt Shovel

8 June 2011Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

At Schloss Shanahan we up our stout and porter buying in winter, leaning towards slightly higher-than-normal alcohol content. That little extra seems to boost the aroma and warm generosity of these generous, warming beer styles.

We’ve tried a few lately and particularly like Malt Shovel’s one-off seasonal brew – Mad Brewers Stout Noir, made at the Malt Shovel Brewery, Camperdown, Sydney, by Chuck Hahn and Tony Jones.

It’s a big, complex ale of many parts: three different malts (pale chocolate, dark crystal and wheat), two hop varieties (Australian Super Pride and New Zealand Alpha) and a dash of liquorice root (gycyrrhiza glabra).

The liquorice root, says Hahn and Jones, “adds a rich complexity to the satisfying hoppy finish”. We love it because the diverse flavour elements work together, delivering a smokey, rich, brisk, complex and very drinkable stout.

Red Duck Unfiltered Porter 330ml $4.75
Red Duck, a strong dark ale from Camperdown, Victoria, presents the gentle side of porter – though at 6.4 per cent alcohol it packs a kick. It’s dark but not opaque, deep brown rather than black, and fruity and opulent, but soft, with lingering malty rather than hops aftertaste.

Malt Shovel Mad Brewers Stout Noir 640ml $9.99
The ebullient, persistent foam sets the tone for stout noir. A slightly smokey, roasted coffee bean aroma leads to a luxuriously malty, seven-per-cent alcohol palate. Zesty acidity cuts the very complex, chocolaty, roasted malt flavours. And hops bitterness subtly, and barely, counters the smooth, sweetening influence of liquorice root.

Wine review — Curly Flat, Williams Crossing, Grant Burge, Heartland Wines and Angoves

8 June 2011People, VineyardChris Shanahan

Curly Flat Williams Crossing Pinot Noir 2008 $24–$27
Curly Flat vineyard, Macedon Ranges, Victoria
Williams Crossing sometimes outscores its more expensive cellar mate at the annual Macedon wine show. As a judge there on several occasions I’ve consistently marked both at the top of the pack, for the simple reason that they deliver the magic of this beautiful variety. Owners Phillip and Jeni Moraghan make every batch of pinot as a candidate for the flagship blend. And the Williams Crossing components fall out only “as a result of a structured barrel classification tasting – 27 per cent of 2008 pinot noir were declassified”, writes Phillip. The declassified barrels comprise this medium bodied pinot of modest alcohol and what can best be described as true “pinosity”.

Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2008 $48–$54
Curly Flat Vineyard, Macedon Ranges, Victoria
This is a great success in a hot, dry vintage. Phillip Moraghan says the mean January temperature, at 22 degrees, exceeded the long-term average by five degrees. The heat continued in February and March, when the temperature exceeded 35 degrees for eight days. The wine bears the vintage thumbprint but not in the most obvious way – as the alcohol’s just 12.6 per cent. The fruit flavour, however, sits more in the dark-berry and than red-berry spectrum. And the firm tannins holding the fruit in check also reflect the warm growing conditions. So, rather than a big, hot wine, we have a fragrant, complex, savoury, elegant pinot with delicious fruit under the taut structure.

Grant Burge The Holy Trinity
Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2008 $28.49–$36
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Grant Burge’s original Holy Trinity, from the 1995 vintage, good as it was, wouldn’t bear comparison to the 2008, despite similar fruit sourcing. It’s a classic Barossa blend, brought to life by the so-called “Rhone rangers” in the 1980s. Restless to improve his, Burge and winemaker Craig Stansborough visited France’s Rhone Valley in 1996. Upon return, they introduced longer maceration on skins, altering the flavour and softening the tannins, and wound back the oak influence – opting for maturation, rather than oak flavour, in older 2,200 litre vessels. In the hot 2008 this means a robust, deeply fruity, supple red with aromatic grenache high notes, shiraz plumpness and savoury, firm mourvedre tannins.

Heartland Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $17–$20
Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast, South Australia
Heartland Wines, owned by a consortium of long-term wine industry people, has been a major exporter, with access to the partners’ 210-hectare Langhorne Creek vineyard and 160-hectare Limestone Coast vineyard. Winemaker Ben Glaetzer has wine in his blood, too, with his father, Colin, and father’s twin brother, John (former Wolf Blass maker), both winemakers. Heartland 2009 shows the fruity aromatics of the vintage – quite pure and mulberry-like, in an unmistakably cabernet way, with a sweet kiss of oak. The bright fruit carries to the generous, lively palate, cut by fine tannins. It’s mainly about juicy, drink-now appeal, but has the depth to hold for four or five years.

Heartland Wines Dolcetto Lagrein 2009 $18.95–$22
Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast, South Australia
Good fruit and very clever winemaking here from Ben Glaetzer, produces unique flavours and enjoyable drinking. It’s a 50:50 blend of the northern Italian varieties dolcetto and lagrein – the former noted for its aromatics and brilliant colour, the latter for its sometimes-intimidating tannins. Glaetzer tames the lagrein tannins, to some degree, by ageing the wine in oak barrels. The dolcetto he keeps in stainless steel to retain its wonderful perfume. The blend is highly perfumed and fruity on the nose; spritely, tart and fresh on the jube-like fruity palate; and finishes with a farewell bite of tannin.

Angoves Vineyard Select Chardonnay 2009 $15–$20
Limestone Coast, South Australia
The older vintage suggests lagging sales, attributable, perhaps, to the sauvignon blanc phenomenon. The press release says (hopefully) “it’s a great example of modern Australian chardonnay from the best region for this variety in South Australia”. In truth, however, it’s in older style that many people love, from a decent, but not cutting edge, chardonnay region. Sourced from vineyards at Padthaway and Cape Jaffa, it offers rich-to-fat melon and peach flavours with an obvious layer of oak. It’s not in the bright, fine and lively modern style at all, but will appeal to the many people who enjoy full-on, plump chardonnays.

Farewell Jim Murphy — Canberra’s tenacious retailer

8 June 2011People, WineChris Shanahan

How did Jim Murphy thrive in Canberra’s competitive liquor retail environment over all those decades? He set up shop in the late seventies, just as the Trade Practices Act (aided in Canberra by liberalised licensing laws) precipitated a complete restructuring of wine production, distribution and retailing Australia wide.

Yet Jim successfully stepped from the genteel world of wine selling at the Australian National University into the then brutal world of Canberra liquor retailing. Retail competitors at the time gave him little hope of survival.

I met Jim just before the transition. I was already a retail competitor and remained one for the next 28 years. Today’s article therefore presents the subjective view of a former commercial adversary.

Towards the end of 1976 Jim agreed to cater for my wedding at the ANU staff centre early the next year. A poor student, taking a vacation job at Farmer Bros Wine and Spirit Merchants, I suggested bringing my own wine. The brothers were cheaper than him, I explained.

After that diplomatic start, we haggled, and Jim agreed (very generously, in retrospect) on BYO bubbly, provided the staff centre supplied the rest. The wedding proceeded smoothly, the vacation job became a career and our paths crossed every now and then until Jim’s death on 26 May.

Richard and David Farmer had opened Farmer Bros at Manuka in June 1975. The store became a sensation, offering discounted wine of all types, from casks to Grange.

David Farmer recalls how the new store attracted Jim’s clients from the university, eventually prompting Jim to check out the usurper. Farmer recalls, “Jim was Canberra’s wine authority then and I don’t think Manuka went down too well”.

In the ensuing years Canberra drinkers raked in the wine bargains as the competition heated up. Farmer Bros led the charge, quickly developing a national following through a press-ad-driven mail order business. Liquor licences spread into grocery stores, putting wine in every suburban shopping centre. And two vigorous independents – Peter and Mary Tyson’s The Grog Shop and John and Roby Brown’s Candamber – took on Farmer Bros in the discount wine stakes.

But Jim Murphy avoided the discount scrum, quietly opening at what we competitors regarded as a second-tier, weekend-only site opposite, Fyshwick fruit and vegetable markets. How wrong we were.

Throughout the eighties and until 1994 Farmer Bros retained its dominance in the Canberra wine market – and became a major force nationally, with an Australia-wide mail order business and stores in Sydney and Melbourne. The Grog Shop survived only a few years but Candamber and Jim Murphy prospered.

Like Farmer Bros, Candamber relied heavily on a mailing list to drive traffic to its stores. But Jim Murphy stuck to one outlet at this time, steadily building a personal following – never letting competitors set his agenda.

Long-time customer Jac Cousin runs off a list of attributes behind Murphy’s success and customer loyalty: being at the shop front to meet and greet, his knowledge, carrying a good selection, having stuff (especially old wines) others didn’t have, giving reasonable advice on buying for particular situations, making sure things ran as he wanted and “being a great bloke to deal with”.

Cousin particularly liked Jim’s lunches where “people could relax and get in a mood to buy more than they should” – and learn about wine from guest winemakers.

By the late eighties the independent trade controlled the bottled wine market across Australia. The major retail chains had moved into liquor, but their move into fine was half a decade off.

During this time Canberra experienced a particularly sharp burst of competition after the brothers Farmer split up. After a short, sharp bidding war, David and Josephine Farmer – with the support of partners including Shane and Nada Sinclair, myself, Jill Shanahan and David Harding – took complete control of Farmer Bros. Richard Farmer promptly set up his own liquor retailing business in competition and all hell broke loose – to the great joy (and confusion) of Canberra wine drinkers.

I was there in the thick of it, watching Farmer Bros sales grow, even as Richard Farmer’s sales took off. This had to be at the expense of competitors, including Murphy. But Murphy quietly sidestepped hostilities and ultimately outlasted both brothers.

Farmer Bros survived Richard Farmer by several years. But the collapse of Farmer Bros, towards the end of 1994, probably benefited Murphy and Canberra’s other independent retailers. The collapse also coincided with a decision by Coles’ liquor head office in Sydney to move into the fine wine market.

Canberra and Murphy didn’t feel any impact at first. But the scene was now set for a massive liquor market grab by Coles and, later, Woolworths. The competition Murphy faced between the late seventies and mid nineties would turn out to be nothing compared to what followed.

It started slowly, then built. As independents filled the gap left by Farmer Bros’ demise, Liquorland Australia Pty Ltd (the liquor arm of Coles) acquired Farmer Bros’ stores – only to find that only one of the five in Canberra, Manuka, worked without the mailing list and wine club newsletters. Cellarmaster Wines, one of the world’s great direct marketers, had already acquired these.

The Liquorland acquisition of Farmer Bros, then, didn’t initially put any pressure on Canberra’s independents. But in October 1994 Liquorland opened its first Vintage Cellars outlet at Mosman Junction, Sydney. “That’s when we got serious about wine”, recalls former Managing Director, Craig Watkins.

A national rollout of the Vintage Cellars brand proceeded rapidly, and included re-badging the original Farmer Bros store at Manuka and opening a second outlet at Woden Plaza. Shane Sinclair and I had joined Coles liquor following the demise of Farmer Bros and played key roles in the Vintage Cellars roll out. By the end of the nineties, Coles, through these outlets, had taken a significant slice of the Canberra fine wine market – giving Jim Murphy and other retailers a dose of competition – and glimpse of where the supermarkets were headed.

By the turn of the century Coles dominated the liquor and fine wine market in Australia. But in the opening years of the new century Coles liquor lost the plot, allowing Woolworths to gain the upper hand. A liquor juggernaut called Dan Murphy was about to sweep the country, Canberra included.

Belatedly, Coles launched its own “big box” brand, First Choice, to counter Dan Murphy’s growing might. Today, tiny Canberra has three Dan Murphy and three First Choice outlets – a massive presence for such a small population. Yet Jim Murphy not only survived their rollout, but opened a second store, at the airport, run by his son Adrien (AJ).

Tony Leon, former partner of the late Dan Murphy, managed the brand’s Australia wide rollout for Woolworths. He later left Woolworths and now drives the expansion of Coles-owned First Choice.

Leon says, “I’ve always believed a successful independent can survive against the likes of First Choice and Dan Murphy”. He says he never met Jim Murphy, but knew his business and regarded him as very good retailer.

Leon adds, “I’ve tried to buy him from both sides – but he said no. He must’ve been confident about his business to do that”.

Former Coles Liquor boss, Craig Watkins, knew Jim and often visited Market Cellars, impressed by Murphy’s success at an out of the way site. “He was always successful – a fantastic negotiator, a great relationship builder, respected by suppliers and a street fighter. He was always going to succeed, even when Dan Murphy and First Choice came to town. He saw very early not to put too much emphasis on beer and spirits and that wine is sexy. The politically powerful and big business were Jim’s customers”.

Long-term friend, winemaker and supplier, David O’Leary, says, “Jim knew a hell of a lot about the consumer and what the consumer wanted”. He recalls weekend visits to Market Cellars every year since the mid eighties, working the floor, talking to tasters, talking at the Sunday lunch – “and going home Monday totally shagged”.

O’Leary’s friendship with Murphy began around 1985 or 1986. As a 25 year old O’Leary been sent to Hardy’s Tintara Winery, to sort out the red wines – bringing fruit and body back to wines that’d gone off track in recent years.

He says, “Jim was a great friend of the Hardy family, especially Bill and Tom and often came across to Hardys”. O’Leary promoted Hardy’s wines during his first trips to Market Cellars. But when O’Leary moved to Annie’s Lane and later set up O’Leary Walker with Nick Walker, Jim offered support. “Jim became a terrific sling shot for us”, says O’Leary.

Former competitor David Farmer believes Jim Murphy was probably one of the last of the old-time wine merchants, in the traditional English sense – the sort that “you need one in your life to guide and teach, and it has to be about good times and friends”, says Farmer.

With Coles and Woolworths now holding around 79 per cent of the bottled wine market, winemakers and consumers alike need strong independents like Jim Murphy. Fortunately for Canberra, the Murphy family remains committed to the business. Family spokesman, Michael says Jim’s younger son, AJ, will oversee both stores. “He’s a chip off the old block”, says Phelps.

Wine review — Curly Flat, Heartland and Leconfield

5 June 2011Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Curly Flat Macedon Ranges Pinot Gris 2010 $26–$29
Phillip and Jeni Moraghan’s pinot gris sits right at the top of the pile in Australia – a pile comprising largely insipid wines, labelled as either “pinot gris” or “pinot grigio”. But grown in a cool region, like Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, and handled properly, the variety can make delicious, richly textured wines, sometimes with a grey or pink tint. Curly Flat, though, is a pale, bright lemon-gold colour with seductive pear, spice and musk aroma. The pear and spice follow through on a savoury, richly textured palate with its satisfying little tannin bite as it slips down.

Heartland Langhorne Creek-Limestone Coast Shiraz 2009 $18–$20, Director’s Cut Shiraz 2009 $28–$33
Heartland, a joint venture by several long-term wine industry people, including winemaker Ben Glaetzer, focused originally on the export market. But economic turbulence, and no doubt the strong dollar, means we’re seeing more Heartland wines at home. They offer terrific value. Both shirazes come from Langhorne Creek (near Lake Alexandrina) and the Limestone Coast, a little further south. The medium bodied shiraz packs in oodles of bright, ripe, varietal fruit flavours with a layer of oak and quite firm tannins. Director’s Cut moves up a notch with deeper, more savoury, fruit flavours and greater flavour length – a good cellaring wine.

Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $25–$33.50
Septuagenarian Syd Hamilton came out of retirement in the mid 1970s, bought land in Coonawarra, established a vineyard and built the elegant Leconfield Winery from Mount Gambier limestone. Hamilton, a 1930’s pioneer of refrigerated fermentation for white wines, proved a adept at red winemaking, too, making classics like the long-lived Leconfield Cabernet 1980 (“hand picked by experienced girls”, read the label). He eventually sold to his nephew Richard Hamilton and today the wines are made by Paul Gordon. Under Gordon the wines seem to have become riper and fuller, like this generous but still elegant and clearly varietal 2009.