Tim Knappstein Riposte The Stiletto Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2012 $20 Tim Knappstein’s pinot gris sits subtly on the pinot gris side of the pinot gris-pinot grigio divide. The Italian “grigio” generally indicates a leaner, tighter style; and the French “gris” something more richly textured. Both words mean grey, referring to the pink-grey grape colour of this pinot noir mutant – though grey could easily describe the often non-descript wine it makes. In this instance vineyards at Lenswood and Charleston in the Adelaide Hills contribute vivid pear-like varietal flavour. And partial barrel fermentation and malolactic fermentation add smooth, slippery texture to a very good pinot gris.
Mr Mick Clare Valley Tempranillo 2009 $15 Clare Valley winemaker Tim Adams served his winemaking apprenticeship, from 1975, under Mick Knappstein in Clare’s landmark Leasingham Winery. Adams later established his own brand. Then in 2011 as Constellation Wines Australia imploded, Adams, with partner Pam Goldsack, purchased the Leasingham winery, but not the brand. The inexpensive Mr Mick range, dedicated to his old master, are the first wines released from the new venture. It’s a satisfying, medium bodied, savoury style, sourced from Adams’ and Goldsack’s Ladera vineyard, in the Clare Valley, and made a couple of years before the Leasingham acquisition (presumably for the Tim Adams label).
Mr Mick Clare Valley Shiraz 2010 $15 When Tim Adams made this wine in 2010 he would never have imagined a year down the track owning the historic Leasingham Winery. He sourced shiraz from the Rogers, Sheeoak and Vine vineyards, made the wine and moved it to oak barrels for maturation. The wine emerged from barrel 18 months later and Adams allocated it to the brand new Mr Mick label – a budget brand created for the old Leasingham operation. It’s a lovely wine at this price, showing attractive cherry-like and spicy shiraz varietal aroma and flavours. The palate’s rich but not heavy, and the tannins soft and easy.
Wine regions build reputations by making outstanding wine. Mediocre wines don’t cut through in a crowded market; and poor wines kill reputations. The Southern Highlands region (around Mittagong, Bowral and Berrima) struggled with its reputation for many years, largely because so many of its early wines showed green, unripe flavours.
Indeed, wine quality in the region varied so much a decade ago, newcomer Julian Tertini, founder of Freedom Furniture and Fantastic Holdings, used “Berrima Valley” on some labels – to protect his own name should the region as a whole fail.
But just 11 years after establishing Tertini, Southern Highlands remains on the labels. And, extraordinarily for a small operation that made its first wine in 2005, Tertini claims 285 trophies and medals so far. The honours include a gold medal for the 2009 pinot noir in the National Wine Show 2011, gold medals for the Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 in the 2012 Boutique Wine Awards (open to Australian and New Zealand wines) and the NSW Wine Awards 2012.
In the latter event, the 2009 Reserve won the best pinot trophy in a taste-off against Tertini 2010 pinot noir.
Like other vignerons in the area, Tertini included cabernet sauvignon and merlot among his first plantings. Thankfully, he also planted pinot noir, riesling, chardonnay and arneis in the Yarraandoo vineyard – on the western side of the old Hume Highway, near the Wombeyan Caves road.
Others had included shiraz in the mix, all on expert viticultural advice that proved to be spectacularly off the mark. “It was a stupid mistake”, says Tertini’s Robert Kay. He says cabernet, shiraz and merlot don’t ripen, leaving pinot noir to date as the sole red variety ripening reliably across the district.
The failure of cabernet, merlot and shiraz, in particular, highlights the massive difference between growing conditions in the Southern Highlands and Canberra.
Despite being further north than Canberra (and potentially warmer), with vineyards at comparable altitudes, a strong maritime influence counters the effect of latitude. More cloud, more rain and more humidity mean a cooler and less hospitable environment for grapes.
Robert Kay says the area can be overcast for weeks, “and the cloud cuts down the heat”. He attributes the region’s growing strength to improved vineyard management – particularly an ability to counter moisture-related vine diseases – and a shift to suitable cool-climate varieties.
But even with the right varieties, vigilant spraying and non-stop vineyard work vineyard, nature takes a toll on local crops. Every year Southern Highlands vignerons face conditions comparable to those faced by Canberra’s in 2011 and 2012. And in those two difficult seasons, the highlands suffered even bigger crop losses than normal.
The financial losses to producers can be huge. They face increased vineyard management costs, but lower crops mean less wine and ultimately reduced sales in the years ahead. Every tonne not harvested equates to around 70 dozen bottles of wine not produced or sold.
Because of severe crop losses in the last three vintages, says Robert Kay, Tertini intends in future to make wine from the Hilltops region as well as the Southern Highlands.
In Tertini’s vineyard pinot noir and riesling perform best, and now comprise a majority of plantings. Smaller areas of chardonnay and arneis (a northern Italian white variety) also look good and there’s hope for experimental plantings of lagrein, a northern Italian red variety. And across the district, says Kay, sauvignon blanc and pinot gris generally work well.
Riesling showed great promise from the first (and gold medal winning) vintage in 2005. The wines begin life austere and acidic, though very delicate, and with bottle age develop a delicious lime-like varietal flavour. Tertini therefore release their rieslings several years after vintage.
On a recent tasting at the winery, a museum release, Tertini Cross Roads Berrima Valley Riesling ($33 – a trophy and two gold medals), looked sensational. At six and a half years, it’s youthful and fresh but with a seductive honeyed note of bottle age boosting the succulent, pure, bracingly dry limey flavour.
The cellar door also offers the 2008 vintage ($38 – almost sold and out and not available for tasting), winner of five trophies and 10 gold medals, and the trophy and gold-medal winning 2009 vintage ($30).
The latter offers a delicate floral and lime aroma and flavour. Though it lacks the sheer juicy intensity of the 2006, it’s youthful and fresh and certain to build with bottle age. However, a soon-to-be released Reserve Riesling 2009 ($35) offers similar flavours and delicacy but with greater concentration.
The Piedmontese white variety, arneis, succeeds in Tertini’s vineyard, too. But it lives up to its “little rascal” nickname with miserly grape yields (about half that of riesling) and very small juice extraction rate per tonne of fruit.
The current release Tertini Reserve Arneis 2010 ($35), partly barrel fermented, provides excellent, full-bodied, crisp and savoury drinking – with exotic sappy, racy, melon-rind flavours.
Like the rieslings, the pinots (2008 $28, 2009 $55 and 2009 Reserve $58) show a family style – delicate and restrained. I’ve tasted several vintages over the years and, indeed, these were the wines that broke my longstanding doubts about the region’s wine. They’re outstanding – and reviewed in next week’s column.
Tertini Reserve Pinot Noir 20009 $58 Tertini Yaraandoo vineyard, Southern Highlands, NSW Tertini’s 2009 reserve pinot noir won gold medals in the 2012 Boutique Wine Awards and 2012 NSW Wine Awards. In the latter it won the trophy for best pinot, beating the gold-medal-winning Tertini Pinot Noir 2010 in the taste. I tasted the reserve at Bowral’s Biota restaurant and again at the winery a couple of days before the trophy announcement. This is classy stuff from such a young vineyard, and no fluke judging by the quality of the 2008 and 2009 standard pinots also tasted at the winery. The reserve’s a buoyant and lively wine featuring ripe, juicy cherry-like varietal flavour layered with fine tannin and hints of stalkiness, spicy oak and savouriness. The whole pinot range shows a distinctive finesse, delicacy and elegance. Available at cellar door and tertiniwines.com.au
Tertini Cross Roads Berrima Valley Riesling 2006 $33 Tertini Yaraandoo vineyard, Southern Highlands, NSW Tertini’s museum release riesling, currently offered online and at cellar door, won gold medals in this year’s NSW Small Winemakers Show and Winewise Small Vignerons Awards. It also picked up trophies as best riesling and best boutique white at the former event. I recently tasted Cross Roads at the winery alongside the 2009 and 2009 reserve rieslings, both lovely wines, but upstaged by this, only the second riesling made from the Yaraandoo vineyard (planted 2001). A touch of honeyed, bottle-aged character adds to its pure, intense, delicate lime-like varietal flavour. The racy freshness and the lingering, pure limey aftertaste provide exciting drinking.
Centennial Pinot Chardonnay $22.09–$27.09 Centennial vineyard, Bowral, Southern Highlands, NSW Nothing better illustrates the Southern Highlands’ peculiar climate than Centennial’s superb sparkling wines – quality more expected of Tasmania or southern Victoria. Their Blanc de Blancs ($28.04–$36.99) and Extreme Brut ($26.59–$29.99) are impressive. But on a recent cellar door visit, I favoured this blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. It shows power and elegance – that unique combination of pinot strength and chardonnay finesse, with the subtle background flavour and texture derived from prolonged ageing on yeast cells following secondary fermentation.
Centennial Raspberry Nectar 375ml $28.04–$34.99 At 17 per cent alcohol, it’s an adult cordial or syrup, made from fruit Centennial buys from neighbouring Cuttaway Creek Raspberry Farm. Winemaker Tony Cosgriff ferments the berries with sugar then adds a white grape spirit. Clearly it’s a very clean spirit as it doesn’t intrude on the heady, pure raspberry aroma and flavour. The alcohol kicks in on the palate, giving a lightly astringent bite to offset the delicious, sweet, berry flavour – a truly nectary sensation. Serve it Kir royale fashion – a teaspoon in a glass of dry bubbly – pour onto desserts or salads.
Vionta Albarino 2010 $22 Rias Baixas, Spain Since reviewing the 2009 vintage two years ago the price has fallen from around $30 to a more realistic $22. The white wine, made entirely from albarino, comes from the Rias Baixas region, part of Galicia in Spain’s cool, wet and humid northwest. Temperature controlled winemaking aims at preserving grape aromatics and flavours – though a small portion macerates on yeast lees to build texture. The colour’s a medium lemon-gold and the aroma and flavour are both reminiscent of melon rind with a twist of lemon. The smoothly textured, succulent palate finishes fresh and dry.
Devil’s Lair The Hidden Cave Cabernet Shiraz 2011 $19–$23 Margaret River, Western Australia In this delicious, drink-now red, winemaker Oliver Crawford captured the floral aromatics sometimes seen in cabernet sauvignon. Those seductive floral notes flow through to a supple palate, dripping with juicy summer-berry flavours, cut with very fine tannins and seasoned with cedar-like, barely perceptible oak. While cabernet dominates the aroma and flavour, shiraz gives flesh to the mid palate.
The increasing number of ciders reviewed simply reflects the phenomenal growth in popularity.
An Ibis World report in March estimated a $300 million market for cider in 2011–12 following compound annual growth of 19.1 per cent since 2006–07. The report said sales increased by more than 30 per cent in 2010–11 alone and predicted continued strong growth for the next five years. The increase defied wet weather, a declining beverage market and weak economic conditions
And if a Nielsen Scantrac report of February 2012 is correct, cider’s rise is accelerating. The report estimated current growth at 42.8 per cent by volume and 58 per cent by value.
Everyone’s jumping on the cider wagon, brewers included. Ibis World estimates the number of brands at 90. But this seems conservative to me. Prepare for the cider feast.
Bulmers Ginger Apple Cider 500ml $6.50 Bulmers say their new brew contains fermented ginger. Certainly ginger dominates the aroma and flavour – and even provides a little ginger heat in the aftertaste. The apple flavour, however, disappears beneath the ginger, leaving the impression more of ginger beer than cider, complete with a cloying, sweet aftertaste.
2 Brothers Taxi Pilsner 330ml $4.90 The website claims a silver medal for 2 Brothers Pilsner at the Australian International Beer Awards 2008, but the Schloss Shanahan bottle doesn’t rate as highly. As a German-style pilsner it’s a bit plump, lacking the tightness and bitterness of hops. I suspect the bottle’s a little old even though purchased retail only recently.
Tertini Southern Highlands Riesling 2009 $30 Julian Tertini established the Yaraandoo vineyard, west of the old Hume Highway, just south of Mittagong, in 2001. Riesling and pinot noir quickly became the star varieties in this challenging grape-growing environment. Because of the austerity of the very young rieslings, Tertini releases them after a few years in bottle. Age softens the acidity and releases riesling’s appealing floral and lime characters. These flow from the aroma through to a delicate, fine, bone-dry palate – the lime-like varietal flavour lingering on and on. Ben Brazenor manages the vineyard; winemaker is Jonathon Holgate.
Centennial Vineyards Bong Bong Sparkling NV $18.69–$23.99 The Southern Highlands’ largest winemaker, located between Bowral and the old Hume Highway, makes a range of exciting sparkling wines, sourced from vineyards adjacent to the winery-cellar door function complex. The quality of the bubblies indicates the unexpectedly cool growing climate – producing fruit of a delicacy and intensity usually found much further south. A combination of altitude and cloud cover seem to account for this climatic quirk. A blend of estate-grown pinot noir and chardonnay, provides delicate and tasty off-dry drinking of a very high quality at the price.
Lowe Tinja Mudgee and Rylstone Preservative-Free Red and White 2012 $20 A sensitivity to sulphur dioxide prompted David Lowe to make Tinja sulphur-free wines – a red from 2009 and a verdelho-chardonnay blend from 2012. They’re difficult wines to make, requiring undamaged hand-harvested fruit picked early (as the low pH offers natural protection) and fanatically protective care in the winery. This includes selecting yeast strains that don’t produce sulphur dioxide during fermentation. The results are very good. Both wines offer fresh, bright, drink-now fruit flavours and the pleasantly tart edge that comes from early harvesting. The shiraz merlot blend comes from Lowe’s organic vineyard, Mudgee; the white combines fruit from Mudgee and Rylstone.
