Yearly Archives: 2012

Argentina vignerons target the world

18 January 2012WineChris Shanahan

Argentina’s wine export graphs sweep ever upwards, like the slopes of the Andes that bound the country’s vineyards. In recent years this once domestic-focused industry set about exporting in earnest and now competes with Australia in the world’s major markets.

Figures provided by the Argentina embassy show exports of malbec, the country’s leading red variety, grew about tenfold between 2002 and 2010 – from 850 thousand nine-litre cases to 8.6 million cases. Exports of the signature white, torrentes, grew from 140 thousand cases to 664 thousand cases in the same period.

While the on-ship price of malbec peaked at $US35.52 a case in 2008 (after rising from $US27.28 in 2002), volumes barrelled on during the GFC mark 1 – rising from 4.2 million cases in 2007 to 8.6 million in 2010. The price fell back to $US34.80 a case in 2009, then recovered most of its lost ground to $US35.44 in 2010.

The price of torrentes, however, remained on its Andes-foothills-like trajectory without interruption, rising from $US16.86 a case in 2002 to $US27.86 in 2010.

There’s an upward trend, too, if we track Argentina’s vineyards a couple of thousand kilometres northwards – from Patagonia, at about 41 degrees south, to Salta, around 24 degrees south of the equator. As we move north, the temperature warms up. Wine grapes don’t like this, as they give their best flavours when ripening in mild to cool conditions. So, to compensate, vignerons plant their vineyards at ever-higher altitudes.

Argentina’s lowest vineyards, in the upper Rio Negro Valley, Patagonia, sit at around 200 metres above sea level. But at Molinos, Salta, not far short of the Bolivian border, vineyards can be found at up to 3,000 metres. The average altitude of vineyards, claim the Argentineans, is 900 metres above seal level.

Giving that an Australian perspective, Canberra’s Lark Hill Vineyard reaches 860 metres at its highest point, and vineyards in Orange can be as high as 1,100 metres (although most are lower). According to Wine Australia website our highest vineyard, at 1,320 metres, is at Guyra, New South Wales (latitude 30 degrees south).

Mendoza, Argentina’s largest wine-producing area – just below the mid-point of the north-south vineyard spread – produces 80 per cent of the country’s wine. Its 160 thousand hectares of vines, planted between 457 and 1,780 metres, are about the same as Australia’s total plantings.

With an annual rainfall of a desert-like 200mm a year, Mendoza relies on rivers flowing out of the Andes for irrigation. And because the dry climate all but rules out fungal disease, the area’s vignerons enjoy a significant competitive advantage over producers from other countries.

This is because vineyard-management costs can blow out during extended periods of mild, wet weather. Just ask any Canberra vigneron about the endless hours spent spraying against mildew and botrytis (and the additional vineyard labour costs) in the lead up to last vintage.

But Mendoza’s 200mm rainfall seems generous compared to La Rioja’s 130mm. Indeed, of Argentina’s major winemaking regions, Catamarca (to the north) alone receives significantly more rainfall – and then a mere 432mm, well below Adelaide’s 549mm, Canberra’s 629mm or the lower Hunter Valley’s 900mm.

Because of the arid climate, the Argentineans refer to the wine regions as oases, and list five for the Mendoza region – Northern Mendoza, Eastern Mendoza, Mendoza River, Uco Valley and Southern Mendoza.

Abundant water, cheap land and low disease pressures have been key factors attracting foreign investors into Argentina, and especially Mendoza, over the last 20 years.

In a piece published on www.glug.com.au, geologist-turned-wine merchant, David Farmer, notes a report in Britain’s Daily Mail, 17 July 2011, on the sale of Estancia Punta del Agua – a 405-thousand-hectare estate in San Juan province, 165 kilometres north of Mendoza. Farmer reports that much of well-watered land appears suited to grape growing. And it’s selling for less than $25 a hectare.

On a visit to Mendoza in 2004, Farmer had noted, “The great bulk of wines are made from grapes off flat lying vineyards. And the soils are very fertile being the product of glaciation, which grinds rock to a flour-like texture. Mendoza is like an elevated version of our wine region, Griffith. The potential viticultural land stretches hundreds of kilometres north and south. Provided there is enough water, you could grow the world’s entire wine supply right here.” (The full report provides unique insights into Argentina’s wine landscape).

Big, juicy, silky malbec remains Argentina’s number one export variety at 8.6 million cases in 2010. Behind malbec comes cabernet at 2.3 million cases, then generic red (probably bonarda) at 1.9 million case, chardonnay at 1.5million case and the local white, torrentes, on 664 thousand cases.

As we saw in a recent tasting, Australian importers are focusing on malbec, bonarda and torrentes. We’ll review some these in coming months.

Grappling with cider

18 January 2012CiderChris Shanahan

Here’s something for would-be marketers to grapple with – what to call a drink made from grapes and apples? Grapple cider, of course, say the Scarpantoni brothers of McLaren Vale.

They’ve been making wine since 1979, but just before vintage in 2011 bought apples from a producer in the Adelaide Hills. The producer wanted them to make apple vinegar for him and the Scarpantonis agreed – but decided to produce something of their own as well.

With the apple supply lined up, they picked chardonnay and gamay grapes, extracted and chilled the juice and waited for the apple crop. A month later the orchardist shipped fresh, chilled apple juice to the winery.

The resulting white and red grapple ciders (70 per cent grape juice, 30 per cent apple juice) are available online.

Oxenberry McLaren Vale Adelaide Hills
White Grapple Cider 12X500ml $90
Oxenberry’s blend of early-picked McLaren Vale chardonnay and Adelaide Hills apples, offers a pleasantly tart flavour, reminiscent of a barely-ripe granny smith apple. Although there’s some sweetness underlying the flavour, the tangy tartness cuts through, leaving a fresh, dry finish. At eight per cent alcohol, it’s strong than beer, weaker than wine.

Oxenberry McLaren Vale Adelaide Hills Red Grapple Cider 12X500ml $90
The colour’s a vivid, light, bright pink rather than red and the aroma could easily pass for a rose wine. Those fresh, simple raspberry/strawberry aromas are challenged on the palate by apple-like flavours and a tangy, tart acidity – probably derived from both early picked gamay and the apples.

Wine review — Seppelt, Mr Riggs and Tahbilk

15 January 2012Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Seppelt Salinger NV $19–$25, Salinger Vintage 2008 $23.75–$30
Non-vintage Salinger – sourced mainly from the Adelaide Hills, Henty and Tumbarumba – ticks all the boxes for bottle-fermented, complex bubbly made from the classic varieties. It’s a soft, delicate, drink-now style, revealing good underlying fruit flavours and the complexities of ageing on yeast lees. Vintage 2008, too, is in the delicate aperitif style, but the palate reveals more intense pinot flavour and even livelier, finer acidic freshness. Salinger almost faded from view during a decade of turmoil at Southcorp, then Foster’s. The quality, however, never faltered, and there’s hope of commercial revival with Treasury Wine Estates now separated from the beer business.

Mr Riggs Adelaide Hills Yacca Paddock Tempranillo 2009 $22–$23
This is a deep, dark, juicy and firm Australian expression of Spain’s tempranillo variety. Winemaker Ben Riggs writes that the variety, “ has big bunches and very thick skins that can be hard to bite into, but which produce good colour and tannins”. In this instance the wine echoes the grape description – deeply coloured with very bright and appealing fruit flavours; and, yes, you have to bite through layers of tannin to reach the fruit. This sets Mr Riggs tempranillo apart from other varieties. The rich, bright, supple underlying fruit flavour is all Australian; the savoury, firm tannins provide the exotic difference.

Tahbilk Nagambie Lakes Marsanne 2011 $12.35–$17.75
If you’re driving to Melbourne, it’s worth the detour, via Violet Town, to Nagambie and on to Tahbilk. The historic property, on an anabranch of the Goulburn River, claims to have the largest planting of marsanne in the world, with some vines dating from 1927. At Tahbilk this Rhone Valley variety makes a distinctive, potentially very long-lived dry white. The aroma and flavour have often been described as honeysuckle-like – something I don’t always detect, but do in the 2011. The style’s grown slightly finer and more delicate over the last decade. But behind the honeysuckle and citrus flavours lie tangy acidity and a firm, savoury bite.