Despite a reputed $2million public subsidy, Hardy’s bailed out of its reported $10million Canberra wine investment after just six years. So, has the Kamberra venture turned from white knight to white elephant? Or can the legacy be sustained under new ownership?

Whoever the new owner might be, there’s one thing for sure: Hardy’s winemaking experience in the district provides profound insights into where future success might lie.

The new owners – and contract growers — will also be well aware that of the three-thousand tonne annual grape crush at the Watson facility, only a tiny fraction makes the winery’s Kamberra and Meeting Place brands. The bulk goes to other Hardy Wine Company products.

Take these out of the equation – which is exactly what Hardy intends to do – and you have a vastly under utilised capacity unless the new owner ramps up the local brands to an unprecedented level or takes on large-scale contract processing.

An optimist might suggest that the new owner take up the estimated fifteen hundred tonnes of contract grown grapes and crush them with the roughly eight hundred tonnes from Hardy’s Holt vineyard — for a total of two thousand three hundred tonnes.

That’s simple arithmetic. But it translates to somewhere in the vicinity of 170 thousand dozen bottles of Canberra wine – dramatically beyond current demand. It also ignores the fact that most of that fruit currently finds its way into out of district blends.

As well, the highly rated Kamberra and Meeting Place Chardonnays and sparkling wines rely almost entirely on fruit from Tumbarumba, not Canberra. Almost certainly Hardys will divert this resource to comparable brands in its portfolio.

These challenges dictate that a future, independent Kamberra has to be dramatically different from the Kamberra that was primarily plugged into global markets through its massive parent company — and in which the local brand was but a side play.

But the very scale of the Kamberra operation and the unrelenting benchmarking demanded by Hardys meant that a clear, realistic view of our region’s strengths emerged.

And that view, supported by my own tastings, puts Canberra’s shiraz at the top by a very large margin, followed by the white varieties viognier and riesling.

A new owner, focused only on Canberra fruit, and in tune with Hardy’s achievements could excite wine drinkers with the stellar quality of shiraz, supported by the whites.

One advantage of an intense focus on the most exciting wines is that the best independent growers might continue to provide shiraz and riesling to a revitalised Kamberra.

However, even if a quality-lead approach drives Kamberra’s future, it holds little comfort for growers that don’t make the cut.

While those growers are afforded some protection by existing contracts, the Hardy exit exposes the weak demand for Canberra grapes. That leaves two to three years for growers to find other buyers, develop their own brands (as some have done already) or even exit the market.

An entrepreneurial new Kamberra owner might or might not want to buy into the growers’ dilemma. There is certainly no obligation to do so.

But there’s no denying the opportunities presented by the Watson wine tourism complex and Hardy’s extraordinary winemaking achievements.

The best shirazes made there by Alex McKay are world class; the viogniers are up there with the best in Australia; and the rieslings are within sight of the classics from the Clare and Eden Valleys. That’s a unique legacy. We can’t afford to lose it.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2006 & 2007

Sniffing around the Barossa last week – after judging the area’s wine show – turned up a number of wonderful, off the radar wine ventures.

Just as we’ve seen in Canberra this week following Hardy’s decision exit from the region, Australia’s grape surplus, combined with industry rationalisation, has been driving change, often in unpredictable ways.

It might be easy to view the surplus as coming only from vast new plantings of the wrong varieties planted in high cost areas. Indeed, this ‘structural imbalance’ is real and will be painful in the adjustment.
But as I saw in the Barossa, exciting new wine names are appearing daily as sophisticated grape growers and winemakers turn their attention to very special patches of vines – some very old and some new.

As a wine judge these are of particular interest because many of these makers chose to operate outside of the show circuit. With a clear vision of what they want to make and how to market it, they need neither external benchmarking nor gongs. Even if they’re inclined to enter shows, they’re not always prepared – or able — to pay the entry fee.

Even regular visitors to the Barossa are likely to be unaware of wine names like Teusner, Tscharke, Lienert, Hentley Farm, Clos Otto, Fools Bay, Gibson or Murray Street Vineyards – to name just a few outstanding newcomers.

Some don’t have cellar door facilities and sell by word of mouth, through personal contacts or – like Lienert – are too new to have put a price tag on imminent first releases.

In a tin shed on Jenke Road, Seppeltsfield, vigneron Kevin North showed a range of outstanding wines to myself and fellow judges P-J Charteris and Lester Jesberg.

Kevin sources fruit for the Fools Bay label from local and valley floor vineyards and Hentley Farm brand from the Barossa’s Marananga sub-region, to the west of Tanunda. This reflects a trend amongst new small makers to emphasise a particular corner of the valley rather than the region as a whole.

At a modest $15 a bottle Fools Bay ‘Dirty Bliss’ Grenache Shiraz 2005 and Fools Bay ‘Dusty’s Design’ Shiraz 2005 offer generous, soft current drinking with a genuine Barossa accent.

For $30, Hentley Farm Shiraz 2005 delivers tremendous perfume, vibrance, delicious depth of fruit flavour and savoury complexity. It’s estate grown and, to my taste, a very exciting drink.

A day later, with the help of consulting viticulturist Warwick Murray, we discovered several extraordinary wines made by Damien Tscharke.

As well as the Barossa staples, semillon, shiraz, grenache and mourvedre, Damien works with the Spanish varieties, albarino, tempranillo and graciano and the Italian Montepulciano and zinfandel – all grown in the Marananga sub-region.

Damien offers the traditional varieties under the Glaymond Wines label and the exotics under the tscharke label at prices varying from $18 to $32.

The tscharke ‘Girl Talk’ Albarino 2006 is a vibrant, aromatic, soft style – an attractive aperitif wine with a flavour and savouriness quite removed from that of riesling, sauvignon or chardonnay.

tscharke ‘Only Son’ Tempranillo Graciano, is an intensely flavoured medium bodied red with fine, savoury, very dry tannins – a great wine to serve with high protein food.

But for me the pick of the range was the gutsy tscharke ‘The Master ’Montepulciano 2005, one of only two expressions of this variety encountered outside of Italy.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2006 & 2007

Not the least of the pressures facing winemakers is the constant demand for capital. In an industry notorious for low or negative returns to investors — just ask any of the estimated forty per cent of Australia’s wineries currently losing money – this means a reliance on external funding.

That funding might come from the day jobs of the owners, through debt or though private or public equity raising.

Ambitious, expanding wineries in particular feel this pressure. But once a business moves from private funding to publicly listed equity, as Petaluma did, its fate all too easily slips from the control of its founders.

Brian Croser placed Petaluma in this position and, sure enough, in 2001 brewer Lion Nathan swallowed the enterprise he’d founded in 1976.

Croser initially stayed on under the new ownership but departed after the 2005 vintage.

Then, a few weeks back, the Petaluma team staged a three-decades of Petaluma tasting to mark the company’s thirtieth anniversary. Brian was conspicuously absent. So, too, was any statement of a future vision. But the wines – including the 2006 riesling, the first made entirely by new boss, Andrew Hardy – delivered their own testimonial.

And what did the testimonial say? To my palate, the message was that Petaluma remains amongst Australia’s best producers of riesling and cabernet; shows exciting potential with its recently introduced shiraz – and to a lesser extent viognier — from Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills; makes outstanding chardonnay and sparkling wine, but not, perhaps, at the cutting edge as they once were.

From the earliest days, Croser’s vision was to match variety to region and, within regions, to select what he later called ‘distinguished’ sites. Riesling and cabernet sauvignon came first with the purchase of the established Hanlin Hill Vineyard in the Clare Valley and Evans Vineyard, Coonawarra (supplemented later by the Sharefarmer’s Vineyard).

To my palate these remain the stand out wines. At the thirty-year tasting, the six rieslings from 2001 to 2006 displayed a dazzling, consistent brightness of colour, aroma and flavour, thanks to the use of screw caps.

These showed notable vintage variation with all round quality best, to my taste, in 2002, 2005 and 2006. As well, an appealing ‘toasty’ aged character was apparent in the 2001 and subtly so in the sensational 2002.

The cork-sealed wines showed considerable bottle variation and distracting flaws. But even so, the 1999, 1998, 1991 and 1982 were delicious, but overshadowed by the beautifully fresh, but aged, 1979 and 1980.

What this says is that screw-cap sealed wines of the calibre of the 2005 and 2006, both still in the market, will provided extraordinary drinking for decades if well cellared.

The first two Petaluma Coonawarras, 1979 and 1980, made a statement of the era, the district and the blend. Both are blends of shiraz and cabernet made in the medium bodied style of the time. They’d travelled well through the years and still show that distinctive, appealing Coonawarra berry character.

The style changed with a switch from shiraz to merlot in the blend and in the late eighties displayed a little more body thanks to riper harvesting.

As a group they’d aged gracefully and retained terrific regional and varietal definition. To me highlights were 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996 with a very special rating to the 2002 and 1998 vintages.

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Clare Valley Riesling 2006 $19-$23
Brian Croser fermented Petaluma’s first riesling – a 1976 from Mitchelton Vineyard, Nagambie – in a spent Maralinga rocket-fuel tank. From 1979, having acquired the Hanlin Hill vineyard, Clare Valley, he made the first of the single-vineyard Petaluma rieslings that’ve given the wine its well deserved blue-chip status. At a recent tasting of all the rieslings the oldest and youngest vintages stood out like bookends as if to say, young or old, this is a great wine. The 1979 and 1980 were both wonderfully fresh, albeit with the delicious patina of age. The 2005, the last made by Croser, is a classic. And 2006, Andrew Hardy’s first, is spectacularly aromatic and superb.

Petaluma Coonawarra 2002 $42-$58
2002 was one of the coolest seasons on record in much of eastern Australia. This boosted flavour intensity of reds in our warmer areas but in cool Coonawarra many vineyards seemed to struggle for ripeness – a character reflected in the leafy, not-quite-ripe character of many of the wines. Petaluma, however, achieved ripeness in its tiny crop to produce what to me is one of the finest since the first vintage in 1979. At a tasting of every vintage a few weeks back it appealed for its enormous flavour concentration in the elegant, firm, Coonawarra mould. It’s a classic, destined to give drinking pleasure for decades to come.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2006 & 2007

In the last few years the very best Canberra district wines have increased in number and quality. Importantly, more wines have streaked away from the me-too ranks to stand comparison with the best of similar styles from Australia and, in one instance, the world.

Having judged the local regional show for some years the lift in quality has been palpable – as shown in a comparison of the results from last week’s event with those from 2005.

The number of entries increased by eleven per cent from 207 to 230. But the number of medal winning wines soared by forty-four per cent from 63 to 91 and the medal strike rate lifted from thirty per cent of wines entered to forty per cent.

Shiraz, to me, remains the greatest strength, not just for Canberra but for neighbouring districts eligible for the show. The 2005s in particular offer pure drinking pleasure in a generally supple, plush, elegant style.

We revelled our way through eleven 2005 vintage shirazes and awarded a remarkable four gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

Two of the gold medallists – Meeting Place and Mount Majura — are from Canberra, with one each from Gundagai (Paterson’s) and Young (Chalkers Crossing).

Meeting Place, our top ranking of the four gold medallists went on to win trophies as best shiraz, best red of the show and best wine. It’s simply stunning. Unfortunately, Hardy’s, owner of the Meeting Place brand, say they plan to release it late next year – a decision completely out of touch with the drink-now pleasure of this wine style.

The 2004 and earlier vintage shirazes were a joy to judge, too, producing thirteen medals, including two golds, from twenty-eight entries. Mount Majura’s delicious 2004 topped this group, followed closely by McWilliams Barwang Shiraz Viognier (Young) with silver medallists Meeting Place 2003, Chalkers Crossing 2004 (Young), Lambert Reserve 2004 and First Creek Shiraz Viognier delivering lovely flavours.

Canberra held a monopoly on the riesling honours and did it with real class. Surveyor’s Hill and Brindabella Hill, both from Hall and both made at Brindabella Hills, earned gold in the 2006 field, with Ravensworth (Murrumbateman) a tad behind on silver. And Helm of Murrumbateman earned gold and silver for a couple of delightful 2005s.

Those top rieslings easily bear comparison with the best from Clare or Eden Valley – the usual Aussie benchmarks. With a bit more attention to winemaking detail some of the poor performers in this year’s show – oxidation was the main problems – could be on the winners’ podium. Clearly our district suits this variety.

The top chardonnay of the show McWilliams Barwang 2005 came from Tumbarumba – continuing a consistent winning thread for this very cool area. The other gold-medal chardonnay was Centennial Vineyards Woodside 2004 (Southern Highlands).

Three very attractive cabernets earned gold. The deep, rich trophy-winning McKellar Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2005 (Murrumbateman) came in a nose ahead of Grove Estate The Partners 2005 (Young) and McWilliams Barwang 2002 (Young). As a group, however, the cabernets lacked freshness and generosity.

A couple of exciting viogniers – Meeting Place 2005 (silver) and First Creek 2005 (gold & trophy) – showed yet again Canberra’s great potential for this variety. And the success of Ravensworth Sangiovese 2005 (gold and trophy) suggests a good future with this Italian variety.

For the full list of results go to rncas.org.au.

Ravensworth Canberra District Sangiovese 2005 $22
I recommended this now gold medal winner back in March as a wine that “just needs a little time in bottle to emerge as a vibrant and sophisticated expression of the variety”.  As noted earlier this is one of the best Australian shots I’ve seen with this Italian variety, standing out for its bright, pure fruit aroma and flavour and taut, fine tannin structure. It’s developed beautifully with six months in the bottle and should continue to build in complexity and interest for many years. It bowled us judges over at last week’s Canberra Regional Wine Show. www.ravensworthwines.com.au.

Surveyors Hill Canberra District Riesling 2006 $25
Leigh Hobba’s Surveyors Hill vineyard produced the fruit for this stunning trophy and gold medal winning riesling. It was made for Leigh at Roger and Faye Harris’s Brindabella Hills Winery, about a kilometre from the Surveyors Hill vineyard. Leigh tells me that each year Roger gives trainee winemaker, Brian Sinclair, a project wine of his own and in 2006 this was it. The wine shows pristine varietal aromatics and intense but delicate palate with beautiful, fresh acid balance. It’s classic riesling and could hold its own in any company. Release is imminent, enquiries to Leigh Hobba 6230 2046

First Creek Canberra District Viognier 2005 $20
Expatriate Canberran, Jim Chatto, makes First Creek Viognier at the Monarch Winery, Pokolbin, from fruit grown on the Fischer family’s Nanima vineyard, Murrumbateman. It was one of two outstanding viognier’s exhibited at the Canberra Regional Show. In contrast to the purely varietal silver-medal runner up, our gold-medallist was a notably more complex wine showing the textural, aroma and flavour impacts of barrel fermentation beautifully integrated with the plush, distinctive, apricot-like viognier flavour. Like most top-notch viogniers, it’s a wine of huge flavour impact and should be savoured in small, intense doses. Cellar door phone 02 4998 7293.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2006 & 2007

Believe it or not, there’s a move away in some wineries from the ‘sunshine in a bottle’ or ‘fruit bomb’ styles that propelled our wines to international success.

That it can be desirable for fruit to be ‘dumbed down’ — to use Kamberra winemaker, Alex McKay’s, words – can be tasted in some of our best top-shelf chardonnays, including Kamberra’s current release 2004 from Tumbarumba.

In chardonnays of this style, a combination of fruit sourcing and winemaking practice turns down the volume on exuberant peach and melon varietal character to deliver a more complex flavour – a matrix permeated by fruit but significantly influenced by winemaker inputs.

Proponents of these styles argue that ‘fruit bomb’ wines are one dimensional, boring, not compatible with food and, in their emphasis on ripe flavours, come all too often with forbiddingly high alcohol readings.

The quest for more subtle, complex, food friendly wines usually includes at its heart the French concept of terroir – the idea that a wine expresses in its flavour and structure the sum of all the influences on a certain vineyard in a certain location.

For Leanne De Bortoli and husband, Steve Webber, in the Yarra Valley, the shift away from ‘sunshine in a bottle’ began about five years ago. Says Steve, “We changed our thinking about wine. We were winning awards but felt that wine should taste of where it’s grown. It should have a sense of place. Anyone can make wine expressing sunshine and oak”.

The change of thinking led to alteration of the whole wine-production chain – from management in of the company’s Dixon’s Creek Vineyard to fruit handling and sorting, and to fermentation and maturation regimes.

As a result, the wines have become less alcoholic, less oaky, more complex and more intensely fruity at the core – without being in the brash ‘fruit bomb’ mould.

Change began in the vineyard, most radically with the re-establishment of some areas from west and north facing slopes to east facing slopes. Where earlier thinking had been to maximise sun exposure on those northern and westerns slopes, experience had shown that these captured too much sun, especially in the afternoons, producing over ripe and, at times, sunburned fruit.

Sections of the vineyard not replanted – including terrific old vines dating from 1971 –have been significantly retrained to restrict yields and to produce leaf canopies that encourage ripeness while protecting fruit from direct sun exposure.

Under the new viticultural regime, Steve has been successfully harvesting grapes at lower sugar levels (hence, lower alcohol content in the wine) without losing ripe, well-defined, varietal flavour.

These grapes, of course, are at the heart of the wines. They’re hand picked into small buckets, to avoid breaking, then hand sorted, to eliminate sub-standard fruit, before being tipped – not pumped – to vessels for fermentation by indigenous yeasts.

The combination of grape quality, earlier picking, gentle handling, minimal intervention, spontaneous fermentation and careful use of oak is doing the trick – delivering wonderfully appealing, complex wines of subtlety rather than in-your-face fruitiness.

While the Aussie fruit-bomb style remains valid, what Leanne De Bortoli and Steve Webber demonstrate is that subtle, vineyard driven wines can deliver a higher level of drinking pleasure.

It’s wines like those being made by De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley that can drive the next, much needed, regionally focused phase of Australia’s export drive.

De Bortoli Yarra Valley Sauvignon 2006 $22
If one wine displays – deliciously — the fruit muting underway at DeBortoli Yarra Valley, it’s sauvignon blanc. They’ve even pruned the name to ‘sauvignon’, indicating that’s something’s up. And what’s up begins with low yields in the vineyard, hand picking, gentle handling and spontaneous fermentation (i.e. no cultured yeast added) in old oak barrels. Instead of the more customary brash, bright and pungent cold-fermented sauvignon blanc, De Bortoli’s — while still refreshing, juicy and unmistakably sauvignon — is more subtle. It’s like a varietal echo, muffled by a textural richness and secondary flavours derived from barrel fermentation and maturation, lees contact and yeast tag-team behind the ferment. Released October.

De Bortoli Yarra Valley Reserve Release Syrah 2004 $35 – $38
Few reds pulse and ripple across the palate like this sensational 2004. It’s opulent, silky, velvety, plush, juicy, utterly compelling, seductive and irresistible. What’s behind it? The great fruit of low yielding, mature vines (planted 1971); hand picking; hand elimination of all but perfect grape bunches; a high level of whole-bunches in the ferment (equals brighter fruit and gentler tannin extraction); and maturation in well-matched oak barrels. If you’re looking for something really special, this is as good an investment in pure drinking pleasure as you’ll find. This is one of the most exciting wines I’ve tried in years.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2006 & 2007