Australian Wines - Tasting 01 05 2010

Last night I held my second wine tasting, this time on Australian Wines, at a very obliging friend's house (thanks Jayla!). My friends brought the feast; I brought the wine. In contrast to last time, our tasting was not a blind tasting. This time around, my goal was to demonstrate the range of wine being produced in Australia, that it is not all Shiraz, and to help my friends develop an understanding of the common characteristics and styles arriving from down under. As such, we had many varietals represented - Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cabernet and Shiraz. Additionally, not all Austrlian wine comes from Barossa Valley; we tasted wines from 6 distinct wine regions hailing from 4 states - South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. Finally, the wines we tasted were all sourced from local Austin establishments including Austin Wine Merchant, Central Market and Specs. Enjoy!

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Leeuwin Estate Siblings 2005

Margaret River, Western Australia

Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon

Everyone agreed that this was a very intriguing wine; the flavors were quite unusual. The pale straw color and the gooseberry nose hint at the complex wine within. On the palate we were able to taste gooseberry, almost jalapeno, grass, as well as lime and a dry, chalky minerality. This is a good appetizer or aperitif wine. Enjoy with a soft runny cheese or olives! As a side note, the 2005 vintage should be drunk now and you would be wise to seek at younger vintages as this is meant to be drunk fresh and early! ~$20

Devils Corner Pinot Noir 2008

Tamar Valley, Tasmania

Pinot Noir

This was another favorite of the tasting as well as the best value of the evening. Hailing from northern Tasmania, this Pinot Noir has a clear, garnet-red color and a red fruit, perhaps raspberry nose. The fruit forward nature of the wine was also present in the palate, where it dominated along with a pleasing earthy finish. This is not an overly complicated wine, but it exhibits the more restrained Burgundian style of the region. This is a good representative of all that cool climate Tasmanian Pinot Noir has to offer. Excellent value buy! ~$15

Yangarra Cadenzia 2006

McLaren Vale, South Australia

Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre

The Cadenzia was the crowd pleaser of the evening. It had great clarity and a deep red color along with a slightly red-fruit nose. The palate was bright with pronounced cassis and blackberry flavors against a dry tannic structure. This is a great representative of a McLaren Vale, Grenache dominated wine. Lovely! ~$25

Jacob's Creek St Hugo 2004

Coonawarra, South Australia

Cabernet

A few tasters preferred this stylish, classic Coonawarra Cabernet. This was the oldest wine we tasted, and the maturity of the tannins in the wine was evident. The clarity and color reflected Cabernet with a deep, dark, opaque redness. The nose was not over-powering, with black fruit and perhaps cedar coming through. The taste exhibited aromas of black fruit, eucalyptus and cedar. All together a very elegant wine with a complex character redolent of the limestone hills from which it hails. Drink now or savor in a few years as it should only continue to improve. ~$40

Lilith Shiraz 2006

Heathcote, Victoria

Shiraz

This was the first pure Shiraz we tasted. It is produced in Heathcote, Victoria which is a much colder clime than Barossa Valley, the most widely known wine region in Australia. As a result, this was a much more restrained wine. It had a nice brick-red color and light opacity. The nose was very faint, with a touch of cassis and white pepper. Upon taste, more of the cassis flavor came through along with the white pepper and some cedar notes. Altogether, though, this wine was intense and tasted very tight - it needs more time to mature. It has a fine tannic structure and lively acid, so a few years of cellaring should produce a very fine wine indeed. ~$40

Torbeck Woodcutter's Shiraz 2008

Barossa Valley, South Australia

Shiraz

This was actually the least favorite wine of the evening! It is a classic, Barrosa Valley Shiraz with jammy, fruit bomb characteristics (it is a little on the young side). The color is a deep, opaque purplish red and the nose hits you over the head with blueberries and cassis. The palate was a riot of jammy fruit - blueberries, cassis, and some weak chocolatey notes. Many of the tasters described it as sweet. The tannic structure is a bit intense as well - due to the age probably. This could be a decent wine in a few years of maturation; a little too intense for right now. I'd avoid. ~$20

Travel in Australia

Stephen and I got to spend our honeymoon traveling around Australia and absolutely loved it.  I would highly recommend going down under.  Below, a few stops and restaurants that were particular standouts....

Hayman Island - Australia Island-Beach Style

We headed up north to the edge of the great barrier reef to decompress for a while, before doing more active exploring.  This all-inclusive resort was fantastic.  A yacht comes to pick you up at the airport and take you on a scenic ride to the private Hayman Island.  There are several excellent restaurants serving a range of asian and australian influenced seafood dishes.  I really enjoyed dozing next to their lovely saltwater pools and roaming around the hilly island trails.

Sydney

I love Sydney.  I would move there if I could.  It's just got such a great ambiance - urban downtown, quaint victorian town homes, warm weather and great food.  We ate like kings!  At Rockpool, we had amazing seafood served in a sleek and modern dining room.  We got to eat one of the largest and longest sushi meals I've ever had at Tetsuya's, perhaps the best restaurant in Australia.  At Universal, we sampled cuisine inspired by the global population of Australia.  Finally, at Icebergs, we ate fantastic Italian food with a jaw-dropping view of Bondi Beach and the Pacific Ocean.  Besides eating, I highly recommend wandering through the Royal Botanical Gardens, heading to Paddington for shopping, taking a tour of the Opera House, and getting out of the city to see some native wildlife at the Featherdale Wildlife Park and the Blue Mountains.

Tasmania

That's right, we visited Tasmania.  Interestingly enough, we were drawn to this remote state because of its wine!  Stephen and I are pretty nutty when it comes to wine and every vacation we've taken recently has had at least one day devoted to wine tasting.  Tasmania intrigued us because of its cooler climate varietals - pinot noirs and sparkling wines (we're not big Barossa Shiraz fans).  Incidentally, I have to say, the wine we had all over Australia was very diverse and downright tasty.  It seems that much of it stays in the country and does not make it to the USA...  such a shame.  In Tasmania, we tasted wine from the Tamar River Valley in the north, around the little town of Launceston.  We really enjoyed Pipers Brook wines as well as Goaty Hill and Velo.  Alas, we can't get them in the states!  We also had a fantastic meal at a restaurant called Fee & Me, which has unfortunately since closed.  Tasmania is kind of the breadbasket of Australia and it is known for its lamb.  I had amazing lamb chops there...  While there we checked out Cataract Gorge, before heading down to Russell Falls and Hobart.  Hobart is a very pretty, older city.  We stayed at the amazing Henry Jones Art Hotel and ate a lovely meal at Marque IV.  I do have to say, that if you don't have a lot of time and want to check out Tasmania, head to Hobart and do wine tasting around the Coal River Valley.

Australian Wines - Cheat Sheet

Lessons Learned or the Top 10 Things to Know about Aussie Wines (to sound like a wine geek!):

1. Australia has been producing wine since the 1800‘s, when the emphasis was more on fortified wines; however, the modern wine industry as we know it really took root in the 1970's. Despite its reputation for Shiraz, wine production in OZ is now dominated by what's known as the big three - Chardonnay, Cabernet and Shiraz.

2. In general, Aussie winemakers are focused on emphasizing the simple fruit flavor of the grapes as opposed to creating structurally complex styles. They have intense, fruity whites and soft, chocolaty, mouth-filling reds.

3. Aussie Shiraz is one of the world’s preeminent "value" wines, a reputation it is trying to shake as such a moniker is often synonymous with bland wines to be avoided. This reputation stems from wines hailing from, not surprisingly, the most productive wine regions in Australia which are known as Riverland or Riverina (sometimes just labeled as South East Australia). These areas are heavily irrigated to produce large yields and lackluster grapes. One of the secrets of great wine making is that in order to produce excellent fruit you need to stress the grapevines by depriving them of water and forcing them to find their way in rocky, inhospitable soils. These practices, along with selective pruning (bush pruning in Australian parlance), produce complex wines. Unless you are after an inexpensive, relatively palatable Tuesday night wine, you should avoid irrigated wines - dryland farming is the key!

4. Despite its reputation for producing massive amounts of low quality Shiraz, the Australian wine industry is much more complex. For one thing, practitioners are constantly focused on improving the science and technology of wine making. A center for wine education is the Adelaide Australian Wine Research Institute. Additionally, in an attempt to improve the quality of their wines, many Aussie wine makers have a high penchant for traveling overseas to get the best training. As a result there are many exciting wines being made down under from a wide variety of varietals; they are often just not brought to our American attention.

5. Additionally, it is important to note that not all wine in Australia is produced in the Barossa Valley. Indeed, there is production in all states. Most of the best wine-producing areas are essentially in the south and the west, however, Hunter Valley is a standout in the mid-north east near Sydney. The states to concentrate on are Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. The particular regions of excellence in each of those states is discussed in more depth below.

6. New South Wales - This is the northernmost, and hence the hottest and wettest, state to focus on. The main region is Hunter Valley, which is the home of Rosemount Estate. While Hunter Valley initially gained a reputation for Shiraz, it is really its Semillon that has attained a high level of excellence, while the reds churned out are of a low quality. The Semillons are generally produced un-oaked and yet still are able to age 10 to 20 years out exhibiting honeyed, buttery and nutty flavors. These wines are very hard to find outside of Oz.

7. South Australia - Home of the Barossa Valley, possibly the most well known Aussie wine region. Most of the largest wineries are based there (such as Penfolds). The wineries have chosen to focus on dry farming and bush pruning and hence produce often fabulous, inky, dark wines. Australia’s most famous wine, Grange, is produced here. This is definite Shiraz country. Other wine areas in S.A. have also come to preeminence. The McLaren Vale produces excellent wines from smaller vineyards. While Shiraz is still key, the area actually produces excellent Rhone-style Grenache and GSM blends (Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvèdre). It also produces a ton of white wine whose characteristics are dominated by the ocean. Think melony and citrus chardonnay. The last area of note is Coonawarra which is in the limestone coast. This cooler area produces excellent Cabernets.

8. Tasmania - The land down under down under is Pinot Noir country with its cool climate and moister conditions. Areas of note are Tamar River, Pipers Brook and Coal River. The majority of the Pinot Noir goes into making excellent, dry sparking wines in the champagne style. However, excellent, burgundy style reds are produced as well. This area is still taking off and it is often very difficult to find the wines outside of Aussie. Keep it on your radar though.

9. Victoria - One of the oldest wine producing regions in Australia, Victoria wineries were historically focused on Tokay or dessert wines. Actually, Australian Tokay, by way of coincidence, was matured in conditions similar to those used to produce Madeira; hence their excellence. Today, the range of wine produced is much broader. Yarra Valley is probably the most well known name in the area - it is often compared to Napa with its close proximity to Melbourne (much like San Francisco). The climate is actually cooler (even than Bordeaux) due to altitude and maritime influences. As a result, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, rather than Shiraz are the dominant varieties in the area. There is one new star on the horizon - Shiraz-Viognier. Keep an eye out for it. Finally, another important region is Heathcote. Heathcote is often not known outside of OZ, however, it produces amazing Shiraz which are deeply colored, rich and nuanced.

10. Western Australia - While you will still see mention of the Swan Valley, the big area is Margaret River. This is Cabernet country - think elegance with strength, redcurrant fruit with a seasoning of gravelly terroir. Additionally, the area produces intriguingly grassy Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as some excellent Chardonnay.