Where's the beef?

Being an Australian wine traveller gets you in a lot of doors around the world. For one thing Australians have been loved as travellers a long time as they tend to be open-minded, fun, aware and generally up for a good time. I'm concerned that this positive image is starting to lose its sheen but that's another topic. As one of the world's major producers and the largest exporter outside of Europe you would struggle to find anyone in the global wine industry that isn't aware that Australia makes wine.

In fact most are aware of the meteoric rise of Australian wine in the '90s in Europe and North America thanks to the strong marketing and communications of varietal labelling. Not to mention the major strides made in large-scale commercial production reducing costs whilst making clean fruit-driven wines. Australia became the number one country imported into the United Kingdom and in many cases second only to Italy or France. It's brands seemed indestructible.

Undoubtedly with a certain amount of glee the rest of the world has watched Australian wine fall from grace over the past five or more years. Numerous experts both within Australia and without have looked at figures and attempted to explain this incredible reversal of fortune. Having made some of the most important advances along with the United States in the '70s and '80s, Australia has seen other wine-producing countries in South America, Europe and Africa beat them at their own game in terms of value/quality and cost.

Mornington Peninsula - 10/3/2013

When I was young my grandparents owned a holiday house that our family made use of at least twice a year, particularly during summer. The house was pretty old, the beds weren't very comfortable and worst of all there was no television. In spite of this I always looked forward to holidays there. The house was in Rye on the Mornington Peninsula between Rosebud and Sorrento, and I have fond memories of beaching, fish & chips and the summer carnival. They sold the house when I was in my early teens and suddenly there was a hole in my heart where those experiences used to be. Once I became interested in wine that hole was filled in a different way when I discovered it as a wine region. Over the years I was introduced to many other wines and regions in Australia, especially in the Yarra Valley where I worked for quite a while, but Mornington always remained my favourite region in Australia. So it seems fitting that the first region I visited since my return was to the Mornington Peninsula.

At Main Ridge Estate, my favourite producer in the world

Prowein 2012, aka "The Business" - Dusseldorf, Germany

I'm not ashamed to admit that I am a Wine Trade Fair virgin. Way down in Australia we don't have anything like this as it is not a big enough market for such a trade fair, and most of the market is dominated by six wine companies. The closest thing we have is individual distributors inviting their producers to show new release wines either once a year or every other year. Having visited Prowein 2012 I can say that this is preferable, as there are far less producers to see and I am familiar with them all. There is also the fact that I know many other attendees and can chat about the wines with them. Attending Prowein is a little bit like the edible room scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, except in that scene they knew what everything was and what they wanted to taste. I spent most of my time wandering around not knowing many of the producers and not knowing which were good enough to visit. It is amazing to see all of these big bright shiny stands, and the layout is generally clear and makes sense. There are a lot of stands for negociants and importers, so you sometimes stumble on Australian wines in the German hall, or French wines in the Spanish hall.

Shiny Prowein 2012

The second problem that I had was the difficulty in tasting the wines completely out of context. I have now been travelling for five months across three wine continents, where I visit the regions vineyards and wineries before tasting a selection of wines. Tasting wines with owners and winemakers at the estate gives you wonderful perspective and understanding and deepens the connection with the wine. Tasting at Prowein is inelegant and unromantic for a number of reasons. The first is that in such a crowded and corporate environment there is no connection to what makes the wines so unique and great, which is the vineyards and winery. The second is that producers are often distracted, exhausted, overwhelmed and so bored with saying the same things over and over again. They have little interest in talking to someone who isn't a customer in the immediate future. The third reason is that the vast majority of wines on offer are brand spanking new, mostly still in barrel/tank or freshly bottled wines that are far too young to truly appreciate and enjoy. The German wine trade/consumers like their wines young before they are even ready and actually expressing something.

VDP pavilion at Prowein 2012

I spent the Sunday of Prowein 2012 in Hall Four which was dedicated to Germany, and most of this was spent in the VDP section where I caught up with producers I had visited or ones that I hadn't but wanted to. It was great to meet with and try some new wines with people like Kuenstler, Wittman, Christmann, Leitz, Hans Wirsching, Gunderloch and Buerklin-Wolf. I was also glad to be able to meet and try wines with such amazing German producers as Fritz Haag (Mosel), Emrich Schoenleber & Dr. Crusius (Nahe), Rebholz & Becker (Pfalz) and Kuehn (Rheingau). All of these producers were astonishingly good, with Haag, Crusius and Kuehn particular highlights.

Spanish pavilion at Prowein 2012

The second day at Prowwin was spent in Hall Seven which was dedicated to Austria. Thanks to a couple of importers in Australia that I worked with back in Melbourne I was familiar with a few names, some of which I had already made appointments to visit immediately following Prowein. In researching good estates to visit in Austria I had discovered that most of the top estates are all imported by Cellarhand (much like the top German estates), and so went to introduce myself. In general I was very ignorant of the many and varied names in Hall Seven, particularly as I was yet to visit the country and its regions. It was great to meet producers like Knoll, Bruendlmayer, FX Pichler, Nigl, Stadt Krems, Moric, Kollwentz, Alzinger, Franz Hirtzberger and Sepp Moser. Again the 2011 wines on offer are far too young to truly express anything, but they certainly got me excited to visit and get to know them better.

A familiar face at Prowein 2012

The third day I was a tad jaded with the experience, and somewhat tired from the party the night before hosted by the German Sommeliers Association. Held in the top nightclub in Dusseldorf there is free-flowing wine from five different bars, and it is a veritable who's-who of the German wine industry. I had been invited by my lovely host at Weingut Hans Wirsching Andrea Ebert, and it was great to see her and a number of people I had met on my German excursion. Anyway, the third day I went a wandering and saw a number of producers that I had already visited in North & South America, and some I am hoping to visit this year in Europe. I was also feeling a little homesick, and so when passing through the Australian area I couldn't resist tasting some wines from De Bortoli, as the Yarra Valley was my first wine home back in 2006 and I knew the wines were good as they were the first I ever cellared.

De Bortoli stand at Prowein 2012

I was glad to have had the opportunity to attend the trade fair to know what it is like without the pressure of being on the job and running around to appointments. Next time I attend I will probably be there in an official and non-observational capacity, so won't be overwhelmed with the experience. At least I will be somewhat prepared for Vinitaly in a few weeks. Or will I...

Voyager Estate Benchmarking Masterclass and More

Although I have now finished at King & Godfree and am frantically making final preparations for my trip, I am still making time to head out to some trade activity around Melbourne. It's good to get out and try some wines before I go as it will be a while before I drink Australian wines again. It's kind of why I'm spending time in South Australia around my graduation ceremony in Adelaide next week. Not having visited the Barossa or Clare I thought it pertinent considering I am about to travel around the world! Posts will follow about the jaunt next week (assuming I have time before I go).

Last week I popped along to the Fesq tasting where several principles were in attendance worth chatting with. The Best's wines have never looked better, and it will be interesting to visit the winery on Friday on the way across to Adelaide tomorrow. The Leconfield wines impressed for their quality for the money, as did the elegant Sons of Eden wines. The 2010 Sorrenberg wines were exceptional; the very definition of elegance and "hands-off" winemaking. Having only heard about and seen it, the Clape Cornas was pretty amazing and also good value compared to some Cote Rotie. It was also nice to chat with the various winemakers, always good to share perspective and insights.

This past Monday gave the opportunity to have a look at some of the new releases of Moor St Wines, Deja Vu and Vintage & Vine. A number of winemakers/owners were in town to show their latest vintages, including Jeffrey Grosset (the 2011 Rieslings were a testament to the vineyards and the winemakers' gift), Patrick Carmody (some back vintage Craiglee wines showed the amazing ageing potential of the somewhat underrated Shiraz), and Ron Laughton (the 2010 Jasper Hill Shiraz wines showed brilliance in power and restraint). Some of the imports showed pretty well, including some Segura Viudas Cava, the Santorini Greek wines, the Pichot Vouvrays and the Chateau Mont Redon is as good as I remember when I visited last year.

Tuesday morning I headed down to Circa for the now annual but my first, Voyager Estate Masterclass. I've been to a few benchmarking tastings before, but they have generally been for one varietal. As champions for Cabernet Merlot blends, Shiraz and Chardonnay, Voyager Estate run their masterclass with all three styles/varietals. The sourcing of wines is very global, and shows the diversity and quality of wine all over the world. Naturally as these are all varieties of French extraction, there were three French examples which unusually showed the weakest of all the wines. The suggestion by Ben Edwards was that this could be partly traced back to cork and brettanomyces, something more uncommon in Australian wine.

Of the 2008 Chardonnay bracket the wines I found the most interesting were the Kistler Mountain Les Noisetiers (although few agreed with me), the Felton Road, and the Voyager Estate. The Kooyong Faultline unfortunately looked weak after the Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne, purely because of the weight and breadth of the previous wine. The 2009 Shiraz/Syrah wine that stood out the most for me was the Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Le Sol, which had elegance and concentration, with beautiful savoury spice undertones. Of the Australian Shiraz the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier showed exceptionally well, but really requires ageing. The 2007 Ornellaia was by far the pick in the Cabernet Blend bracket; power, length, balance and longevity. The Cullen Diana Madeline wasn't what I expected, it looked very supple and seems to be developing kind of quickly. The Voyager showed well in this bracket, but was very youthful and tightly locked up.

This past week I've opened a few treasures that I've been saving with the family. The 1996 Poderi Colla Barbaresco has been cellared amazingly well as it barely looked more than three years old. The cork was also in immaculate condition, as was the 1996 Mount Mary Pinot Noir. There is something very special about great Yarra Valley Pinots at  certain age, this wine took me back to the wine that convinced me to continue in the biz, the 1997 Yeringberg Pinot Noir. The Mount Mary was the best Pinot Noir I've ever tasted, and was perfectly posistioned in the sweet spot of age. The cork in the magnum, of 1992 Hanging Rock Heathcote Shiraz was unfortunately not faring so well, and the wine looked a little oxidised. It was hanging together pretty well though, but aged Australian Shiraz can be a little tough to grasp. Always more to experience I guess.

Interesting to see how two wines of the same age are developing

Is this the most exciting winemaker in Australia?

I think it is only fitting that my first official wine post be about a producer in my spiritual wine home - the Yarra Valley - as I started my wine career working in the cellar door at Chandon before moving into the marketing department. Having worked in the region for over three years and driven over most of it, this was pretty interesting...

On the 15th of this month I was lucky enough to be invited to a day exploring the Mac Forbes stomping ground, including a harrowing micro-flight over the region to see each of the many vineyards he sources from. It's been a while since I suffered motion sickness - as a child I couldn't be in a car for more than 4 hours without throwing up - but this flight certainly brought something back up (pun intended, though not literally thank god!) Whilst it was extremely interesting to see the extent and diversity of this misunderstood region from such a height, I struggled with the turbulence and was pretty quiet for the second half of the flight, glad to be back on solid ground once we landed. The helicopter  flight above the McLaren Vale a few months ago was slightly more relaxing.

Quite a view from high above the valley

After a brief interlude at the Coldstream vineyard for some respite, it was on to the exquisite Bella Vedere for a tasting and lunch. The 2010 MF wines look fantastic, and it was a great excercise to see how each vineyard had a different influence on the pinot and chardonnay varieties. It was also a great exercise in showing how diverse the Valley is from North to South, with robust and dark cherry characters for pinot in Dixons Creek (plus some interesting pepper and clove), to bright tight and red cherry/raspberry character in Woori Yallock. The Woori Yallock vineyard is clearly producing some excellent fruit as the 2010 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were the highlights.

Some interesting discussion was enjoyed over the tasting, about the variety of styles exhibited in the range, and the nature of producing styles one is passionate about and enjoys drinking. Whilst I personally loved the Woori Yallock wines as they were reminiscent of some of my favourite Morgnington pinots, I noted that there were several wines that were more reflective of the broader Yarra Valley style that a lot of people would enjoy, particularly the Gruyere and Yarra Junction Pinots. Similarly there was a richer quality to the Hoddles Creek and Gruyere Chardonnays that I can appreciate, but prefer the austerity and minerality of the Woori Yallock Chardonnay.

Illustrious company indeed.

Back vintage Mac Forbes wines were lovingly imbibed over a delicious lunch prepared by Gary Cooper and team, accompanied by further discussion (some of which I had to edit out because it related to football). A couple of non-Mac Forbes wines were made available, including a 2010 SBS blend from one of the MF vineyards, and a delish white burgundy that Phillip RIch brings in. The magnums of Grand Cru Egly-Ouriet Rose open when we arrived were most definitely appreciated. I was interested to note Max Allen's passion for the Hugh Cabernet blend 2008, which is a personal fav and supports my assertion that YV Bordeaux blends should be done more in the YV. I was further interested to discover the 2007 vintage was even better for this wine, I'd love a chance to try that one, it'd go straight to the pool room.

A tasty morsel to kick lunch off.

Quite full and jolly I was kindly given a lift back into town, where I headed down to the docklands for the Nelson Trade Tasting. Highlights were undoubtedly the Leeuwin Estate wines (three vintage of Art Series Chardonnay, holy moly!), meeting the great Dan Buckle from Mount Langi Ghiran, and the 2007 Spinetta Barbaresco we enjoyed with a steak afterwards, although it was criminal to drink the wine so young and pay so much for it ($195, not happy Jan). All in all it was a great day, thanks to Mac and his team, and of course Rob and Stuart from Bibendum for including me.