Drinking Aussie Wine in the US

More than any other country, Australian wine transformed the international wine scene with its clean, fruity, and affordable wines which became readily available in the 1980s. The immediacy of the wines, and the marketing that went with it, provided a challenge to traditional wine-producing countries, particularly France, which had previously held an unquestioned dominant position in the global wine industry. In the UK, Australia leads the market with appealingly fruity Shiraz and clean, easy Chardonnay. This has come with a downside, however, as the wines are often viewed as too simple and shallow; fine as an entry-level wine, but not fit for anything more.

It's been a similar story in the US, which is now Australia's biggest market by value (with exports of AU$443m). Australia's position in the US market was led by Yellow Tail ( or [yellow tail] as it's labelled), a high-volume wine designed solely for export. Launched in 2003, its success was instant and huge, but now the very simple and very cheap (around $5) wines are what many American drinkers associate Australian wine with. A further issue is that Australian wines are perceived to be a challenger to domestic wines: fruity, forward, and immediate. On the flip side, one could argue that California's difficulty in penetrating the UK market is down to Australia's more affordable, but similarly fruity, and very popular wines, which again adds to the idea that the US and Australia are inevitable competitors.  

All of this makes finding good Australian wine in the US difficult, a scarcity which makes it further harder to challenge the perception of those wines. The best Australian wines are very different from how they're mostly viewed: often sourced from cooler climates, these wines can have a surprisingly restrained, if still ripe, fruit quality; Shiraz, in particular, can be remarkably similar to its French Syrah counterpart, with an earthy, game, peppery character.

At a recent tasting in a San Francisco art gallery, I sampled a number of wines which emphasised the differences between Australian and Californian wine. It also demonstrated the determination of Australia to promote the very best of its wines and lead consumers away from the [yellow tail] trail. It's Shiraz, Australia's signature grape, rather than Cabernet which has the potential to do so. Cabernet is similarly ripe and fruity, whereas Shiraz expresses more the individuality, character, and history of its regions. 

Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 2 2010 ($90)

Yarra is a region which most immediately challenges perceptions of Australian wine. Just west of Melbourne, the temperatures are cooler than those of Bordeaux and it's become known as a great region for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Pinot Noirs especially are world class, but Yarra Yering also make this great Shiraz (blended unusually with a little bit of Mataro [Mourvèdre], Marsanne, and Viognier), which has a slightly stinky, mature nose, with restrained fruit and subtle spice notes. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

 

Kaesler Old Bastard Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 ($190)

Australian wine does two things very well: old-vine Shiraz and striking labels. Here's the perfect example: from vines planted in 1893, with a funny cartoon label, and its hard to avoid name - who else would call a $190 wine Old Bastard? Different from the Yering Dry Red because it's defiantly Australian, with ripe, juicy, yet very pure fruits, but it's again peppery (a quality more associated with cooler climate Shiraz) and has a firm tannic structure which holds the fruity nature of the wine together. ✪✪✪✪✪✪

Yangarra Estate Ironheart Shiraz McLaren Vale 2013 ($100)

What I like about Australian Shiraz is how herbal the wines can be, and this is a good example with its mint and eucalyptus aromas. The fruits are as ripe as one would expect from Australia but with gripping tannins. And as with many of Australia's best regions, the acidity is high and lively enough to lift the wine. ✪✪✪✪✪

Shiraz, of course, is not the only quality aspect of Australian wine. The whites, particularly Chardonnay, are fragrant and fruity but with an acidity which lightens the wines (though I do suspect Australian whites are too often acidified); and Riesling can be stunning (Clare Valley's Grosset are a famous and reputable producer). The sweet wines, often called Stickies, are also some of the most individual wines in the world, and I'll be writing about them in another blog. But it's the high-quality Shiraz that will likely break Australian wine into the high-end US market, as it's familiarly fruity but with herbal earth aromas not often found in California's best wines. 

Blind Tasting at Australia House

One of the many daunting aspects of studying for the Diploma is tasting wines blind. All you have in front of you is a glass with some wine in it, and after that it's up to you. No clues about taste, no prejudices about quality, and lots of fear you just might get it completely wrong. Sniffing the wine, swishing it in your mouth, writing tentative tasting notes are a test of your ability as a taster, proof that you can distinguish a good wine from a bad one, as well as one style from another.

At the same time, it's an exciting challenge. The wine speaks for itself; you have to dig deep into your knowledge; and if you get something completely wrong, it's a learning experience for the next time. And if you get something right, there's a feeling of smug satisfaction you shouldn't cherish for too long.

so what's the point of blind tasting and how do you go about it?

The point of blind tasting is quite simple: you taste a wine without knowing what it is in order to form an objective opinion. It's almost like a conversation where the wine is speaking to you in code, which you use your knowledge and experience to interpret. It's difficult - as much knowledge and experience as you have, that code can still be indecipherable - but with a certain logic, educated guesswork, and luck you can come to the right conclusions. Perhaps more importantly, you can discover exciting wines you might have otherwise ignored.

Blind tastings, for instance at the launch of a region's new vintage, can involve hundreds of wines or, at smaller tasting events, are arranged in flights - that is, three or more wines that have something in common to taste side by side - with the purpose of distinguishing wines by quality, style, origin, flavour, and/or price. It requires knowledge, of course - for instance, what Cabernet Sauvignon generally tastes like compared to Syrah/Shiraz - and the ability to reach conclusions based on that knowledge. Look for flavour characteristics and think of grapes they're associated with; the intensity of the aromas may also point you to a grape or a region; analyse the acidity on tasting and, for a red wine, the tannins; and from all this draw conclusions about the style and quality of the wine.

But it also requires a great deal of guesswork and luck; after all, there are so many wines out there doing their own thing and not adhering to textbook descriptions. That's why assessing the flavour profile and quality of the wine is just as, if not more important than, guessing the grape the wine's made from: origin is important, quality is essential.

When you discover the identity of the wine, will your opinion change or be confirmed? Will the price point alter your view of the wine commercially? Will you turn away in disgust and inwardly curse, I can't believe I liked that wine?

Australia House

I travelled down yesterday to the Unreal City for a blind tasting arranged by Wine Australia. This is part of a series of trade blind tastings they've arranged in order to promote Australian wine, all held at the Australian Embassy. A great opportunity to taste a range of styles of Australian wines, there were twenty-one wines arranged in four different flights. Excitingly, there were quiz questions too. Tasting these wines one after the other, without knowing what they were but constantly trying to work out what they were, was intense and tough. The difficulty is at the beginning of the flights conclusions are formed that the subsequent wines dispute. Still, when I got a list of the wines afterwards, I didn't do quite as badly in the quiz questions as I had worried.

flight one

Four white wines: three of them from the same grape, the other from a different varietal. Which was the odd one out and what was the grape? Wines with a palate-cleansing high acidity and a searingly dry finish pointed to Riesling, but the quiz question didn't help because with each wine I was trying too hard to spot the one that stood out as different. In the end, I plumped for the wine which had fruitier flavours and was less dry, but I had no idea which other varietal it could be. As a safe bet that's always wrong, I went for Chardonnay. It turned out to be Pinot Gris; I don't think I've ever had an Australian Pinot Gris before, so this was a new experience. I didn't actually like it that much though (one of the indications to me that it wasn't Riesling).

trick wine: The Lane Block 2 Pinot Gris 2012, Adelaide Hills (£15)

best wine: Gatt Eden Valley Riesling 2010 (£20)

 

flight two

Six white wines, all the same grape variety: which of the wines is from Margaret River? In France, it's possible to differentiate between regions because the grapes used are different: despite the similarity in name, the differences between a Pouilly-Fuissé (made from Chardonnay and powerfully oaked) and Pouilly-Fumé (Sauvignon Blanc) should be clear in a blind tasting. The differences between the wine regions of Australia are less clear, because the same grapes are grown across the country and styles vary according to producer as much as anything else. The wines in this flight were all from Chardonnay and I went for Wine 7 as being from Margaret River just because it was fuller bodied and oakier than the other wines. No idea if it was educated guesswork or sheer luck, but I was right.

Margaret River wine: Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2008 (£22.40)

best wine: Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay 2008, Geelong (£46)

flight three

Six red wines, all the same grape variety: what's the grape variety and which is the most expensive wine? The menthol aromas of the first wine suggested that it was Cabernet Sauvignon, aromas which were constant throughout this flight, to the point that I felt the wines were just too minty and eucalyptus flavoured, lacking the black fruits and oaky tannins that makes wine from Cabernet Sauvignon so appealing. The best wine by far was the final one of the flight and which I selected as the most expensive of the six. As with the Chardonnays, my favourite was the most costly: proof that I have acquired an expensive palate, but also that price and quality do sometimes correlate.

most expensive wine: Balnaves The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Coonawarra (£82)

best wine: as above

flight four

Another five reds: which one is from Barossa? Part of the education in the guesswork is knowing which grapes Australia mostly uses: for whites, there's Semillon, Chardonnay, and Riesling, for reds Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Of those five, it was obvious that there could only be one of them missing in these four flights and that it was going to be white. The simple difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, I have found in Diploma tastings, is the menthol and cassis aromas of the former and the chocolate aromas of the latter. The Shirazes impressed much more than the Cabernets, as there were some really complex, developed wines. Which one was from Barossa? Didn't have a clue, so went for the one I rated the best. That was from Adelaide Hills. My second favourite was from Barossa, at £9.99 amazingly good value.
 

Barossa wine: Thorn Clarke Shiraz 2010 (£9.99)

best wine: The Lane Reunion Shiraz 2010, Adelaide Hills (£28.50)

There was another quiz question: which of the wines on show is not from Australia and where's it from? My methodology here was to find the wine that wasn't screwcap, but every single bottle was (this is why a blind tasting should be served in neutral bottles). I went for one of the Cabernets as being from Hawke's Bay in New Zealand because it had gripping, unripe tannins (and most wine from New Zealand is screwcap and I thought wouldn't it be wonderful for the Ozzies to advertise a Kiwi wine in their own embassy), but it turned out to be a Chardonnay from South Africa. It would have been much more fun to involve a French wine, for that direct New World/Old World comparison; plus, it's so difficult to distinguish between New World wines as it's down more to the producer than the region or country.

my guess at non-Australian wine: Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, McLaren Vale (£20)

actual non-Australian wine: Bouchard Finlayson Crocodile's Lair 2012 (£13)*

This was a great, if intense, educational experience. The wines were mainly of very good quality; the tasting showed just how good Australian white wines are; and I do feel my tasting qualities have improved since I started my Diploma. One caveat though: Wine Australia have been hosting these tastings once a month since March through till June, every one in the same venue in the centre of London. The rest of Britain would like to learn about Australian wine too!

•yes, at an Australian tasting they picked a non-Australian wine called Crocodile's Lair

Diploma Week Three - Australia

A month after enduring the spirits and sparkling wine exams, we reconvened for three days of tasting New World wine and, thankfully, no exams. I'm a little suspicious of the term "New World"; after all, some of the oldest vines in the world are in Australia and California. However, as the first day tasting Australian wine demonstrated, the development of serious, quality wine, as well as popular, affordable wine, in non-European countries is a relatively recent phenomenon. Our tutor for the day, Michael Buriak, recalled working in the wine trade in the 1980s and stocking his shop's first ever bottle of Australian wine, seen as a novelty item. It sold out instantly, and Australian wine has never looked back - it's now consistently the number one selling wine by country in the UK. (Only the US drinks more Australian wine than the UK, and that's because of the ubiquitous Yellow Tail brand.)

The popularity of Australian wine makes it an interesting category. It's best known for producing inexpensive, high-volume, drinkable wines which unfortunately means that consumers are likely to stick to the inexpensive wines and ignore the high-quality, premium alternatives. This is a perception Australian wine is trying to shift, but when big brands like Jacob's Creek and Hardy's dominate the market it's hard.

Despite having 120-year-old vines, Australian winemakers are still learning their trade, moving on from big, oaky Chardonnay and fruit-bomb Shiraz to produce wines of elegance and subtlety. As I've learnt from working at hangingditch over the last eighteen months, and as this day's tasting further proved, premium Australian wine can be sensational and is getting better and better.

what we tasted

This was a stellar line-up, showcasing Australian wine at its best and most varied. Much of the wine was not the inexpensive stuff that makes Australian wine so popular, but it meant that we gained a real understanding of Australian terroir.

Australia is divided into areas of geographical indication. Although some of these areas are particularly associated with a grape variety or style of wine (e.g. Coonawarra and Cabernet Sauvignon), there are no real rules to them beyond geography. They can be very small or enormous, and there's probably no larger wine region in the world than South Eastern Australia, not that different in size from the EU. If you see the term South Eastern Australia on the label, then it's likely to be an inexpensive wine produced in the bulk regions of Riverland, Murray Valley, and Riverina.

Our first wine was an example of what makes Australian wine so popular. Hardy's Nottage Hill Chardonnay 2013 (c.£8) is a high-volume wine from South Eastern Australia, which basically means absolutely anywhere. It's been given oak qualities through the use of oak chips to give it a semblance of complexity. It's a decent wine that will make a sunny weekend perfectly pleasant. We saved this wine to taste alongside other Chardonnays later in the day, which did not do it any favours.

After that, our tasting was all about quality and varietal/regional typicity. Shaw + Smith are an excellent winery based in Adelaide Hills. Australia is a huge country dominated by arid, inhospitable desert. As with the population centres, quality wine is focused on the cooler coastal regions, which are cooled further by altitude. Thus, there's a concentration of quality wine regions around the city of Adelaide, such as Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, Clare Valley, and Adelaide Hills. We tasted two of Shaw + Smith's wines, both of which were very good. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc (c£16) was as good a Sauvignon Blanc as I've tasted in a while, while the 2012 Chardonnay (c£25), perhaps still a little too young, had an engaging delicate oakiness - a real indication of how Australian winemakers have discovered the attraction of restraint.

Interest in Riesling, the great and underappreciated German grape, has been revitalised by dry examples from Australia, particularly Eden and Clare Valley. Grosset Wines are a producer active since the early 1980s; winemaker Jeffrey Grosset considers 2013 to be the best Clare Valley vintage he's ever experienced, and the wine we tasted was from Polish Hill, one of the best sub-regions of Clare Valley (c£30). Therefore, the wine had a lot going for it, but its searingly high acidity meant that this wine possibly needs a few years before it drinks nearer its best. A more approachable Riesling came from a famous producer in Western Australia, Leeuwin, whose leading range of wines, "Art Series," features a work of art on the label each year from a local artist. The 2011 Riesling (c£20) was a complex, ageworthy wine, but still full of immediate citrus and sweet spice flavours.

In the same Art Series was the most expensive wine of the day, the 2010 Chardonnay (c£60), an outstanding wine that had everything you'd expect from a oaked Chardonnay: big, rich, toasty, with tropical fruits. Worth £60? If you've got the money, then yes. (The more affordable Leeuwin "Prelude" Chardonnay from the Wine Society gives an indication of what the premium version tastes like.)

Other than Riesling, the white grape that works best in Australia is Semillon. As Michael pointed out, this is one of the world's great grape varieties but is vastly underappreciated. It's there in Bordeaux in white blends and classic sweet wines like Sauternes, but other than it gets largely overlooked. We tasted a couple of Semillon wines, which showed how well it works in Australia. The first was my favourite wine of the day, a 2007 from Brokenwood in Hunter Valley (c£25). Hunter Valley is a region to the north of Sydney, its inhospitable climate as northern as quality wine gets in the country, but which is known for producing great Semillon. This was a fantastic wine: so complex and developed, yet its fruit fresh and young, a wine capable of lots of further ageing. The other Semillon was part of a blend with Sauvignon Blanc, as is common in Bordeaux whites. Produced biodynamically by Cullen in Margaret River, Western Australia, this was an unusual wine with 25% new oak to give it some depth and smoky flavours, as well as fragrant chamomile, thyme, and white chocolate aromas (c£20).

The grape that Australia is most famous for is, of course, Shiraz. The Eileen Hardy 2004 was a particularly interesting wine, as it demonstrated the difficulty Australia has in selling itself as a maker of premium, as well as inexpensive, wines. Produced by Hardy's, one of the country's leading brands, it retails at £40. For its quality, that's still quite a low price, but it struggles to sell. Why? Because who would pay that money for a wine by a brand? The wine was an outstanding example of a complex Australian Shiraz; identifiably McLaren Vale (to the south of Adelaide), with riper fruits than a French equivalent, it was a beautifully perfumed, elegant, mature Shiraz. Even maturer was the 1999 Jim Barry McRae Wood Museum Release. At £35-40 and fifteen years old, this represents incredibly good value. The wine is from Clare Valley; although known for Riesling, the area produces elegant, smooth Shiraz and this is a stunning example, with black fruits, leather and meat, coffee and floral flavours.

As all the great white wines we tasted showed, Australia isn't just about Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon is known for its association with Coonawarra (c£16), but it's in Margaret River, Western Australia, that the grape arguably reaches the heights of Bordeaux. The Vasse Felix Heytesbury (c£40), from the area's oldest producer (established 1967), was outstanding and a fitting climax to the day. As with many of the other wines, it demonstrated that the French concept of terroir is very much present in a New World country such as Australia, representing the qualities of the grape and the wine's specific area - and showing also that expensive Australian wine is very much worth it. 

The day's tasting was exhaustive (and exhausting) - and we had two days of other New World wine to follow. None quite matched the extensive, exceptional line-up of Australian wines, but I'm now on my way to California to explore fully the great wines of that region. Expect lots of blogs about sunshine and wine. I'll try not to gloat too much.