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The Oxford Times Wine ClubA wine masterclass from Australia
Last week I was sat in Australia House taking part in a masterclass aimed at capturing "the past, present and future of Australia's leading wine expressions".
Put another way, the Australians wanted to show us that they are as capable of producing iconic wines as they are of delivering reliable, fruity, well-priced wines for the everyday.
There were 18 wines in the line-up, the first six of which were whites. We began with two Rieslings. Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, Clare Valley 2005 was sill frightfully young with mouthwatering citrus fruits.
Despite that, there was the start of more generous fruits on the palate and a surprising weightiness. It seemed mean to taste it in such infancy.
The Pewsey Vale The Countours Riesling 2002, from Eden Valley, was well ahead of the game with three more years bottle age to its belt.
Still dry and equally linear, its maturity showed in the lovely oily, nutty fruit flavours. It was a great start.
Riesling may have failed to woo cynical consumers but both wines showed the grape qualities and its potential in the cooler vineyards north of Adelaide.
Next was the McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 2001 from the Hunter Valley. It's not a grape I see that often as a single variety until you get to the more serious, that's to say, pricey, end of the market.
When it's young and unoaked it's a devil to get a handle on and frustratingly quiet. It's a grape for the patient. Now seven years old, this example had developed a delicious praline-like nose with grapefruit and Clementine flavours.
It was upright and crisp and held me to attention as though I had been summoned by a sergeant major.
I'm going to skip by the trio of chardonnays. Not that they weren't commendable but I just didn't find them interesting enough and there was much chat about inspiration from Burgundy and new clones but I was eager to move to the reds.
Following weight and style, it was bound to be Pinot Noir for starters. I mentioned just the other week that the Tasmanian Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir I'd drunk at The Harrow had been disappointing. This was my chance to try the more upmarket Kayena Reserve 2005 from the same estate.
Sadly, it didn't rock my boat. It was heavy on the oak and seemed unbalanced and clumsy. Perhaps it needed time to settle but I couldn't see myself nominating this as one of Australia's finest.
Much more to my taste was the Kooyong Ferrous Pinot Noir 2005 from Mornington Peninsula. The fruit was more fragrant and there were hints of spice and smoke that made it all the more interesting.
We were halfway and I was starting to get tetchy. There's no question that I'd tasted some lovely wines but I wasn't sure that I'd tasted anything that was world class.
Then I had a sample of the Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot 2005 from the Margaret River in Western Australia. If taste buds could smile, they did.
The Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyards were planted in 1971 and the Merlot vines followed six years later. It was still a baby but there was so much to get excited about: rich, vibrant fruits were delivered in a deliciously chewy mouthful. It was elegant, well-structured and with great intensity. Here was a wine that I wanted to have in my collection and to savour in years to come. This was unquestionably serious stuff.
It seems that Cabernet/Merlot blends are increasingly taking second place to the power of Shiraz, which is much loved both on its own and as a supporting partner to Cabernet.
Two wines made the case for Shiraz. The first was Hardys Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1999 from McLaren Vale. It was the most mature and arguably the finest.
When I sniffed it, I wrote simply wow' and when I tasted it I jotted down a seemingly endless list of adjectives to describe its finesse, complexity and longevity. Extraordinary.
Not quite of the same quality (yet!) was Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2004 from Barossa. Given the five years' difference in age, it's not fair to make a direct comparison but there was much to love; cassis-soaked fruits, lively expression and a lovely weight in the palate.
I've been to my fair share of so-called iconic' tastings recently and most have been disappointing.
The fault, I don't think, lies with the wines but with the organisers who set unrealistic expectations. No country or region will have dozens or even hundreds of icon wines; they will do well to have a handful.
Australia is right to trumpet all that is good about its wines. But let's be realistic and not try to make every wine into something it's not. Not every athlete is an Olympic gold medallist but when we find them, we should cheer them every step of the way.
Click here for The Oxford Times Wine Club offers.
10:48am Thursday 8th May 2008
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