The First Morning

To be clear this was a wine appreciation trip. After a quick stop at Toops Hill, view shown left, I was off to Yangarra Estate the hosts of the Grenache and Grenache Blends tasting, not to mention a much needed coffee and a bite of breakfast.

The standouts from the tasting were:

• 2008 DogRidge CADENZiA Grenache
• 2008 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Bush Vine Grenache
• 2009 d'Arenberg The Cadenzia GSM
• 2008 Yangarra Old Vine Grenache, and
• 2008 Yangarra Cadenzia (GSM).

So what is Cadenzia? Well it is a wine that is 100% McLaren Vale fruit, Grenache-dominant and approved by the members, or more eloquently from the McLaren Vale site:

"Cadenzia - n. A creative and individual expression of McLaren Vale Grenache made by an inspired winemaker to demonstrate harmony, excitement and energy.

McLaren Vale’s CADENZIA project makes music from Grenache. Great composers like Beethoven and Bach often left gaps in their sheet music, where the lead soloist could play a Cadenza, letting go some heartfelt improvisation before returning to the score.

At the end of vintage, McLaren Vale’s winemakers look away from the score and infuse some virtuoso interplay with Grenache, each blending something that’s rhythmically driving: CADENZIA. Music you can drink."

Really the Cadenzia project is one of those organised things that define a region, a deliberate pursuit of an expression of place and style. Similarly, for Shiraz, McLaren Vale has recently launched the Scarce Earth project. And although these great wines weren't on the schedule, a Shiraz Master Class was -- off to

Wirra Wirra.

On show turned out to be (with my notes of curiosity):

• 2006 Ulithorne Frux Frugis Shiraz - Aged Release (Feb 2009), Graceful

• 2008 Mitolo GAM Shiraz - Made by Ben Glaetzer

• 2008 Maximus Shiraz - Colour & Blackcurrant

• 2008 DogRidge Shirtfront Shiraz - Surprise Find

• 2008 Paxton Jones Block Vineyard Shiraz - Great Savoury Drop

• 2008 Woodstock The Stocks - Great one to age, Nearly get splinters

• 2008 d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz - Well known, Greatness

• 2008 Chapel Hill Vicar - Could've sworn it was a Grenache... Apricots

• 2009 Maxwell Silver Hammer - Ripper food wine

• 2009 Shingleback The Gate - Taste directly follows nose

• 2009 Wirra Wirra Woodhenge Shiraz - Another great Foody; and

• 2009 Yangarra - Perfume and Purple.

You can see how detailed tasting notes could get lost! If I had to pick the top 5... Shirtfront, Silver Hammer, The Stocks, Vicar & Dead Arm with honourable mentions to GAM, Woodhenge and Maximus.

Well it was now 1225 on Day 1, and time to head for the burgeoning varieties tasting at Chapel Hill. The highlights were:

2010 Coriole Sangiovese

2009 Coriole Sangiovese Shiraz

2006 d'Arenberg Sticks and Stones Tempranillo Grenache Tinta Cao Souzoa

2009 d'Arenberg Cenosilicaphic Cat Sagrantino Cinsault

2005 DogRidge MVP Petit Verdot

2009 Kangarilla Rd Sangiovese

2008 Kay Brothers Basket Pressed Mataro

2009 Yangarra Mourvedre, and

2010 Yangarra Roussane.

One Thing Leads To Another...

The quality of the South Australian Wine Regions, often leads to some oversight of the wonderfully diverse and old region of McLaren Vale. I am guilty of too often stopping at the same olds, but who isn't?

The standard tour that I would run around McLaren Vale when I resided there, would start with d'Arenberg, then onto Chapel Hill, before the amazing Samuel's Gorge. There might occasionally be a new opportunity stop, such as Woodstock, but really they were just speed bumps on the way to Hahndorf for lunch, but you have heard about that before.

I recently got the opportunity to have a deeper look at the region, 30 km South of Adelaide. The region is firmly rooted in viticulture, grape-growers with a purpose and a region with a sense of place. The story of the region goes beyond the 1838 Reynell first plantings to geological formations and change of the order of 1.6 Billion years history. The remnant soils on geology are attributed with many of the unique characteristics displayed by McLaren Vale wine. No more clear than the abundant citing of perfume arising from the sand on clay from Blewett Springs.

But geology and soils are but a part of the oft misattributed terroir. Climate and geography are critical components too. McLaren Vale, bounded by the Gulf of St Vincent, from Hallet Cove to Sellicks Beach sees coastal climate-moderating effects typical to the Mediterranean, where the southern Mount Lofty Ranges crash into the sea. The border of the region runs up the foothills along Willunga Fault until it reaches the Adelaide Hills region at around Clarendon. The belly of this approximate triangle is undulated and diversity of terrain, incorporating:

• Ancient Rocks,
• Sand and Sandstone
• Limestone Country,
• Clay Plains of Aldinga,
• The Piedmont,
• Talus Slope, and
• Alluvial Flats.

To round out this introduction to McLaren Vale, I should probably introduce the wines. Based on 2008 figures, the region produces approximately 80% Red Wine of which it is dominated by Shiraz (66.4%) with some supporting roles by Cabernet Sauvignon (15.9%), Grenache (6.7%) and Merlot (5.2%). In the White Wines, the usual suspect of Chardonnay (54%) is the major, supported by Semillon (12.3%), Sauvignon Blanc (11.9%) and Riesling (4.7%).

I promise we will eventually get to the wines...

2011 Harvest Festival

After a previous post, I was tempted to try something a little more than wine, jazz & cheese. The first such place visited was Little Bridge Wines, an intriguing quadrumvirate dabbling and seemingly doing well in their efforts. I recommend the site linked above to read of their tale. It is a refreshing change to "Alfred who begot Gertrude who begot Caufield succeeded by Jiminy", if you take my meaning.

Their range includes a Vintage Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Shiraz, Cabernet Blend and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Personally, I was taken with the Riesling and the Cabernets (although the latter may have been inspired by another little Bordeaux-styled number).

It wasn't particularly the wine that drew us there, as I was embarrassingly ignorant of them, nor was it the obligatory "band & cheese" that is the apparent cost of featuring a winery in the Canberra region. The attraction of something novel is what made the decision for us, that novel thing was the opportunity to make wine.

The details were sketchy and barely made more clear prior to arrival, but true to the promise, there were freshly picked Pinot Noir grapes (reportedly of 13.4 Baume). The deal for the day was merely to see to the crushing of the Pinot and the beginning of fermentation. A simple contribution but with the promise of further involvement and ultimately some wine at the end, well worth the effort.

Some other wineries visited on the return journey were Affleck Vineyard, who offered a range of very decent drops at very approachable prices, and Shepherd's Run, who were overrun and not accommodating to our party.

I look forward to more novelty in the future of the Canberra Region.

2010 Penfolds Bin 23 Pinot Noir

For me, this was the pick of the Penfolds Bin Release Tasting. You might find that surprising, considering a previous post, but this is not inconsistent.

The 2010 is only the second release of this Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir in the Bin series. It is designed to be an approachable wine, amply achieved with confectionery on the nose. Red berries on the palate with the softest tannins.

A curious qwoffer, a great starter wine that's easy to drink now and often.

2009 Glaetzer Anaperenna

Following on from the Dutschke, is this big bad Barossan.

Swirling around the glass, it is crimson and leggy. Wafts of plum jam and tastes of red berries, chocolate and coffee. The tannins linger for eternity showing that this goddess of the new year will be lay down for 10+, but you won't be able to...

2001 Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon

Nostalgia reigned supreme as I dug this one out of the cellar. The reason that I came to wine was two little Penfolds numbers 128 and 407, albeit a few vintages earlier. It was some years later that I began to be in a position to lay some down and you can be sure that the Bin 407 was amongst the first few of those.

Cracking it out ahead of the impending Penfolds Bin Release Tasting, that was to be the next day, was to be a great idea.

The wine had transformed, no longer the inky purple, now brick red and a faint taste of blueberries. A rusty colour that told of the tannins that used to be sharper but now flat, eroded and nostalgic. The wine tasted of its life, not well cared for, well-travelled transiting from Canberra, through Brisbane to Adelaide and back again to Canberra. It's trip was at an end.

Tasting the new release (2008) it came back. The gateway wine that it was for me, this easy and approachable Cabernet Sauvignon - Drink it now.

What Makes a Region?

The first time I visited the Canberra Wine Region was 2008, it was a fleeting visit, a test of it's maturity. As a region, it failed. But it made me wonder what makes a wine region? It is clearly more than terroir, the Barossa is as diverse in terroir as all of NSW's growing regions. It is more than one or two flagship wines or even varieties.

What stood out to me were the responses to questions of where else to try in the region. Such questions were often met with indignation. No favourites, no cross-referrals, no sense of community.

There is something else about a region, a sense of community. The sense of community needs to be more than the farmers having been neighbours for as long as the vines have grown. It is more than the kids playing together and following in their forebears footsteps. There is a certain maturity that comes to a region that is beyond the first Cellar Door. It is all of these things; a definitive variety, flagship wineries, iconic labels, a daring to go beyond the expectations, ever emerging new talent and genuine belief that all of the produce of the region should be enjoyed by as many as possible.

Please take this as it is meant, there were some great wines tasted on that brief tour including Clonakilla and Helm, lovely people and fantastic characters. What was missing was the glue, the sense of place, the unity of region.

Now in 2011, I feel the region has come a long way. The region is varietally defining itself with Riesling and cool-climate reds, flagship wineries are standing up and being counted. There is new blood, emerging talents and just the right amount of challenging the status quo.

I am an advocate of Canberra wines, but as a region it is still maturing. Take, for example, the imminent Harvest Festival. 26 of the 33 wineries in the region advertise activities, but most are a simple variation on the cellar door being open, a few gumboot tours and a smattering of Jazz. I'll admit there are a few different things like Dionysus bottling wine, Little Bridge Wines making wine (well crush and begin ferment, but you can go back over the weeks to engage in various parts of the process) and even a unique Thai-style dinner (unfortunately cancelled). But it still feels disjointed, lacking unity of action and a centre of critical mass.

Where do people gather? They have to arrange their own transport between wineries. How do people know where to go? They have to choose or flit between the options. Lots of things may actually occur, but there can be no sense of where or what is happening beyond each venue.

I will be out there trying a few of the interesting options during the festival, but I yearn for the day when it becomes a celebration of the community of the Canberra Wine Region.