Barossa Wine Traveller Launch

Well, it's finally done. Barossa Wine Traveller is published, and coming to a bookstore near you. There are a ton of great stories in here, offering an insight into the Barossa that the locals know and enjoy. Charlie Melton's stuff in particular is a hoot, and Pete Scholz from The Willows and Rob Gibson also gave up some wonderful anecdotes.

If you want to read a little more, check out www.barossawinetraveller.com.au for stockists or if you just want to buy a copy.

Barossa Wine Traveller

Many moons ago, my then partner (now wife) came home from work one day and said, "There's a wine nerd like you at my work." Cruel, but accurate.

Not long later, I got in touch with said person, a budding wine enthusiast by the name of Tyson Stelzer. Soon after we both found ourselves with little wine writing gigs in a couple of magazines, which meant that a few samples started coming our way.

So what we did was get together every couple of weeks, taste the samples, discuss wines, and basically use each other as a sounding board as we tried to understand wine a little better.

Tyson has gone on to become one of the most prolific writers in the country, authoring numerous books, and contributing to Decanter and Wine Spectator. I've gone down a different path, and consequently we don't see that much of each other these days, although we do stay in touch.

A while back, it was observed by Barossa winemaker Wayne Dutschke that the Barossa Valley didn't have an up-to-date tourist guide that detailed all the wine producers in the 'Valley. Tyson and I came into the discussion, the idea of writing a book was mooted and then it was promptly forgotten about for a good year.

The Tyson called and said, 'Do you want to write this book?', and the rest, as they say, is history. Or history from Friday(tomorrow) onwards, when 'Barossa Wine Traveller' will be launched in Tanunda on August 28.

Writing a book is a massive task. For two months I don't think I went to bed before midnight once. We set a seriously tight writing and research schedule, but met the deadlines somehow.

The result is something that I'm very proud of, but most of the credit needs to go to Tyson. The writing is just one part- putting a book like this together though is way out of my league.

The photography by Dragan Radocaj in Barossa Wine Traveller is some of the most spectacular I have ever seen, and it's a good read- Barossa through the eyes of the Barossan's. Check it out at http://www.barossawinetraveller.com.au/

Stellar Aussie Chardonnay

I opened seven Australian Chardonnay's over the last few days. For me, this is a category that has gone ahead in leaps and bounds over the last half dozen years, with a trend towards more adventurous winemaking and restrained use of oak.

But if anything, a few of the wines tasted have gone almost too far in search of elegance and refinement. Lower alcohols and a citrus driven profile has been achieved, but at the expense of flavour development and interest. Texturally too, a couple were a touch mean, with a pitched acid attack that hinted of under-ripeness. A work in progress, in some cases, but fascinating to observe nonetheless. There was, however, one stand out wine,

Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2008 $35

A beguiling wine of complexity and subtlety. A fine balance between winemaking intervention and fruit expression has been struck- faintly creamy /oatmeal/ white peach aromatics, with delicate citrus and white peach flavours buttressed by the textural influence of high quality oak and a dollop of malo. Low in alcohol (13%) but high in flavour, interest and enjoyment. 94 points, drink 2010+

Shiraz and Regionality

The concept of regionality has been on the mind for a while. It is the catchcry of the industry Down Under, a central platform for the marketing boffins seeking to reinvent Australia's identity as a wine producing nation.


It's a good one too. The idea that Australia is one big, homogenous, vinous blob is absurd in the extreme but nonetheless it is a theory being perpetuated by a few detractors in the global market. One way to change that perception is to show how regionality manifests itself in the final product.



Whether there are enough people out there to whom this point of difference matters is another question altogether. The industry, and those around it who are passionate about wine, always tend to overestimate the level of interest that the average wine drinker has in learning more about wine. For most, it's a drink; an alcoholic beverage.


There are two questions which are primarily asked by the unengaged wine drinker; 'What does it cost?', and ' Is it any good?' To further demonstrate how far we have to go before regionality is a relevant component of the buying process for the majority of consumers, examine the fact that in the Netherlands, a significant emerging market, 94% of bottled wine sold sells for under 6 euros a unit. It simply isn't possible to make a regionally specific, varietally distinctive wine in Australia at quality orientated yields and to get it to retail in an overseas market at this price.


But that's where the market is at the moment, whether we like it or not. We may have unique, individual wines that speak of their origins right across the 60+ growing regions of Australia, but we also need a heck of a lot of people to start trading up as well if we want to sell them at prices where everyone makes a dollar. Patently, there is some work to do.

Nonetheless, and to sate my own curiosity, I thought I'd take a look at a range of Shiraz from five different Australian wine growing regions to refresh my own thoughts on the notion of regionality,



Warramate (White Label) Shiraz 2007 $42 (Yarra Valley, Victoria)



From 37 year old vines grown in the Yarra Valley. Quite an elegant, refined Shiraz. You'd pick the cool climate origins- the pepper, spice and dark cherry elements dropping a hint, and then the savoury, medium weight palate and low-ish alcohol confirming first impressions. Lovely line and length here and delicate tannins, not a bruiser but it is a wine you keep coming back to for another glass. (And like most good wines, it is even more impressive on the second day, filling out and becoming more complex) 93 points, 2011+



Picardy Shiraz 2007 $25 (Pemberton, WA)


The nose on this wine, year after year, always challenges. Smoky, meaty, peppery, spicy, showing a little reduced, becoming more floral and clovey with air. Yet again though, the flavours of this wine are bright and delicious, with lingering red cherry and red plum flavours that have some meaty, savoury complexity in the background. It is a versatile, interesting, and quite elegant Shiraz that drinks beautifully now but will age over the medium term. Another top wine from Picardy. 93 points, 2009+



Torzi Matthews Schist Rock Shiraz 2008 $17 (Eden Valley, SA)



There is a great honesty about the Torzi Matthews wines- they're packed with flavour but not contrived, and always excellent value for money. There's some Eden Valley floral perfume here, and lots of rich, luscious, dark fruit with chocolate and spice overtones. At the price, it's a bargain. 90 points, 2009+


Pepperjack Barossa Shiraz 2008 $24 (Barossa Valley, SA)


There are some truly delicious, flavour packed wines from the 2008 Barossa vintage. It was a vintage in two parts- before heat wave, and after. Just about everyone seems to be saying that they picked before the heatwave. The proof in 2008 will be in the prune pudding.



The aesthetes amongst us would probably ascribe a degree of 'dead' fruit to this wine. Certainly, it is very ripe, lush and concentrated. That said, I reckon a majority of consumers would find it intoxicating because of this very point. Meat and poison, as they say. Blackberries, prunes- sweet and rich, but the wine doesn't show overt alcohol and despite the fruit sweetness finishes dry and spicy. 89 points, drink 2009+


Mitchelton Shiraz 2007 $20 (Nagambie, Victoria)


2007 was a difficult vintage in most of South East Australia. Parts of Victoria (and Coonawarra) got smashed with frost, and then later by heat. Yields were very low, especially in the Pyrenees, Great Western, and Nagambie, where Mitchelton are based.

Rich colours, with typical regional spice and dark fruits on the nose. The troubled year though shows through on the palate, the dark cherry and plum flavours hitting a wall of drying, slightly stressed tannins. It works quite nicely with food at this stage, but might be a better early drinking option than a cellaring proposition. 88 points, 2009+

Top Shelf Riesling

Frankland Estate 'Smith Cullam' Riesling 2008 $35

The packaging of Australian wine has come a long way over the last ten years. Obviously there a lot more designers in the game now, but the style, sophistication and creativity of what is appearing in the market has taken a quantum leap. Exhibit A, the Smith Cullam range from Frankland Estate.

This exquisite wine deserves a beautiful label. Made in a kabinett (Germanic) style with some residual sugar and low-ish (11%) alcohol, it delivers a stunning array of pristine riesling aromatics and flavours, with flowers, limes, stones and minerals flooding the senses. The weight and power of the wine are totally at odds with each other- light and floating in the mouth, but forceful and with serious length and persistence. It's a benchmark for the style in Australia. 95 points, drink 2010+

Taste- New release whites- August 2009

Time to rip into some good Aussie juice...

Tin Soldier Semillon 2007 $15

I was interested to note that Tin Soldier is one brand under the banner of Swish Wine, a new company based in the Hunter Valley, who, amongst other things, has acquired Gartelmann Estate.

One of the more memorable ( and surprising) wines of the past few years was the Gartelmann Estate Semillon 2006. Surprising, because I hadn't heard much of them previously, and memorable because the wine was stunning.

So it is of some interest to see just what they are creating in place of the Gartelmann brand. Also interesting to note that this is a 2007 vintage release at a time when most of the 2009's are in the market.

For $15 though, this is a handy mouthful of wine. Warm year (2007) Hunter aromatics ( lemongrass, passionfruit) and a ripe, textured but varietally Semillon mouthfeel with citrus, passionfruit and herb flavours. Lots of fresh acidity but it's a tad friendlier and fruit driven than a lot of young Semillon's, which isn't a bad thing. 90 points, drink 2009+

Tin Soldier Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $15

Slightly sweaty at first, with grass and capsicum aroma's. Good energy and zip across the palate, fresh and vital with citrus and tropical fruit flavours. Plenty of flavour here- no complaints about the value for money either. 90 points, drink 2009+

Next of Kin Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2009 $17

New label from Xanadu Wines in Margaret River. Spunky Marg River Sem/Sauv aromatics, all grassy and full of lifted green. Punchy green spice on the front palate, a little broad through the middle, passionfruit, capsicum, citrus and herb on the aftertaste. 87 points, drink 2009+

Long Haul Cinema

When do you get the chance to watch movies these days? I can't recall the last time I went to the cinema- it was literally years ago. The best chance for seeing anything like a new release is on an aeroplane, when you can switch off for a few hours and take advantage of some momentary solitude.

On my recent flight from Johannesburg to Sydney I watched two quite different films.

Disgrace

The brilliant novel by JM Coetzee has unfortunately failed to translate to the big screen. Despite John Malcovich's best efforts, his characterisation of a philandering, conflicted University lecturer gets lost somewhere in the screenplay rewrite. There is no real explanation of how or why he arrives at the decision to sleep with prostitutes and students, and the shallowness of his character doesn't allow us to empathise or judge him for his actions.

Add to this the fact that the Australian based production used mainly Australian actors whose fey South African accents dropped in and out of dialogue at regular intervals and you have a movie which was hard going. I couldn't see it through to the end. Poor script, stolid acting and a good idea gone wrong.

Tyson

On the other hand, this was one of the more rivetting documentaries I've seen in some time. A mesmerising portrait of one of the most controversial athletes of the last century, Tyson is a warts and all auto-biographical doco of the former heavy weight boxing champion, Mike Tyson.

There has always been a sense of tragedy about Tyson, a poor kid/wrong side of the tracks/made good/gone bad /story for the ages. The tragedy is tangible, but unexpectedly Tyson's brutal honesty and unguarded dialogue throughout the film offers an insight into a more complex, albeit conflicted, thinker.

Where we expect brutality, we often get philosophy. There's brutality in spades, no question, and Tyson's brand of philosophy isn't going to be mistaken for Descartes, but through it we end up finding a man who is acutely aware of his own failings.

In the main, he isn't apologetic for them. The fact that Tyson once experienced the power that came with being the world's most feared and famous athlete means that some of the "ultimate alpha male" residue still exists.

He doesn't resile from his past, nor sugar coat his misdemeanors (other than denying that he was guilty of the rape charge that put him in prison for three years).

Guilty or not, the complex juxtaposition of candidness, repressed anger and emotional pain laid bare makes this film enthralling viewing. "Tyson" is highly recommended.