Australia
Rediscovers Its Mojo

Slowly but surely,
Australian wines, at least those of high quality and in the $20 to $50 range,
are regaining their foothold in export markets. The reputation of high-end
Australian wines was dealt a severe blow by the flood of overblown, over-alcoholic
and often sickly-sweet bottlings that the country began producing in the late 1990s,
and the damage lingers. A quick scan of wine lists in American restaurants and
the shelves of wine retailers will confirm that point, as will conversations
with wine collectors, most of whom will proudly, even arrogantly state that
their cellars contain not a single bottle of Australian wine.

Fortunately, positive
changes have been occurring steadily if mostly under the radar of most consumers
and even the trade. Adventurous producers who make elegant, Old
World-influenced bottlings are challenging the stereotype that Australia is a
one-trick pony that issues only massive, alcoholic wines without energy or
complexity, and the number of such wineries is increasing. I saw more graceful,
vibrant, well-balanced Aussie wines over the past year than ever before, and
they come from across the breadth of that country’s wine-producing regions. Still,
it’s an uphill struggle to get those wines into the glasses of vinous
tastemakers, particularly those based in the U.S., as virtually every importer
and producer I’ve talked and tasted with has noted. The Australian wine
industry is among the most dynamic in the world right now but, unfortunately,
that act seems still to be playing too often on the second stage.

Many wine merchants
continue to give Australian wines a wide berth based on their past experiences
or, in many cases, on second-hand information that Australia makes only
commercial, low-brow wines. That’s their—and their customers’—loss as they’re
missing out on some truly exciting wines that can rival the best in the world
for their respective varieties and styles. While the market has clearly
indicated its lack of appetite for cartoonish Australian wines at any but the
lowest prices and importers around the world are seeking out wines that show
more restraint, far too many consumers continue to think that the monster style
is still the only one that Australia can produce aside from cheap and cheerful
versions.

In the following
paragraphs I have provided a very brief general overview of Australia’s most
important wine regions and what they do best.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1457035833033-Sandy+soils+in+the+Vine+Vale+region+of+Barossa.JPG"> Sandy soils in the Vine Vale region of Barossa 

South Australia and Southeast Australia

For many people, the red
wines from this sprawling and diverse area define Australian wine, for better
or worse. This is the home of the Barossa
Valley, with its deeply concentrated renditions of Shiraz and Cabernet
Sauvignon, as well as the McLaren Vale,
which produces many outstanding wines from the same varieties, albeit on a
relatively less boisterous scale. The Adelaide
Hills excels with taut Sauvignon Blancs, while the Clare
Valley is responsible for most of Australia’s best Rieslings as well as for
vibrant red wines that lean distinctly Old World in character. Coonawarra is renowned for its earthy,
ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines, the best of which can age and gain in
complexity like serious Bordeaux.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1457035868785-A+100%2B+year+old+Shiraz+vine+in+the+Clare+Valley.JPG"> A 100+ year old Shiraz vine in the Clare Valley 

Victoria

This relatively cool,
mostly hilly region that counts Melbourne as its hub produces Australia’s
finest Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, not to mention a small but growing number
of energetic wines from Rhône varieties. The Yarra Valley, in particular, is a consistently reliable source for
elegant Burgundian Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that have strong track records
for ageworthiness. Melbourne itself,
especially its elite restaurants, provides steady, sometimes insatiable demand
for the top producers’ wines, making them hard to find outside of their home
region.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1457035940264-Bird+protection+for+vines+in+the+Mornington+Peninsula.JPG"> Bird protection for vines in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 

Western Australia

Western Australia is one
of the most successful areas in the world for producing Cabernet
Sauvignon-based wines, especially the Margaret
River region. Western Australia’s top wineries have fiercely loyal,
well-heeled local followers who support the wines’ often lofty prices. Their
best white wines, mostly based on Sauvignon Blanc à la Bordeaux, can also be outstanding, as can Chardonnay and,
increasingly, Syrah. There are also a handful of deadly serious producers of
world-class Riesling in the area, notably Frankland River and Mount Barker in Great Southern, but Cabernet Sauvignon,
often blended with Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties, is the source of
Western Australia’s fame.

Hunter Valley

Semillon is the signature
grape here and classic renditions of the variety, which seldom top 12% alcohol
and usually cruise closer to 11% or even 10%, can age and improve for decades.
The best Hunter Valley Semillons can be hard to find outside the region as
Sydney soaks up more than its fair share of these steely, mineral-driven wines,
which are outstanding companions to raw or simply adorned shellfish dishes. The
red wines of the area, with Shiraz leading the pack, usually tend to the earthy
side in my experience; while they can age well, they rarely attain the
complexity of South Australia’s versions of the variety. They’re also somewhat
difficult to find, especially in the U.S. market.

Tasmania

Long considered Australia’s
great hope for sparkling wines and nervy Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, Tasmania
does indeed produce some outstanding versions of those styles. But since the
top wineries tend to be quite small, their wines can be extremely difficult to
hunt down off the island. The cool, Southern Ocean-influenced north and east
coasts of Tasmania are the source for virtually all of the island’s best wines
and a handful of them are becoming more readily available in export markets. Perhaps
the most interesting recent development here is the emergence of serious wines
from the Coal River Valley in
southeastern Tasmania, not far from the island’s capital, Hobart. It’s still
early days but this could turn out to be one of Australia’s best sources for
Pinot Noir and, perhaps, for Chardonnay as well.

Recent Vintages

Two thousand eleven was a
vintage that red wine producers in South Australia and Victoria would like to
forget. Rainfall across the southern tier of the country was of epic
proportions—almost four times normal—with most of it occurring in the lead-up
to harvest, ensuring a good dose of rot. To make matter worse, the weather was
also cold and the harvest was pushed back in some cases by a full month for
late-ripening red varieties; much of this fruit never ripened properly. Shiraz
in particular was badly affected by mildew and botrytis; many growers simply
walked away from their fruit and many winemakers threw in the towel as well,
with some opting to make a single blend where in normal vintages they might produce
several separate bottlings.

The 2012 vintage brought much better quality across southeastern Australia.
A cool spring and a warm, dry summer (but cooler in Victoria) resulted in
healthy, clean, perfectly ripe fruit that was harvested on the late side (by
choice, not by necessity as in 2011). The downside is that the crop was short
on account of cold weather at the beginning of the growing season, which
delayed flowering and reduced yields.

As for 2013, recently released red wines also
show very good promise but, once again, yields were low, often as much as 50% less
than normal. The wines display good concentration and balance, with harmonious
tannins and fruit to the fore, which should make them good candidates for early
consumption.

A generally warm, dry,
event-free growing season in 2013 made for what looks to be a very good to
excellent vintage in Western Australia but, like their South Australian
colleagues, growers suffered a cold spring and thus a short crop. The red wines
should be approachable soon after release thanks to their juicy fruit, healthy
enlivening acidity and gentle, well-knit tannins. Two thousand twelve witnessed
higher yields than 2013 in Western Australia, and the hot, dry growing season
resulted in red wines of very good depth and power, with the structure to age.
They are on the tannic side but not overly so, which will allow them to be
enjoyed after five or six years of bottle age.

All of the wines in this
article were tasted in New York this past fall and winter.

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