TALES FROM A TRIP DOWN UNDER

(Originally published on Jancis Robinson’s website; www.jancisrobinson.com)

Just spent the last seven days living and working with the heart and soul of Margaret River and more importantly the outer areas of this now rich and prosperous region.

High on the list as a new dynamic region is Pemberton, led by Dr Bill and Sandra Pannell at Picardy. Bill has an obsessive passion for producing the finest Pinot, with the notion that the letter P is the key, ie Pinot, Pannell, Picardy, Pemberton .... And believes all great wines start with P. This retired doctor is not such a fool, he founded Moss Wood!

The founders of Margaret River are much documented, but this original band of prospectors have certainly flourished. Vanya Cullen, daughter of Dr and Di Cullen, now runs Cullen, sings great opera in the early hours, and has a sister Shelley who married Dr Mike Peterkin. Mike worked under Di Cullen to invent the now famous Margaret River staple SemSauv white blend in 1979.

Mike then set up Pierro (recognised as making MR's best Chardonnay, even above the much-acclaimed  Leeuwin Art Series). This original venture was backed by Peter Thompson (heart specialist) who has recently set up his own super premium Thompson Estate with his wife Jane.  Are you still with me?

Then we have David Hohnen, founder of Cape Mentelle and Cloudy Bay who is now engrossed fully in real farming, rare breed lamb and wild Aussie pigs. His brilliance in marketing ensures that these stunning products are sold out in every outlet. However wine is still in his system and he has set up the new McHenry Hohnen label run by his lovely daughter Freya.

Freya went to the same class as Ben Glaetzer at Roseworthy, and her partner Ryan is a winemaker at Flying Fish in Margaret River. Ryan, a true Aussie, combines rock climbing and making his own Brie style cheese in his kitchen at home with winemaking. The McHenry Hohnen wines excel in the 3 Amigos range; the exquisite white is a blend of Marsanne, Roussanne, and Chardy.

So now we go east along the Southern Coast of Western Australia past Pemberton to the area known as The Great Southern, once known for a short time as The Rainbow State. Here we have an area that produces Pouilly Fumé (for want for a better word) of extreme quality. This more elegant style of Sauvignon Blanc is a real winner. Not to be outdone, the clean, crisp, very soft Chardonnay which is Grand Cru Chablis or white Morey in style is a pleasant surprise. There is no question that this area; Denmark, Frankland, Albany and Mount Barker is currently the  bargain of premium wines in Aus. Many of these grapes are exported not only to Margaret River but all over Australia to make premium wines. For years Domaine Chandon have bought up the Chardonnay grapes from here for their Yarra Valley sparkling wine. However Riesling is one of the main premium wines of the area, with Merv and Judy Lang of Alkoomi as one of the main pioneers from the late 1970s.

New wineries to look out for:

Margaret River

Thompson Estate

Edwards

Pemberton

Merum

 Frankland River

Old Kent River

 Denmark  

Harewood Estate

West Cape Howe

TRAVELLING IN STYLE AROUND SOUTH AUSTRALIA

What do you do if you want to visit the inner sanctums of the Australian wine industry? Most of the cellar doors of the top vineyards are either closed to the public or have a secondary VIP room where the cream of the harvest is poured.

In Adelaide this issue can be taken care of by Ralf Hadzic who runs the Chauffeur company Life is a Cabernet. Ralf has a fleet of upmarket luxury cars and people carriers including the top-of-the-range Chrysler 300c (Wayne Rooney’s mode of transport in the UK!).  

Ralf has run Life is a Cabernet since 1999, but his claim to fame is as the man behind ‘Fat Cat’, the iconic character that all Australian children were brought up with (and put to sleep by at 7.30 every night) in the 1970s and 1980s. Fat Cat is a bit like the British Basil Brush, and is of course fondly remembered by all these winemakers.

Ralf has built up a very close relationship with the top luxury hotels of Adelaide and with all the top winemakers in South Australia. His expertise is in assessing clients’ worth and knowledge and matching them  with the correct level of service (freebies) from the wineries.

 If you want to meet Roman Bratasiuk of Clarendon Hills, Ralf’s your man, and luckily the last client taken there (not me) spent Aus$40,000. He also arranges wine shipment and reservations in the best restaurants. He has his nose to the ground and I was introduced to numerous ‘underground’ winemakers whose wines are rarely seen outside an inner circle of collectors. In return I was also able to pass on a few contacts of my own to Ralf.

 Whilst driving around in his luxury Chrysler 300c, his efficiency in forward planning and organisation has no limits. He has chilled bottled water in every door, red wine remover and anti-perspirant in the glove compartment, a chilled box to hold samples in the boot and a constant flow of entertaining stories about the wineries, as well as professionally keeping everyone informed of what, where and when.

 On introducing Frank Mitolo to Ralf (Fat Cat), Frank said that as a 7 year old he had tried to phone his feline friend at Channel 10 but was refused access. Quick as a flash, Ralf replied that a phone call to Frank last week to secure some wines was equally ignored. So they now have each other’s mobile numbers and are happy with my introduction.

Rates start at Aus$60 an hour. 

texoz@senet.com.au

http://www.lifeisacabernet.com.au    

tel 08-8396-2233

BEHIND TWO OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S LABELS

Here is the story behind two South Australian labels with an interesting background, one with a high profile name and a humble family background and the other owned by a humble family man but with two high profile guys making the wines.  

Mitolo is one of the top names from the McLaren Vale, based some 40 minutes south of Adelaide, and is associated with the great winemaker Ben Glaetzer. However the grapes sourced for these icon wines are all from private vineyards run by an Italian family.

In his search for the perfect wine, Frank Mitolo [scion of one of Australia’s most successful vegetable trading families- JR] set out to find the very best that McLaren Vale could provide and met up with the Lopresti family who had been providing grapes for Tatachilla’s awesome Foundation Shiraz in the 1990s.

Don Lopresti had run a successful restaurant in the area for 20 years before building up his vineyards over the next 20 years and together with his sons Joe and Michael are now the proud owners of these fertile vineyards. These guys are the salt of the earth. Don’t cross them but work with them and you will get no better. I had the privilege of sitting in the vineyard with them, together with Frank Mitolo, over a typical breakfast of homemade salami and antipasti with ice-cold beers. [I too had the salami experience – in a sort of mobile home by the vineyards? Talk about salt of the earth – though I know what you mean about not crossing them. JR]

Joe Lopresti now carefully manages these vines. His knowledge and understanding of these grapes is second to none and he knows exactly the quality that Frank expects and Ben Glaetzer needs for this superb collection of wines.

 The wines are  Mitolo Jester, Mitolo G.A.M., Mitolo Savitar, Mitolo Serpico

The 2005s were released last autumn to much world acclaim.  

 Not content with providing grapes for the very best red wines from the region, the Lopresti family also provide Chardonnay grapes for the award winning Fox Creek winery. One word of warning: don’t try and turn up here for a visit - the guard dogs take no prisoners.

Now we come to the unsung hero, John Edwards of Mount Billy, a dentist by trade, who has loved wine all his life. When he bought his house and plot of land overlooking Victor Harbor in the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia he found that sheep were too much work and was persuaded by a friend to plant Chardonnay and Petit Meunier in what is known as the No Secrets vineyard due to its stillness.

 Not content with these grapes he has also over the years sourced Riesling grapes from the Clare, Barossa and Eden Valley, and Shiraz from the west Barossa. Now we come to the clever bit, to make his white wines he has employed Pete Schell of Spinifex and for his reds Dan Standishof Standish Wine Company and Massena.

 John’s wines are sold under the Mount Billy label. We enjoyed a full tasting of his wines together with Pete Schell and Dan Standish at The Flying Fish restaurant in Port Elliot. The Flying Fish lunch must rate as our best meal to date on this trip, a stunning location at the seaside packed with winemakers on holiday from the heat of the Barossa.

Among many highlights of the lunch:

Mt Billy Valleys Riesling 2005 Eden & Clare  a blend of 50% from each area, one giving clean mineral and lime, the other giving some funky fruit and toast, a truly superb wine.  However this was overshadowed by the  Mt Billy Valleys Riesling 2002 (Barossa & Clare) which could this be the finest Riesling I’ve tasted so far? (This will have to wait as I still have a few more areas to visit including Tasmania) . This 2002 was toasty and rich in fruit, great depth and a hint of oil on the background, quite remarkable.

 Of the Chardonnays, two complete different styles: the Mt Billy Chardonnay 2006 was Chablisstyle and needed food to bring out all its qualities,but the Mt Billy Chardonnay 2004 was a copy of the great Pierro Chardonnay of Margaret River.

John has a ‘Krug style’ champagne on the way, aged in oak, he was not prepared to show me at this stage (we drank a delicious Vilmart 1989 before lunch instead).

Of the reds the highlight was the Mt Billy Antiquity Shiraz 2001 made from 109 year old vines. This was very good indeed: long, luscious liquorice flavours, hints of fresh vanilla, chocolate, perfectly balanced fruit - a real star. Other highlights included Dan’s Massena Barbera/Dolcetto 2005.

The meal was triumphantly finished with a Mt Billy Cordon Cut Chardonnay, a perfect dessert wine. Some of Mt Billy’s wines are brought into the UK by David Thomas of Cellar Door, Overton.      

TASMANIA

Many people think of it as a little island off Australia, but in fact Tasmania is larger than Scotland, Denmark or Belgium, and has six airports!

 The total population of Tasmania is less than 500,000 but this island 240 km south of the Australian mainland certainly has a lot going for it. Rich in both food and wine it has many claims to fame, such as no passenger rail service, the first Australian telephone call, the first Australian parking meters, and famous Tasmanians include Errol Flynn, Ricky Ponting [a cricketer – JR] and Field Marshall Montgomery. It has one of the world’s richest source of abalone and Wagyu beef, and a feast of shellfish and cheeses.

 The wines of Tasmania are classified as cool climate and although there are wine areas, no classification is as yet adhered to. Primarily to keep things simple the island is split into three wine growing regions, The North around Launceston, the South around Hobart and the East Coast around Bicheno.

 Key players who have been making a name for the Tasmanian wine industry in the past include Clover Hill, Pipers Brook in the North, Freycinet on the East Coast and Domaine A, and Moorilla Estate in the South.

 However in recent years there has been an abundance of investment on this island and the likes of Tamar Ridge under the guidance of Dr Andrew Pirie are now dominating the major export market. Tamar Ridge based in the North, have recently invested in some major new vineyards off the East Coast and this project is reported to be one of Tasmania’s most ambitious projects to date with major wine tourism a key to its plans.

 One of the major productions from Tasmania is sparkling wine, some labelled under Tasmanian labels (Radenti, Stefano Lubiana, Clover Hill, Jansz) and some exported to Australia for bottling under top brands such as Yalumba and Hardy’s. 

 However what impressed me were the numerous small wineries producing high quality wine. Many of these are run as a side line to their main business, and these guys are starting to get together to export these wines to both the US and UK.

 Brian Franklin, a semi retired abalone diver, bought the Apsley Gorge vineyard from Andrew Hood in 1998 and set up a winery in his old Fish Factory at The Gulch in Bicheno (East Coast). Here he not only has his wine making operation but a cellar door serving Tassie lobsters and oysters fresh from the water’s edge. Brian spends time every autumn in France working the vintage with Jean-Marie Fourrier and Phillipe Charlopin.  

Brian is dedicated to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and he was delighted to get a listing at The Dorchester last year where his wine is served by the glass. Even more impressive is the short documentary film he made with Tetsuya Wakuda (of the famous Tetsuya’s restaurant in Sydney) on the great food produce of Tasmania, currently being shown on Qantas. Tets’ sources his ocean trout, abalone and Kobe beef from Tasmania.  

One of my favourite wines from Brian was the magnum of 2000 Apsley Gorge Pinot, which was perfectly integrated, clean and had deep flavoured fruit and great texture.  Just down the road we come across Freycinet, set up by Geoff and Susie Bull in 1980, and now run by their daughter Lindy and partner Claudio Radenti. The star of the show here is the 1998 Radenti sparkling wine, much acclaimed by Halliday, very much in the multi vintage champagne style.

 Further afield we came upon Yaxley Wines, run by Bill Yaxley. His Pinot Gris must rate as one of the best that I have tasted. Then to Breamcreek,known for the quality of its Pinot Noir owned and run by Fred Peacock. Recent Rieslings have also been exceptional. Milton Vineyard , with wines made by contract winemaker Julian Alcorso, has an elegant sparkling Milton 2000, high quality toasty and ripe 2006 Riesling and a very elegant 2005 Pinot Noir.

 Moving down towards Hobart some of the key names are Hood Wines (run by Andrew Hood), and Frogmore Creek whose sparkling Frogmore Creek Cuvee Evermore 2003 from 100% Pinot grapes had a slight blush colour but an amazing deep rich flavour, other stars from this organic winery include an ‘05 Riesling with hints of toast, fizz and great acidity, an ‘05 Pinot with dark fruit and a lovely deep, seductive, slightly sweet finish. Stefano Lubiana, known for his stylish sparkling, also excels with his Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.  Finally Moorilla Estate, with winemaker Alan Ferry, produces exceptional Pinots (especially with age) and Rieslings. There are some 20 other wineries based in the South, under the districts of Coal River Valley, Huon Valley, Derwent Valley, Tasman Trail and East Coast.  

 Up in the North, without question Tamar Ridge are now leading the way and recent introduction of Tom Ravech as senior winemaker will develop things further. What I was most impressed by was the quality these Tamar Ridge wines have with a few years of age, many of these star wines have previously been mentioned on this site, and include the Tamar Ridge Botrytis Riesling, Tamar Ridge Batman Reserve Pinot Noir etc. Further plantings on the East Coast and new machinery will increase the quality and quantity even further.

 Andrew Pirie, not only in charge of Tamar Ridge but also Rosevears Estate and Andrew Pirie, was previously at Pipers Brook and is certainly one of the main guys pushing the Tasmanian wine industry forward. Bay of Fires and Pipers Brook offer high quality from the big players in the North, but there are some 25 small wineries based around the Tamar Valley, many offering good quality wines.  

 Eating out in Tasmania was a joy, with some of the finest food that we had in Australia. Highlights included in Launceston Fee & Me, exceptional quality and really well balanced innovative ideas, Luck’s with some stunning Wagyu (Kobe) Beef and a very good wine list, and Stillwater Restaurant with its great views across the river, outstanding wine list and exciting food.   

We stayed in various cottages by the sea on the East Coast, with spectacular views and walks. Peaceful and of exceptional quality was Wagner’s Cottages, www.wagnerscottages.com. Up in Launceston we stayed at Quest serviced apartments, first class luxury accommodation in the centre of town. Rosevears also have luxury chalets overlooking the Tamar.

Finally, getting to Tassie is very simple and quick from Melbourne airport (45 minutes), and with Jet Star around £40 return if you pre book.