Events

Wines of Australia from United Distributors
May 2005

United Distributors ran the second topical tasting.

This time it was about the wines of Australia. The event was opened by a masterclass from Rupert Dean, Torbreck export manager. Rupert spoke in detail about how Australian winemaking was established and developed. He also highlighted the current state of things. The most important influences for modern Australian winemaking were use of barriques by Max Schubert, creator of Penfold’s Grange, in 1960s and introduction of temperature control for white wines fermentation in 1970s.

Part of the masterclass was dedicated to the secrets of Torbreck — a winery that achieved a cult status nearly from the moment of its founding in 1994. It was named after a forest in Scotland where David Powell, the founder, used to work as a lumberjack. He put his stake on the unique old vineyards in Barossa Valley. Their average age is 50-100 years, and some are about 150 years.

The other difference is use of only traditional for Barossa varieties such as Semillon, Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro. Powell is against the newcomers — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc. Knowledge of terroirs led David to plant a new vineyard using the Rhone varieties — Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Shiraz.

Finally, great respect for nature means that wines in Torbreck are made by the principle of minimal interference. It is true both for fermentation and aging.

Rupert Dean introduced several Torbreck wines. Woodcutter’s Semillon 2002 is a white wine with light oak aging. Its style lies between powerful Barossa wines and more restrained Hunter Valley wines. Good fruitiness and balance, minerality. ’Although the wine is drinking well now, we recommend to age it for 5-7 years’.

Juveniles 2002 is a red wine made in the Rhone style (Grenache 60%, Shiraz 20% and Mataro 20%). The Grenache vineyard is about 80-100 years and Mataro (Catalan name for Mourvedre) is 150 this year. It was the first vineyard to be restored by David Powell. This is a modern style wine that is not aged in oak. It shows well contribution from each variety. The nose is from Grenaache with notes of cherries and plum. The palate is dominated by Shiraz flavours, and the spicy-peppery finish comes from Mataro. Juveniles is drinking well now and has a 10-year potential for development.

The Steading 2002 is a wine that has the same grapes and proportions in blend. The only difference is oak aging. The wine spent 18 months in used French and American barrels. It is of more traditional style.

The Struie 2003 is a hundred percent Shiraz. The grapes are harvested from 2 vineyards with different microclimate and terroir. One has 60-year old vines, lies on the valley floor and gives body and rich taste. The other is situated on the hill. The vines are 80 years old, they give aromatics and tones of freshly crushed pepper. The Struie has feminine elegance and, according to Rupert Dean, ’is a nice introduction to what great Barossa wines should be’.

Descendant 2003 is a Northern Rhone style with Shiraz and some Viognier (8%). The harvest comes from the youngest vineyard. It was planted by David 10 years ago, but the yields are half of the norm. Viognier and Shiraz and co-fermented. First Viognier is picked, pressed in basket presses. The free run juice is left for the top wine Run Rig. The skins that contain 70% of juice are transferred to the fermentation tank. Shiraz is placed on top of it, and the fermentation starts. Co-fermentation gives wine more body and softens young tannins. The wine is aged in one year old French barriques for 18 months. When young, the nose of the wine has Viognier character — white tropical fruit and jasmine flowers. In 3-4 years the Shiraz tones will start to dominate.

The Factor 2002 (means ’boss’ in Scottish) is, according to Rupert Dean, ’a quintessence of the Australian style Shiraz’. The grapes are picked from100-145 year old vines near Marananga. They give the brightest and most intense character. The wine will easily live for 15-20 years. Opaque black colour with thing purple rim, it is closed on the nose for now, but strikes with its power, balance and stunningly deep, complex finish.

The general tasting later featured Australian wines from Brokenwood, Cullen, Voyager Estate, Grosset, Farr and New Zealand Tohu Wines.