The Barossa valley is without doubt one of the most well-known wine areas of Australia, identified for its huge and daring wines.
After an unplanned detour we arrived at Penfolds Magill Property, the place we had been welcomed by Jamie Sach, Penfolds International Ambassador. Penfolds was based in 1844 by Dr Penfolds, who had introduced vines to Australia to make medicinal tonics for his sufferers. Till the Fifties, fortified candy wines had been the type, with Penfolds specializing in tawny (fortified wines aged in oak slightly than bottle). Within the Fifties, Penfolds’ winemaker Max Schubert traveled by Europe and was impressed by the getting older potential of the wines from Bordeaux. He determined he wished to supply one thing related in Barossa, however there was no Cabernet Sauvignon at the moment. As a result of there have been prime quality vineyards with previous vine Shiraz, he determined to make a ‘Hermitage’ (a well-known Shiraz/Syrah from the Rhône Valley in France). There was a cottage referred to as Grange on a kind of vineyards, and that’s the place the title Grange got here from. Schubert didn’t know on the time in regards to the distinction between French and American oak for winemaking. Since American oak was extra available, that’s what he used. As a result of the Shiraz aged in American oak referred to as Grange was so successful, this instance was adopted by others and American oak turned the norm for Shiraz from Barossa. Nonetheless, the house owners of Penfolds didn’t like the brand new Grange Hermitage in any respect as a result of it was so totally different to the candy fortified wines they had been used to, and ordered Schubert to cease producing it. He continued in secret, till he managed to let some English importers strive it they usually liked it.
Most iconic wines on the earth are single winery wines, however Grange is the precise reverse. The home type of Penfolds is multiregional mixing, mixing fruit from many various vineyards which may be 1000’s of miles aside. The mix shall be totally different annually, with a purpose to make the type and style of the wine constant over the vintages. Every parcel of grapes is assessed because it is available in. If it has a top quality and can contribute to get the fitting type, it turns into a candidate for Grange and shall be aged in American oak. If it is top of the range however not good for Grange, will probably be aged in French oak as a candidate for the Penfolds Bin 798 RWT, which is Penfolds’ flagship Shiraz aged in French oak. The parcels are then adopted as they’re vinified and aged, and solely the perfect make the ultimate reduce to finish up in Grange (or RWT). The opposite parcels ‘trickle down’ to the ‘lesser’ wines. The wine from every parcel is tasted blindly for the ultimate choice during which mix it is going to find yourself. This technique is similar to that of the châteaux in Bordeaux, which make a ‘first wine’, ‘second wine’, and typically additionally a ‘third wine’. Nonetheless, in Bordeaux all of the grapes come from the vineyards across the château, whereas at Penfolds the grapes can come from throughout South Australia (or in some circumstances even throughout Australia, as we’ll see with the Yattarna Chardonnay).
Jamie gave us a tour of the historic vineyard at Magill Property that was inbuilt 1890, which is now solely used for small batches because it has the fitting measurement for that, however requires rather more guide labor than the fashionable vineyard in Barossa. The wood board on prime of the fermenter is used to shut the fermenting grapes from the air, to lock the fruit in place.
The tasting of 9 of the present releases of Penfolds tasting was led by winemaker Shavaughn Wells. The ‘mid phase’ of Penfolds wines are named by a Bin quantity. Initially this referred to the bin within the cellar the place the wine was saved (akin to the primary classic of Grange in Bin 1), however now the Bin numbers are assigned in a manner that solely has a which means to the employees at Penfolds. There isn’t a construction to the Bin numbers, but when a wine has a Bin quantity that does imply that it has reached a sure standing. For example the Cellar Reserve Grenache has been made since 2002, however 2022 was the primary classic to be launched as Bin 21. On this case, the quantity 21 refers to the truth that this was the twenty first classic of this wine.
These are the wines we tasted:
- Bin 51 2023 (Riesling, Eden Valley): perfumed, stability, construction.
- Yattarna Chardonnay 2021 (Chardonnay from three totally different states: Tasmania, Tumbarumba, Adelaide Hills, aged in French oak, no Bin quantity as a result of it’s within the premium phase and meant to age nicely): oak, mineral, creamy and highly effective however elegant, good acidity, advanced.
- Bin 21 2022 (previous vines Grenache, Barossa Valley): rosehip, perfumed, velvety tannins, restrained energy, elegant.
- Bin 28 2021 (Shiraz from South Australia, aged in largely seasoned American oak, first official ‘Bin’ wine): blackberry, agency ripe tannins, recent.
- Bin 389 2021 (Cabernet/Shiraz from South Australia, aged in American oak): darkish fruit, barely herbaceous, very agency tannins, wants time within the bottle, acidity. Australia is the one place on the earth the place Shiraz and Cabernet are blended lots. Personally I believe the Cabernet dominates the Shiraz (and I’m not a fan of Cabernet).
- Bin 169 2019 (Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra, aged in French oak, the Cabernet brother of 798/RTW): herbaceous Cabernet character, juicy, tannins nonetheless a bit grainy regardless of this already being 2019, wants extra time within the bottle.
- Bin 798 RWT 2021 (Shiraz from Barossa Valley, aged in French oak): oak, blackberry, lovely fruit, agency ripe tannin and wishes a while within the bottle (however not as a lot as Bin 389), recent.
- Bin 707 2021 (Cabernet Sauvignon from South Australia, aged in new American oak, the Cabernet brother of Grange): oak, herbaceous Cabernet character, agency ripe tannins, however much less grainy and extra able to drink than the 169 due to the American oak and fruit choice, recent.
- Grange 2019 (Shiraz from South Australia, aged in American oak): lush blackberry fruit, lovely aroma, agency ripe tannins, highly effective however recent, advanced, wants time within the bottle however might be drunk already with meat, relying on private choice the perfect window to benefit from the wine is between 15 and 25 years after the classic.
After the tasting we continued with a lunch, accompanied by aged Penfolds wines. It’s nice to have the ability to style the wines with meals and aged correctly.
The dishes and wine pairings had been:
- Tuna, Ponzu and Asparagus
- Bin 18A Reserve Chardonnay 2018: oak, crisp, and unexpectedly not an excellent pairing with the creaminess of the dish.
- Cellar Reserve Grenache 2002 (the primary classic of what’s now Bin 21): rosehip, velvet tannins, stability, aged superbly and unexpectedly a greater pairing with the dish as a result of it goes nicely with the creaminess.
- Woodfire Porterhouse steak, inexperienced beans and potatoes
- Bin 407 2010 (Cabernet Sauvignon): recent and a great pairing with the meat.
- St Henri Shiraz 2010 (Shiraz aged in giant previous oak): blackberry, velvet tannins, advanced, aged superbly and a great pairing with the meat.
- Magill Property Shiraz 2010 (single winery Shiraz, aged in 70% French and 30% American oak, of which 80% new): this wine was in a ‘closed’ part of its growth.
- Chocolate Mousse
- Nice Grandfather Uncommon Liqueur Tawny (30-year-old ‘port’ from a solera system): advanced aromas of nuts and figs, larger acidity than tawny port.
Penfolds is by far the most important vineyard we now have visited up to now, and it’s simple to bash it only for being giant and business. However ultimately it’s the high quality of what’s within the glass that counts, slightly than some mounted ideas like “iconic wine must be from a single winery”. I’ve to say that the standard of the wines at Penfolds was excellent; their choosing and mixing philosophy clearly works to supply nice wines. It’s a pity there have been no Penfolds wines included within the blind tastings of Shiraz/Syrah and Chardonnay that we did. I believe they’d have completed fairly nicely.
Our subsequent cease in Barossa was a Yalumba, the oldest household vineyard in Australia. We began with an illustration on the coopery, the place Yalumba makes its personal barrels from French and Hungarian oak.
We additionally toured the ‘museum cellar’, with previous vintages of iconic wines from everywhere in the world.
We tasted a number of of Yalumba’s wines alongside the best way:
- Eden Valley Roussanne 2021: good texture.
- Barossa Bush vine Grenache 2021 (100-year previous vines, aged in impartial oak): elegant, medium bodied.
- Barossa Shiraz 2022 (French, Hungarian, and American oak, of which 15% new): elegant, tender tannins.
- Signature Cabernet Shiraz 2019 (forty ninth classic, from Barossa and Eden, French and Hungarian oak): darkish fruit, agency ripe tannins.
- Eden Valley Viognier 2021 (aged in mature French oak): floral, elegant.
- The Virgilius 2021 (Eden Valley Viognier, aged 10 months in oak): restrained aroma, advanced, creamy, balanced, made for its getting older potential.
- The Steeple 2019 (Shiraz from Barossa Valley planted in 1919, 16 months in French oak): elegant, ripe tannins, restrained aroma.
- Tri-Centenary Ancestor Vine Barossa Grenache 2021 (planted in 1889, aged 350 days on the skins in chrome steel, so no oak): very silky and stylish, purple fruit, heat.
Afterwards we went to wine bar and winemaker Otherness Wines and tasted 4 totally different Rieslings:
- Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling 2019: lime, slight petrol, crisp.
- Otherness Skuld Eden Valley Riesling 2020: restrained aroma, petrol, elegant, gentle acidity, creamy.
- Otherness Verthandi Tasmania Riesling 2020: candy and bitter Riesling within the type of the Mosel with 36 grams residual sugar and really excessive acidity to offset the sweetness, pineapple aroma.
- Peter Louer Schon Fels Grosses Gewachs 2017 (Saar, Germany): honey, botrytis, barely off-dry.
We ended our tour of Barossa with a go to to Elderton, a small household vineyard that’s run by two brothers and their wives. They bottle a part of their wines beneath one other label referred to as Small Victory. The brothers Cameron and Allister Ashmead took over the vineyard from their mother and father in 2003. Julie is the winemaker and Rebecca is the export supervisor.
The vineyard is surrounded by the historic vineyards, however in addition they personal prime quality vineyards in different components of Barossa.
We began by tasting the Elderton wines:
- Elderton Eden Valley Riesling 2023 (younger winery planting in 2015, partly aged in seasoned oak): tropical fruit, crisp.
- Elderton GSM 2022 (100-year previous winery, Rhône mix of 43% Grenache, 34% Shiraz, and 23% Mataro/Mourvèdre, aged in previous French oak for 7 months from destemmed fruit): typical fruity aromas of a GSM mix, silky tannins and stylish, simple to drink.
- Elderton Ode to Lorraine CSM 2021 (previous vine 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Shiraz, 4% Merlot, aged 20 months in French oak puncheons, named after Cameron’s and Allister’s mom): Eucalyptus, tender tannins, recent. Paired very nicely with the barbecued steak we had for dinner.
- Elderton Command Shiraz (single winery previous vines planted in 1894, aged 18-24 months in 2/3 American oak and 1/3 French oak, of which 90% new): oak, darkish fruit, daring, and full bodied, agency ripe tannins.
We had a barbecue on the property for dinner with beef fillet steak, sausages, salad, and potatoes. And naturally there was wine as nicely:
- Small Victories Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2021: white fruit, balanced.
- Small Victories Barossa Valley / Riverland Grenache Mataro Rosé 2022: very good, like a Provence rosé.
- Small Victories Barossa Valley Outdated Vine Grenache 2021: lovely fruit, mild tannins.
- Elderton Command 2006: mature classic of the identical wine we tasted earlier than. Medium bodied, tender tannins, recent and stylish, aged completely.
The Riesling, GSM, and Ode to Lorraine that we tasted earlier than had been additionally obtainable with dinner. Every little thing was very good at this true household enterprise: very good individuals and really good wines.
