Andrew Marks in Spain among the ancient Carinyena vines that produce El Wanderer.
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Working a vintage overseas during the Australian off-season is a rite of passage for many young winemakers.
If you ask a winemaker about his or her biggest influences, many will tell you it was a vintage worked in the vineyards of France or Spain or Italy. Lost-in-translation moments, forgotten skills and techniques and uncovering new wine styles contribute to a winemaker’s identity and steer a course for the future.
I’ve spent hours in the past year listening to winemakers’ stories or following their overseas experiences in short bursts on Twitter. In France, I even managed a meal with Blue Poles winemaker Mark Gifford en route from Margaret River to Bordeaux, where he’d been invited to do a vintage making his beloved merlot at Chateau Girolate.
As much as I’ve enjoyed the stories and, sometimes, not-so-secretly wished I was a winemaker so I could have the same experiences, I’ve always felt a little disappointed that the wines they have helped make are either not available here or are difficult to track down.
Last winter I met up with Andrew Marks, maker of The Wanderer wines, at his winery in the Yarra Valley. After sampling a few of his wines straight from the barrel, he pulled a wine out of a box that had just arrived from Spain – his own wine.
The wine, from the Costa Brava in Catalonia, instantly warmed us up in the chilly winery, and, as is so often the way with wine, there was also a lovely story.
“I worked a vintage in Sonoma, California in 2000. The other foreign ‘stagiaire’, Anna Espelt, came from Spain, and we had a lot in common coming from family-owned wineries,” said Andrew, whose family owns Gembrook Hill Vineyard in the Yarra Valley.
“We became great friends and I did my first of five vintages with her at her family winery in 2004.”
A friendship lured Andrew to Spain, and once there he developed a close relationship with Anna’s parents and the region itself.
“I have a real love affair with the region, its people and culture. This is the land, after all, of the Pyrenees, Salvador Dali, and El Bulli,” says Andrew.
“It is a magical place, but what ultimately draws me back is my friendship with the Espelt family.
“It’s a good excuse to catch up with great mates.”
Coming from the cool-climate Yarra Valley, a relatively young region in the world of wine, this friendship gives Andrew the opportunity to work with ancient vines and a variety that isn’t widely planted in Australia.
“The Carinyena vines from which I make El Wanderer are over a hundred years old and come from a single vineyard. The vines are not trellised (as most vines in Australia are) and sprawl very low to the ground, shielding the grapes from the sun.”
Since that afternoon with Andrew, I’ve been keeping an eye out for the products of other winemakers’ overseas odysseys. I’ve finally tracked down a few different examples to share with you, each with a different story and each made to express the region of provenance and the passion of the winemaker.
They are all available here and shouldn’t be too hard to find.
Taste this
Babo Pinot Grigio IGT delle Venezie 2009
(Venezie, Italy) $26; 12.5%
4/5
Winemaker Justin Bubb has been making wine in Italy for six years, and this is one of four in the Babo range. They’re all very smart, and well-priced, wines that reflect their regionality well. This comes from Italy’s north, the home of pinot grigio. It has nice pear, stonefruit, brazil nut and honeysuckle aromas that lead on to attractive flavours of white peach, lemon and pear. It’s crisp, dry and well balanced and a streak of zesty acid provides a refreshing finish. In short, this is top summer drinking.
Food match \ Grilled prawns
Syrahmi L’Imposteur 2008
(Vin de Pays d’OC, France) $45; 14%
4.5/5
In 2008, former sommelier Adam Foster was given the chance to make his own wines from 60-year-old bush grenache vines from the Banyuls region in southern France. It smells of raspberries, cherries, plums, dried herbs and a hint of cedar oak. It’s light on its feet and well balanced, with fine, silky tannins and bright acid balancing out complex sour cherry, raspberry, nuts, earthy and meaty flavours. All this, plus a persistent finish, makes it a joy to drink.
Food match \ Rillettes
El Wanderer Carinyena 2008
(Alt Emporda, Spain) $50; 13.7%
4.5/5
Curiously, these vines grow fewer than 100 kilometres from the L’Imposteur source, just over the border in Spain. This is a rather polished wine, yet it has a rustic charm in abundance. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a straight carinyena before, but this wine reminds me of sunshine and Spain. It’s medium-bodied, with blackberry, boysenberry, dried herb, meaty, nutty and tar notes. Firm tannins, juicy acid and a nice finish of dried herb and plum take me back to the cobbled streets and tapas bars of Barcelona.
Food match \ Tapas
Hesketh Perfect Stranger Gruner Veltliner 2009
(Krems, Austria) $26; 13%
4/5
Gruner Veltliner is indigenous to Austria and this wine is made in collaboration with Berthold Salomon from Salomon Undhof, a highly regarded producer from that country. The Krems
region is on the banks of the Danube about 80 kilometres upstream from Vienna. Notes of pear, apple, blossom, white pepper and a hint of tropical fruits are perfect partners for bright, slightly chalky acidity and a lovely viscose texture. It’s good value, too. For children of the ’80s like me, this is the ultimate perfect stranger: sunny like Balki and serious like Larry.
Food match \ Pork on broken rice
Love a bargain?
Jed Wines Malbec 2008
(Mendoza, Argentina) $20; 13.5%
4/5
This is made by a group of Australian winemakers that have been making a range of wines in Argentina’s Mendoza region, where malbec has flourished. It’s quite a perfumed wine, with aromas of plum, dark cherry, spices and herbs. The best malbec is silky-smooth and this hits the spot, with powdery tannins, juicy acidity and rich flavours of blood plum, raspberry, tobacco and dried herbs. A bittersweet chocolate finish rounds it off.
Food match \ Char-grilled steak