Sarah Fagan of De Bortoli.
ANDREW CHAPMAN
I always think wine tastes a little better when you know a bit about the person whose efforts went into it. Over the next week, we’ll be getting to know a bunch of young winemakers whose names are making their way to the core of the Australian wine industry.
Eleven bright young things in the world of wine, including seven based in Victoria, will be showcasing their talents at events around Melbourne as part of the Young Guns of Wine Festival.
You might be surprised at some of the wines being made by these young stars – you’ve probably had one of them without knowing it. It’s a varied group of vintners: some have been born into wine and are taking over the family business; others turned up for a summer job working as a cellar hand and never left. Regardless of how they got into the business, one thing is certain: the future of Australian winemaking is in safe hands.
Rollo Crittenden \ Crittenden Estate
Rollo grew up on his family’s vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula and, after a few years as winemaker at the nearby Dromana Estate and some stints in the US and Italy, has returned home. He has started to demonstrate his love of European wines with the Los Hermanos
range, which pays tribute to some of the great Spanish wines and regions.
Franco D’Anna \ Hoddles Creek
Franco’s family has been in the wine trade for nearly 40 years (running Balwyn’s Boccaccio Cellars). It’s this inherent knowledge of the wine industry, as well as stints at leading wineries in the Yarra Valley, Burgundy and Oregon, that has helped develop an ability to produce pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot blanc, which are consistently some of the best-value wines in Australia.
Andrew Marks \ The Wanderer
Andrew grew up on his family’s winery in Gembrook and left to work with iconic wineries Penfolds and Seppelt. He finally returned home to help out with his parents’ Gembrook Hill label and to craft his own wines. He has a well-stamped passport, which surely contributes to The Wanderer name, after winemaking stints in California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Languedoc and Spain, where he produced his own wine from vineyards next to the famous El Bulli restaurant near Barcelona – El Wanderer.
Dan Buckle \ Mount Langi Ghiran
Dan grew up on the Mornington Peninsula, where his parents owned a winery in Red Hill, and went on to represent Australia in the sport of fencing. After moving into winemaking, Dan made wine with James Halliday at Coldstream Hills before moving to Yering Station. He found that his fencing training to react to problems, rather than trying to pre-empt what might go wrong, helped enormously in the winery. A handy skill to have when you’re custodian of one of the great Australian shiraz labels.
Sarah Fagan \ De Bortoli
Sarah moved from her family farm to the Yarra Valley to work as a cellar hand for a season and has never left. Time in California and Germany learning from top winemakers has helped refine her philosophy that wines should, first and foremost, reflect their time and place. The latest range of De Bortoli riesling beautifully showcases this philosophy.
Follow Ben on Twitter @senorthomas
For details of the Young Guns Of Wine events running this week, go to www.younggunofwine.com
TASTINGS \ YOUNG GUNS
Hoddles Creek 1er Chardonnay 2008
(Yarra Valley) $35; 13.2%
4½/5
Food match: Roasted onion tart
This is the top chardonnay from Hoddles Creek, and it's refreshing to see a winery's top label referred to as premier rather than reserve, which sounds elite. The wine has aromas of nectarine, citrus, creamy notes and a hint of spicy oak. It has layers of flavour, with white stone fruits, minerals, a lovely nuttiness and grapefruit acid in support of a creamy mouthfeel. You'd pay five times more for it came from France.
The Wanderer Pinot Noir 2008
(Yarra Valley) $35; 13%
4/5
Food match: Grilled quail with pomegranate molasses
This displays layered aromas of cherries, spice, and plum, along with funky and earthy notes. It is silky-smooth in the mouth, with clean acid and fine velvet tannins. Flavours of dark cherry, tart raspberries and spice became more complex overnight and rounded out the next day. It needs time to evolve from a top wine to a sensational wine.
De Bortoli Estate Syrah 2008
(Yarra Valley) $30; 14%
4/5
Food match: Broad beans with black pudding
This is made from grapes from a single Yarra Valley vineyard and the whole grapes were fermented before being crushed, which adds character and complexity. It has dark cherry and plum aromas, along with savoury and spice scents. There are flavours of plum cake, pepper spice and charcuterie. It’s medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and a slightly bitter, herbal finish, with terrific character.
Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz 2007
(Grampians) $85; 14.5 %
5/5
Food match: Slow-cooked shoulder of lamb
Eighty-five dollars is a lot to pay but this is a top vintage that has a pedigree of ageing well. Aromas of blueberries, dark cherries, blackberries with pepper spice. It straddles that fine line between power and finesse. It's medium-bodied, with impeccable balance.
Crittenden Estate Los Hermanos Tributo a Galicia Savagnin 2009
(King Valley) $30; 12.5%
4/5
Food match: Octopus with paprika
This is made from grapes planted around Australia, which were originally thought to be albarino from Galicia in northern Spain but turned out to be savagnin. Most winemakers renamed their wines to reflect the new grape, but this pays tribute to the white wines of northern Spain. It smells and tastes of pears, tropical fruits and honeysuckle, with some smoky notes and has a gorgeous silky texture. A top example of this interesting varietal.