Australian Wine

[A Balic]

Pre-1995 was a good time to enjoy Australian wine. In Australia. Then Penfold's 1990 "Grange Hermitage" was voted Wine Spectator wine of the year. I had tasted this wine a couple of times and didn't get any as I thought that at USโ there were better options for me to drink. There was a lot of wine to choose from that was โ and under. One year later it was selling for US趚 and most other Australian wines had increased in price to match. Large amounts of premium wine (mostly reds, Shiraz in particular) are now going to the US and being sold at prices which would have seemed insane several years ago. One winery, Wild Duck Creek, was given 99 points by Robert Parker and what had been a "nice red" was now a 踰 a bottle legend. Sometimes I think I may have missed something.

This is very good for the local wine industry and is a terrific indication of the quality of Australian wine in general. But, although some people obviously pay large amounts for Australian wine in the US, what is the views of people that actually drink wine? Would you automatically consider an Australian red wine when at a top end restaurant? Would you even consider an Australian white as fit to drink. What type of food do you tend to drink it with?

I am curious about these questions, because as the USA is one of the largest importers of wine and also has its own domestic production, in general people in the US should be the most informed on the subject.

[helenas]

for our family, Rosemount or McGuigan shiraz, shiraz/grenache or shiraz/cabernet as a wine

of choice for week-night dinner. i'm not a wine connoisseur, but it has a great taste, great colour and should i mention, great price, and not to forget, no headache in the morning. I introduced red australian wine to my russian community, and all loved it. I think the reason is that it reminds us the best Georgian reds,

that btw, are sold now widely in US, but the taste is not what we remember.

And i use Lindemans sauvignon blanc for cooking.

[A Balic]

I should mention that I am in no way conected with the wine industry, just an interested punter. My first post looks a little like market research.

Interesting that you use Lindemans Sav. Blanc for cooking. I use cheap French Sav. Blancs for the same purpose (cheaper then the Australian version in the UK).

I have never drank any Georgian wine, but have been interested from the point of view that it is a very old wine producing area. I have drunk some old Moldavian wine (it came in these really cool bottles, covered in wax and cryrilic script), do know if the two are similar in any way?

[Steve Klc]

This weekend I tried two Australian dessert wines--the 1997 Rutherglen Show Muscat D.P 63 by Seppelt and the 2001 Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling.  The Mount Horrocks was enjoyable, though nothing special, and certainly not in the league of the best American riesling dessert wine:  the 1997 Late Harvest Cluster Select Riesling by Navarro Vineyards (Anderson Valley, Mendocino).

The Rutherglen Show Muscat, however, was stunning and world class.  It joins the 1996 Rutherglen Show Tokay D.P. 57 (also by Seppelt) as one of the most interesting, most complex dessert wines I've ever had--and good food matches as we move into the cold weather months and pastry chefs start changing over their menus to pumpkin, chocolate, roasted fruits, spice and nuts.

[A Balic]

I would agree with the cordon cut riesling, if I am drinking unfortified Australian dersert wine I tend to stick to more heavily botrytised wines, which have a bit more complexity to them then late harvest, cordon cut or no.

On the other hand fortified Australian desert wines are, as you say, world class. The are also very, very inexpensive considering the effort and expense that goes into making them. Rutherglen can be a very hot area, the last place you would expect great wine from. But, the modified solera system they use seems to produce fantastic wine in this area.  Seppelt is a great producer of Muscat and Tokay , but there are some even better wines about. Chambers produces amazing older versions and Campbells produces a good, younger style of muscat and tokay,  but I would have to give my vote (as would most people I think) to Morris's. Especially, their older Muscats.

There is one fortified Australian wine that is a truely great wine, and is rather different as well. Hardy's Liqueur Sauvignon Blanc. Sounds strange, but then it is a strange wine. Very old base wine, indicated by the green colour, very viscous and very, very complex.  It may not be imported into the US but if you ever see it you should definately get it.

[Steve Klc]

and there you have the rub Adam--it's hard sometimes to make international comparisons because each market is subject to different import/export restrictions.  Thank you for the lead on Chambers, Campbells and Morris--I'll look out for them here.  

[A Balic]

To true I'm afraid. In Australia it was very difficult to get an US wine, unless you wanted Mondavi that is. One wine merchant did have a good range, if a little top heavy, but all from California. On a trip to the USA a few years ago, I took some time out to try some Zinfandel and Petite Syrah. Maybe I should had tried Cab. Sav. or Pinot Noir instead, as I found a lot of the Zins a little coarse, except for a Ravenswood example (and that may have impressed me due to the label).

There was also a lack of  South American wines available in Australia. Living in the UK has been great, in terms of the ready supply of these wines.

On the subject of Australian fortified desert wine in the USA, Park Ave Wine (NY) sells Chambers muscat at ๖ per half bottle!!!  

[helenas]

Adam,

Regarding Moldova wines. I don't remember any old wines from there, but it could easily be, since most of the good stuff was exported. They produced awful tawny porte, which was notorious even within non-fussy russian consumers, relatively decent cognac, and wonderful young white wine: alligote and feteasca. For my dad, it's one of the best memories, when vacationing in Moldova, he used to go to farmers market every morning, going from one wine producer to the next one, and tasting (i mean drinking) these yong wines, and bringing back with him a pottery jug, filled with the best one, he found that morning.

And they also had a dessert wine made from Concord grape, which was very tasty, and not like Manischewitz.

Moldova was a paradise with such fertile soil, that you can have a vegetable and fruit supply for a whole family from a smaill patch of land. Sorry for digression, but i always got so angry, while thinking how much good stuff was destroyed during soviet regime.

[Sandra Levine]

The Rutherglen Show Muscat, however, was stunning and world class.  

Do you know where this can be purchased or sampled in a restaurant?

[Steve Klc]

Sandra--I'll track down some more specific info--but the importer is Astra Wine Imports of Roswell, Georgia.  (Both the Rutherglen muscat and tokay are available in wine stores in DC--and as Adam mentioned, extremely affordable values, considering how expensive and labor intensive dessert wines tend to be.)

The phone for Astra:  770.594.8595

(Edited by Steve Klc at 9:08 am on Nov. 23, 2001)

[Sandra Levine]

Thanks, Steve.  I checked some websites of a few likely wine stores in NY (67, Morrell, Zachy's) to see if any carried it, but was unsuccessful in finding it  It sounds as if it would have been wonderful with yesterday's pumpkin pie (an old James Beard recipe that calls for candied ginger, in addition to the usual spices.)

[Steve Klc]

you have great instincts Sandra.  The reason I was able to try that wine was because Karen MacNeil, the wine director of the CIA-Greystone and author of a new, incredible wine book called The Wine Bible (Workman Publishing, ร.95), chose it specifically to pair with 2 different pumpkin desserts--Pat Coston's Pumpkin Cheescake Tart from Ilo Restaurant, NYC (Linzer dough, raspberry gelee and cream cheese) and also Eric Bedoucha's Pumpkin Napoleon from Bayards, NYC (poached pumpkin balls in wine with citrus peels, vanilla and cinnamon, a spiced pastry cream and crispy napoleon layers).  It was my favorite wine match--better than the Hungarian Royal Tokaji 1996 and the Far Niente Dolce 1998 we also tasted them with.

[Roger McShane]

Steve

Adam is absolutely right about the treasures of Australia, namely the Rutherglen fortified dessert wines. In my experience there is just nothing in the world to match them.

The wines produced from the old 'shed' at Chambers are just mind boggling. The entire region produces some of the most amazing muscats, tokays and frontingnacs (as well as some very old ports).

My only problem is that for the last thirty years I have been buying these for the equivalent of about $US10 a bottle, but now that they have been 'discovered' I am going to have to move to other fields.

At least our rielslings are still affordable and also world class - I wish I hadn't said that!!

[A Balic]

I was having dinner with a US friend on the weekend and we were discussing food-wine matching. This reminded me of a Australian wine that would go very well with a Thanksgiving/Christmas type meal. Australian Sparkling Shiraz (et al.). Lovely wines, unpretentious, but serious wines, excellent with turkey and plum pudding. As other postings on this thread have brought up the difficulty of finding some of these wines, you may like to try the following site for information about wine merchants and what they stock.

http://www.mcnees.org/mainpages/wine/winepages/merchants.htm

[Steve Klc]

Roger--even at newly "discovered" and, as a result, marked up prices, those Australian dessert wines are still a bargain compared to old world dessert wines--like Sauternes, eiswein--which are usually way above โ US per 375 ml bottle and just as unbelieveably labor intensive to produce.

So these Australian stickies--many around ฤ+ per bottle--are bargains, still.  So are many North American dessert wines--especially Canadian icewines, like Inniskillin, which has made the biggest commitment to market their wines in the US--and recently, along with other VQA producers of icewine in Ontario, have gained entrance to EU markets--so now Canadian icewines can be sold in European markets.  This is really an amazing development for international wine lovers.

Aside from Canadian icewines, my other favorite two North American producers of dessert wine are also real bargains:  the Moelleux, made of botrytis-infected chenin blanc grapes, from Chappellet Vineyards in St. Helena, CA, which has attained cult status somewhat among sommeliers, pastry chefs and foodies in the know--the last vintage I tasted was the 1997...and anything made by Navarro Vineyards in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino, CA.  A quick scan of their website reveals that they currently have a 2000 Gewurztraminer 'Vineyard Select Late Harvest' (ภ for 375 ml) and a '97 Muscat Blanc 'Cluster Select Late Harvest' (ษ for 375 ml).  Both bargains.  (I have only mentioned dessert wines so far, but both Navarro and Chappellet have wonderful table wines that are bargains--a current fav in NYC seems to be the Chappellet Chenin Blanc 'Old Vine Cuvee' (พ direct from the winery, wholesale even less!) because it is cheap, dry and done seriously.  It is a stunning indictment of the current wine media and marketing cabal that so few producers of quality chenin blanc wines remain in the US, but this is one worth dying for.)

http://www.chappellet.com/

http://www.navarrowine.com/main.php

http://www.inniskillin.com/default.asp?location=home

On to rieslings and sparkling shiraz.

[mikeycook]

To your question about whether or not we would automatically consider an Australian red when ordering at a restaurant, I would say wholeheartedly "YES", although I must confess that big Australian reds have the same pricing problems as california cabs and bordeaux (i.e. way too high). At restaurants (I live in NYC) I more often order a Rhone or Spanish or sometimes Burgundy because there is usually more variety in a decent price range (I try not to top $100-150 for a bottle, even at a 4 star place). Most of the Australians I encounter are the $100+ Shiraz and proprietary wines that go for double on U.S. menus. Those Australian reds that would be more affordable don't seem to find their way onto U.S. menus as much.

For me, the wines that opened my eyes to Australia are the single-vineyard Grenaches made by Clarendon Hills (I can't touch their Astralis). Here is a case of a single varietal being done as well in Australia, arguably, as anywhere in the word (and eventually perhaps better). But, at around $50 per bottle, I am much more likely to drink these at home than pay the restaurant markup. Also a huge Syrah fan, I am starting to explore Australian wines in more depth despite some of the prices.

[primowino]

It is a stunning indictment of the current wine media and marketing cabal that so few producers of quality chenin blanc wines remain in the US

An advantage of being a fan of sweet Chenin Blanc is that good French examples, mainly Vouvray and Montlouis Moelleux, are very reasonably priced in the UK compared to other top quality dessert wines. Also, I don't have the same problem as you Steve as I've learnt to live with the fact that there are no great Chenin producers in the UK (sorry, make that wine producers).

I have just bought a Moelleux wine from the tiny Anjou Coteaux de Loire appellation (Domaine du Fresches 2001) for only £10 and I plan to drink it this weekend (if you behave yourself Adam). I'll post anything interesting to say about it.

[nimzo]

The US market for Australian wines does seem to be Parkerised to some degree and seems to focus on the huge shirazes. I couldn't agree more about the liquer muscats and tokays, especially Chambers.I wonder where Mick Morris sourced his original old wines??. Don't forget the whites like Clare rieslings from Grosset or some of the rarer wines from Mount Mary for example or chardonnay from the likes of Leeuwin and Howard Park. In Western Australia and possibly a touch subtle for RP, how about Cabs from Cullen or Gralyn, the latter being a relatively undiscovered gem . A final thought, anyone tried the Cape Mentelle Zin from Western Australia. Not much of it about but worth a try. What i love about Australian wines is the diversity , from the massive reds to pinots from Bass Phillip and from Nicholson River chardonnay to the lightest sauvignon blanc. Throw in the stickies and there is something for everyone

[Adam Balic]

The US market for Australian wines does seem to be Parkerised to some degree and seems to focus on the huge shirazes. I couldn't agree more about the liquer muscats and tokays, especially Chambers.I wonder where Mick Morris sourced his original old wines??. Don't forget the whites like Clare rieslings from Grosset or some of the rarer wines from Mount Mary for example or chardonnay from the likes of Leeuwin and Howard Park. In Western Australia and possibly a touch subtle for RP, how about Cabs from Cullen or Gralyn, the latter being a relatively undiscovered gem . A final thought, anyone tried the Cape Mentelle Zin from Western Australia. Not much of it about but worth a try. What i love about Australian wines is the diversity , from the massive reds to pinots from Bass Phillip and from Nicholson River chardonnay to the lightest sauvignon blanc. Throw in the stickies and there is something for everyone

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All lovely wines. I regret the avalibility of the diversity of Australian wines in the UK. Recently I paid 40 Euro for a bottle of 1990 Tahbilk Marsanne (was one of mine wedding wines, so had to be bought) in Dublin.

As for the origin of Muscat in Rutherglen. It looks cmplicated but this may help.

Muscat

[helenjp]

Hmmm...when I were a young thing in New Zealand, the rule of thumb was Ocker reds and Godzone whites.

Dessert wines though, now that's another country.

[Laksa]

Hmmm...when I were a young thing in New Zealand, the rule of thumb was Ocker reds and Godzone whites.

Dessert wines though, now that's another country.

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In NZ, ocker = Australian? Not just the subgroup that is boorish and uncultured? That's not very kind...

[Adam Balic]

In NZ, ocker = Australian? Not just the subgroup that is boorish and uncultured?  That's not very kind...

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We Australians forgive our Kiwi cousins for their un-intentional slights, their cricket team and Merlots are punishment enough.

[Really Nice!]

Ah yes, New Zealand, also known as Australia's Canada.

Most of my ozzie wine is limited to Penfolds. I have four cases of Grange, a mixed case of RWT and Yattarna, and a case of Bin 389.

Oh, and 10 bottles of Stanton and Killeen muscat or tokay. That stuff is absolutely heavenly.

[helenjp]

>>boorish and uncultured<<

Yeah, but in NZ, we LIKE boorish and uncultured, you see...

The only complaint I have about Australian wine these days is that there's too many types for me to sample in a month in NZ , despite stirling efforts

There's bad wine from both countries (maybe a good sign of how entrenched the wine industry now is), but the good wine has become very diverse in styles, mostly because there are so many different regions with winemakers who understand how to create a regional style. My guess is that while plenty of wine gets exported =by volume= only a tiny fraction of the =variety= is known outside Australia.

Even in NZ, parochialism stops people from discovering great wine from "New Zealand's America".

In Japan, I buy Aussie wine because 1)I know (a little bit) more about it than European or American wine, and 2) at the price range I'm buying, I suspect that a $10.00 bottle of Australian wine will be better drinking than a $10.00 bottle of French wine...and apart from Italian wine, there is little at that price from other regions in Japanese supermarkets. Local bottle shops are even more risky - the owners mostly know nothing about wine, they just buy cheap case-lots of strange bottles with dodgy corks...I've learned my lesson regarding those!

[KatieLoeb]

For me, the wines that opened my eyes to Australia are the single-vineyard Grenaches made by Clarendon Hills (I can't touch their Astralis).  Here is a case of a single varietal being done as well in Australia, arguably, as anywhere in the word (and eventually perhaps better).  But, at around $50 per bottle, I am much more likely to drink these at home than pay the restaurant markup.  Also a huge Syrah fan, I am starting to explore Australian wines in more depth despite some of the prices.

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A couple of producers that I'm fond of are Two Hands Wines for Shiraz, Grenache and blends of the two, Annvers for their shiraz (which I have on my reserve list) and Fonthill for their "Dust of Ages" Grenache. I had the pleasure of having dinner with the winemakers from these three wineries and tried some of the wines with them and some after the fact. They're all of excellent quality and really excellent examples of each varietal. The Annvers and Fonthill wines are more on the boutique production level, but well worth seeking out if you can find them.