The Buzz

Click here for the full article from participant Jamie Goode’s blog.

Just about to embark on the final day of the Landmark Tutorial. We have sparkling and fortifieds for this morning’s sessions, followed by a presentation lunch at Peter Lehmann. Pictured above is the view from my room this morning at 7 am.

Yesterday we had some really interesting sessions. Chardonnay was first up, with tasting taking us through the evolving styles and regional differences. Then Tom Carson (below) delivered an amazing blind tasting of Pinot Noir, with Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee St Vivant 2002 as a ringer in the second flight (of older wines). No one picked it. It was, in truth, a disappointing wine - the least aromatically interesting DRC I’ve encountered.

Then in the afternoon, a blind tasting organized by Brian Croser, and held at Maggie Beer’s farm. This was a complex yet fascinating exercise where we had to taste 20 high-end Aussie reds blind, and answer a set of questions about winemaking style (varietal/regional wine or a winemaker’s wine), variety (Cabernet or Shiraz based), region, acid level (high, balanced, low), alcohol level and residual sugar (high, evident or dry). The results were compiled, and I’ll be able to share them in due course.

So the Tutorial finishes today. It has been a fantastic, brilliantly conceived and near-flawlessly executed program. It will be sad to leave - both the lovely Louise (that’s the place we’re staying in, not a sheila), and also the wonderful tight-knit group of tutors and participants.

Four intensive days (and nights) of the Landmark Australia tutorial seems to be taking its toll on the participants, as Jamie Goode, too tired for words, gives us instead some beautiful images from the location in the Barossa Valley in his post today.

After a long day, with some exceptional tastings - including a blind session of Pinot Noir with a DRC RSV 2002 slipped in - I’m too tired to do a proper blog post, so here are some pictures from the Barossa taken earlier today. It’s now officially winter here, but it’s still comfortable low teens centigrade during the day.

Some interesting commentary on The Wine Front website, an excerpt below.

paul starr on June 3rd, 2009 10:17 am

This is an interesting experiment in informing (and exciting) key opinion makers about Australian wine.

It does occur to me that there is a basic message here like - “dear America/UK, what you currently get, see and think of as Australian wine is really not the good stuff and not the diverse stuff”.

What happens after (if) this message gets through? What happens if more of the diversity is recognised, and that is what starts to sell overseas, rather than (not in addition to) current sales?

Personally, I’d be happy to see riesling, semillon, sparkling red, pinot and cool-climate Australian shiraz take up more market share, but I’m not in the business of exporting reds from South Australia.

This post comes from the blog of Landmark Australia Tutorial participant, Jamie Goode.

Yesterday - day 3 of the Landmark Tutorial - was a bit different.

We began with a session on Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and blends thereof. I can understand why Semillon was included, because Hunter Semillon is one of Australia’s unique, and great, wine styles.

But Sauvignon isn’t. With the honorable exception of Michael Hill Smith’s Adelaide Hills Sauvignon, Australia doesn’t do all that well with this variety. The Sem/Sauvs from Western Australia are OK, but they’re never great, and some of them have too much methoxy character.

Favourite wines of the tasting? Tyrrels Vat 1 1998 is a beautiful wine, and Peter Lehmann’s Margaret Semillon 2002 - from the Barossa - is also thrilling. The Braemore Semillon 2008 is a young Hunter wine that will become a classic with 15 years’ bottle age.

Rob Mann (above) then led a session on Cabernet Sauvignon. Normal service is resumed: these were pretty fantastic wines. Mount Mary Quintets 05 rocked in a very restrained, almost Burgundian fashion. From Margaret River, we had Howard Park Abercrombie 05, Cape Mentelle 05, Woodlands ‘Colin’ 05 and Sandalford Prendiville 05. Very impressive bunch, with the Woodlands shading it for me.

Then a ringer: Mouton Rothschild 2005. Now had this been an Australian wine, we’d have dismissed it for being overoaked. Lots of chocolate and coffee oak here, with very firm tannins and a bit of brett? It’s not an enjoyable drink at the moment. There’s probably a great Pauillac waiting to emerge in time.

From Coonawarra we had Parker Terra Rossa First Growth 2005 - big and burly, and split opinions - and Majella ‘The Malleea’ 2005. Henschke Cyril 05 was concentrated, lush and very smooth, and Wendouree Cab Malbec 05 was really unique and quite beguiling. We finished off with the Reynella 05 and Penfolds Cellar Reserve Cab 05.

Then it was on the bus and off to Yalumba for a spot of lunch, and a tasting of alternative varieties, presented by Louisa Rose (above) and Max Allen (below). The tasting was held in a remarkable and beautiful room that was previously an enormous wax-lined cement storage tank (pictured top of page). We looked at 20 different wines chosen by Max and Louisa, showcasing some of the progress made by alternative varieties in Australia.

It was a patchy tasting. There were some really good wines, but also some average wines, and a few poor ones. I think they call this ‘a work in progress’. Highlights? Louisa’s Yalumba Virgilius Viognier 2008 is world class. Dal Zotto’s Arneis 2008 is a really unique and beautifully expressive wine. R Wines Mod Gamay 2008 is made with no additions (not even SO2 at bottling) and is fresh and sappy, with some rhubarb character, but also lovely sweet cherry fruit. Peter Godden’s Arrivo Lunga Macerazione Nebbiolo 2006 was the wine of the tasting for me: the first truly stunning Nebbiolo I’ve seen from outside Piedmont, with incredible tannic structure. And I mustn’t forget the lovely Boireann Tannat 2005 from Queensland’s Granite Belt. The lowlights? Castagna’s Viognier 2006 was oxidized and Coriole’s Fiano 2008 had lots of VA. Hewitson’s Old Garden Mourvedre 2002 was tired and dried out.

Then dinner. We enjoyed some really lovely wines. Julian Castagna presented some of his reds, and I loved the Castagna Genesis Syrah 2002 and the 2005 Un Segreto Sangiovese Shiraz, which were beautifully expressive, complex wines. Vanya Cullen showed us the truly beautiful 2007 Cullen Mangan, with lovely vivid fruit and good structure. Ngeringa Syrah 2006 from the Adeliade Hills was really elegant and Burgundian, even, and Bass Phillip Estate Pinot Noir 2007 successfully combined intensity and elegance. I was also really taken by the Lethbridge Kabinett Riesling 2007, which showed thrilling acidity and a brilliant limey, spicy intensity - in an off-dry, very Germanic style.
It was a great end to a thought-provoking day. Oh, and Max told us that it was a root day here in the southern hemisphere…

Participant Dermot Nolan writes here on his blog, Dermot’s wine blog, about day three of the Landmark Australia tutorial.

OK, these exhaustive tasting notes are taking me too long to do so, from here on in, I think these’ll be shorter. Wednesday started with Semillon and Savignon Blanc and blends of the two. ed by Iain Riggs of Brokenwood we had an interesting morning. The semillon flight was: Tyrell’s Vat 1 Semillon 1998 (Hunter), Brokenwood ILR Semillon 1999 (Hunter), Peter Lehmann Margaret Semillon 2002(BArossa), Tempus Two Copper Zenith SEmillon 2003 (Hunter), Vasse Felix Semmilon 2005 (Margaret River), McWilliams Mt Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 2006 (Hunter) and Thomas Wines Braemore Individual Vineyard Semillon 2008 (Hunter).
Apart from the Brokenwood which had a cork problem, but still showed some great palate weight, the rest were all very good. The Peter Lehmann was quite a revelation with only 12% abv and a very supple acid style. The Vasse Felix was the most different wine of the flight wit big tropical fruits but well made in it’s style.
Then three sauvignons - Shaw & Smith 2009 (Adelaide Hills), Angullong 2008 (Orange) and Logan 2008 (Based in Mudgee but orange fruit). The S + S tank sample showed great depth and promises to be very good. I found the Angullong light and not great but the Logan was excellent.
Next, the moment of truth - five sem/sauv or sau/sem blends. Personally, I didn’t like them much at all and, in typical style, said so. I appreciate why these were shown but I thought they were weak and showed nothing that suggested to me that this blend style is going to do well outside Australia. The really good bit is that the winemaker for one of the wines was right beside me, but he took it well. Still, I think I’ll check my insurance asap LOL!
Funnily enough, while quite a few defended the wines, one or two agreed with me so maybe I’m not just an arrogant old so-and-so - or maybe I am!

The following post was from Landmark Australia tutorial participant, Julia Harding MW on Jancis Robinson’s website here.

Before I say anything about Day 2, I should mention some of the wines we had with dinner last night. As well as filling our days with highly focused tastings, Wine Australia makes sure we slack not in the evening. The ‘themed dinners’ include some delicious food from the hotel’s appropriately named restaurant Appellation – appropriately named since so much of this week is designed to promote the regional diversity of Australian wine – plus more exemplary (in the literal sense of the word) wines.

Multi-tasking is not my forte, so eating, tasting, writing notes at the same time as engaging in conversation is pretty demanding. However, it was well worth the effort given the wines in my glasses and the people I was sitting with: notably pre-eminent wine writer and owner of Coldstream Hills James Halliday and Tasmanian pioneer Andrew Pirie, as well as the other 11 tutorial participants who are turning out to be a great bunch with as wide a variety of perspectives as mother tongues.

Among the wines, the highlights were the three vintages of McWilliams Lovedale Semillon from the Hunter Valley (2007, 2003, 1998), which highlighted the unique in-bottle evolution of this variety from this region, and four wines Yarra Yering wines produced by the late Bailey Carrodus, a neighbour of James Halliday. My favourite of the four was the Yarra Yering Dry Red No 2 1980 Yarra Valley, a blend of Shiraz, Viognier and Marsanne, which had rich black fruit flavours, a hint of prunes even though it was not in the least overripe, a mouthwatering freshness and still several years to go.

Today, Tuesday, began after far too little sleep as the effects of jet lag continue – for some reason much worse than I normally experience. The first tasting was a terrific regional overview of Australian Riesling, led by Mr Riesling himself Jeff Grosset (pictured here).

We tasted the following wines (tasting notes to follow):

2007 Kilikanoon Mort’s Reserve Riesling, Clare Valley

2005 Mount Horrocks Riesling, Clare Valley

1992 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling, Clare Valley

1984 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, Clare Valley

1973 Leo Buring DWC15 Riesling, Clare Valley

2002 Peter Lehmann Reserve Riesling, Eden Valley

1999 Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling, Eden Valley

1980 Pewsey Vale Rhine Riesling Riesling, Eden Valley

2007 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling, Henty

1996 Crawford River Riesling, Henty

2007 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Vineyard Riesling, Frankland River, Great Southern

2003 Craigow Riesling, Tasmania

The Polish Hill 1984 was a real treat, with lightly developed toast and honey flavours combined with wonderful zest and freshness. Grosset discussed in great detail the influence of site on this variety, quoting Jancis with regard to Riesling’s ability to transmit the character of a vineyard without losing its Riesling style [I’m flattered – JR]. He also pointed out the long history of Riesling in Australia, once the most widely planted white variety.

The second tasting of the day was a tour de force from winemaker Steve Pannell, one-time chief winemaker for Hardy’s and now making his own wine in McLaren Vale [see my recommendation of his Willunga 100 in today’s wine of the week - JR]. The purpose of the selection was twofold: to look at the distinct regional styles of Shiraz and to consider whether Shiraz blends were able to show the same regional patterns. (Pannell, incidentally is a huge fan of blending different varieties from the same region and there was strong support from the panel that blends were the future of Australia just as much as they are the touchstone of its past.)

The last four wines were tasted blind to see if the region was a more significant identifier than the varieties. We could identify the regions based on our tasting of the first 11. I found this hard because Pannell’s own wine seemed to have cooler climate origins than McLaren Vale (he put that down to the big wooden fermenters) and the Wendouree was to me more recognisable by its tannin style than by its origin. I obviously need more practice. [But you stayed awake, Julia, which sounds a triumph in itself – JR]

1990 Craiglee Shiraz, Sunbury

1991 Plantagenet Shiraz, Mount Barker, Great Southern

1991 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz, Eden Valley

1991 Wendouree Shiraz, Clare Valley

2006 Shaw + Smith Shiraz, Adelaide Hills

2006 De Bortoli Reserve Release Shiraz, Yarra Valley

2006 Giaconda Warner Vineyard Shiraz, Beechworth

2006 Mt Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz, Grampians

2006 Seppelt Mt Ida Vineyard Shiraz, Heathcote

2006 Clarendon Hills Astralis Vineyard Shiraz (Syrah), McLaren Vale

2006 Charles Melton Grains of Paradise Shiraz, Barossa Valley

2006 Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier, Canberra District

2006 SC Pannell Shiraz/Grenache, McLaren Vale

2006 Spinifex Indigene Shiraz/Mataro, Barossa Valley

2006 Wendouree Shiraz/Malbec, Clare Valley

The afternoon tasting, held at Barossa Valley Estates, and intended as ‘An historic perspective’ was led by wine auctioneer Andrew Caillard MW, who has encyclopedic knowledge of the fine (and old) wine market in Australia. (He’s probably most well-known for his Langton’s Classification.) James Halliday had some great stories to tell about the older wines and his earlier tasting of them. And guess who turned up for the tasting, the lovely Mr Andrew Jefford, currently based in Adelaide, as he described recently in Jefford’s drought.

This was a very special tasting since some of the wines barely exist today. Many of the oldest wines are virtually impossible to source and were made in only small volumes in the first place. The greatest treat of all was Penfolds’ Bin 60A Cabernet/Shiraz 1962 (grapes from the Barossa Valley and Coonawarra). This wine, which some say is one of Australia’s greatest ever, got my highest score and deepest admiration for the incredible depth of fruit that remained within a fine, poised structure of tannin and acidity. Too good (and rare) to spit. The Seppelt Great Western Hermitage K72 Shiraz 1954 Great Western, Grampians was also remarkable: although the nose was of a a very old wine – plenty of furniture polish, leather and tar – it was still perfectly proportioned on the palate.

The amazing line up of rarities and younger fine wines also included Grange 1955 and 1971, following on from the stunning Grange 2004 tasted blind in the morning:

1954 Seppelt Great Western Hermitage K72 Shiraz, Great Western, Grampians

1955 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Multi-region South Australia

1955 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz, Coonawarra

1962 Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Coonawarra / (Kalimna) Barossa Valley

1971 Penfolds Grange Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Multi-region South Australia

1982 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

1985 Wendouree Shiraz, Clare Valley

1986 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley

1986 Brokenwood Hermitage Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter

1990 Mount Mary Vineyard Lilydale Cabernets Quintet, Yarra Valley

1995 Cullen Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Margaret River

1996 Clarendon Hills Astralis Vineyard Shiraz (Syrah), McLaren Vale

1996 Penfolds Block 42 Kalimna Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley

1996 Best’s Wines Thomson Family Great Western Shiraz, Great Western, Grampians

1998 Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

1999 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz Viognier, Barossa Valley

2001 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir, South Gippsland

2001 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, Canberra District

2002 Seppelt St Peters Great Western Shiraz, Great Western, Grampians

2004 Balnaves of Coonawarra The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon

The planned trip to Seppeltsfield was cancelled to give everyone time to take a break before tonight’s themed dinner (and give me time to write this!).

Tomorrow’s menu comprises Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and blends, presented by Iain Riggs; Cabernet Sauvignon and blends, presented by Robert Mann and An alternative view with Louisa Rose and Max Allen.

[I think we would all understand if Julia failed to find time and energy to report on Day 3 - JR]