Archive for September, 2012:
Texture, structure, savouriness and sense of place – the new Aussie mantra
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The bywords for the next generation of Aussie winemakers look set to be texture, structure, savouriness and sense of place, (the French would call it terroir), as producers look to express greater individuality in their wines. They’ve cottoned on to the fact that the patch of dirt where the vines grow, and its complete environment, really is the thing that can’t be replicated elsewhere.
Crus Bourgeois vintage 2010
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For the 2010 vintage 260 Châteaux were awarded the cru bourgeois label. This is up from 246 properties for the 2009 vintage, and 243 properties in the inaugural awarding of the revamped label for the 2008 vintage.
Jansz
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What’s now known as Jansz (from Abel Tasman’s middle name), was established in 1975, in the Pipers River area of north-east Tasmania. The 24 hectare vineyard had been part of the original Heemskerk property, and a new lease of life began in 1998 when the Hill-Smith family bought it.
How has Austrian wine changed in the last decade?
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A decade is not a long time in viticulture, but for small, niche producer Austria, ten years has seen notable movements in the structure of the wine industry. A comprehensive vineyard survey was carried out in 2009, ten years after the previous one, covering a decade that has seen Austrian wines move into a lauded sphere on export markets.
Eldridge Estate
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David Lloyd of Eldridge Estate on Red Hill is a self-confessed ‘hillist’ of Mornington Peninsula. He used to think the “best pinot noir [came] from ‘the downs’ because it’s warmer” but he was persuaded by early pioneer Nat White of Main Ridge to focus on pinot noir from the hills.
Coulure and millerandage
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These two little issues have cropped up in several places in Europe in vintage 2012. They often go hand in hand, and they are usually referred to by their French names.
The Winegrowers’ Handbook
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Given the justified flush of enthusiasm for UK wines this is a timely addition to the library for anyone looking to become better acquainted with the practical and environmental challenges of viticulture in the UK, though its clear focus is for folk thinking of setting up their own vineyard and making their own wine, in the garden or more expansively.
French paradox – climats and lieux-dits
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French semantics are to the fore as we delve into the fog-bound world of attempting to differentiate between Burgundian ‘clos’, ‘climat’, ‘lieu-dit’, ‘cru’ and ‘appellation’. Some are easier; others require increasing magnitudes of microscopy, combined, perhaps, with a small gallic shrug for the inevitable French paradoxes.
