The secret of Australia’s success has been its consumer-friendly approach to wine. It’s not simply labelling wine by grape variety, it’s marketing sunshine in a bottle.

With Australian wine, it’s what you see is what you get. A no-holds-barred approach, guaranteeing ripe fruit, bold flavours and plenty of alcohol but, above all, consistency of product.

Yet scratch the surface, and there’s a lot more to Australian wine than meets the eye. Within this vast continent, there is an enormous range of climates and soils which can be exploited by the more discerning winemaker to create his own inimitable style.

The supreme irony is that Australia is reverting to the French notion of terroir and classic regions are emerging, such as Coonawarra for Cabernet, Barossa for Shiraz, and Mornington Peninsula for Pinot Noir, amongst others.

The purpose of tonight’s tasting was to explore those differences in a little more depth.

Flight 1 – Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a fickle variety that prefers cool-climate locations. It thrives in Tasmania, but also in the coastal area around Port Phillip in Victoria. The principal locations are Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong.

In terms of overall production, Western Australia is small, but it is significant in terms of quality. Margaret River and Great Southern are possibly the two best-known regions, and the latter is becoming noted for its Riesling. Margaret River has a Mediterranean climate, whereas Great Southern is more continental.

1. Omrah Pinot Noir 2006 W. Australia (£8.95 Wine Society)
Omrah is a “sous” name for the very prestigious Plantagenet Winery of Mount Barker, famous for its Riesling, and Rhone-style Shiraz. The wines of Omrah tend to be commercial. I found this full of sweet, artificial red-fruit flavourings, particularly jammy raspberry and strawberry fruit, with rather sweet off-dry finish. More like cherry cola, it was not to my taste. CHP 12, Bin Ends 3 votes.

2. Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir 2006 Mornington Peninsula (£11.95)
A serious wine, complex and savoury, with juicy mulled cherry fruits, and that classic Pinot mouthfeel, with a sensuous silky texture and long finish. Highly recommended.
CHP 17+, Bin Ends 5 votes

Flight 2 – Blends

South Australia is to the rest of Australia as California is to the rest of the United States in terms of wine production, accounting for around 50% of overall volume. Yet it can be divided into a number of sub-regions, again reflecting different characteristics.

Vine-growing has been established in the Barossa Valley for over 150 years, and can boast the oldest rootstock in Australia. It’s particularly noted for Shiraz, Grenache and Mouvedre. The Fleurieu zone includes the highly-regarded McLaren Vale sub-zone. Here, Shiraz dominates, but Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache also thrive.

3. D’Arry’s Original Shiraz-Grenache 2005 McLaren Vale (£8.95 Wine Society)
D’Arry’s Original was originally marketed as a Burgundy, and is a 50-50 blend of Shiraz and Grenache. Regrettably, the alcohol level has crept up and up in recent years. This was full-bodied and very alcoholic, and there were bramble fruits and spice. Mouthfilling, it had a ripe fruit finish, but out of balance. Once a personal favourite, but not any longer
(CHP 13, Bin Ends 1 vote)

4. Kaesler Avignon GSM 2005 Barossa (£11.70 Tanners)
Produced from late-harvested grapes, this was a monster, with dense red and black fruits, developing into a smooth, slightly funky off-dry finish. The fruit texture was dessicated, and the extreme level of alcohol threw the wine out of balance. (CHP 11)

Flight 3 – Cabernet/Merlot

Coonawarra has achieved a pre-eminent position as Australia’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignon wine-region. It’s in the limestone coastal zone of South Australia, and is distinguished by its terra rossa soils.

The Clare Valley, also in South Australia, lies to the north of Barossa, and due to its higher altitude, tends to achieve wines with more finesse. As well as Shiraz, it has a fine reputation for Cabernet.

The highly fashionable Margaret River in Western Australia is one of the few Australian regions that can challenge Coonawarra for its excellence.

5. Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2005 Margaret River (£9.95 Tanners)
More Merlot in character than Cabernet, with flavours of stewed plums, prunes and leather. Spicy and hot, but it faded quickly. (CHP 12, Bin Ends 2 votes)

6. Mitchell Cabernet Sauvignon Sevenhill Vineyard 2001 Clare Valley (£9.70 Tanners)
Let down by a slight musty note, I suspect this was slightly cork-tainted. Savoury, smooth and silky, but with a bitter finish. Good balance. (CHP 13).

7. Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 Coonawarra (Tanners £11.95)
Fresh minerally black fruit, developing into a silky texture, and a lingering finish, with perhaps a hint of chocolate. Fully mature, stylish and perfectly balanced. Highly recommended, but atypical. (CHP 18, Bin Ends 8 votes)

Flight 4 – Shiraz

Shiraz is the great Australian success story, but appears in all sorts of guises, from Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia.

8. Omrah Shiraz 2004 Great Southern Western Australia (£8.95 Wine Soc)
Like its stablemate, there was upfront jammy blackberry fruit, with a sweet finish. Very commercial, easy-drinking style (CHP 13)

9. Fairbank Syrah 2004 Bendigo, Victoria (£11.95 Tanners)
This sub-zone enjoys a continental climate and, significantly, Shiraz is referred to as Syrah, reflecting a cooler-climate style. Victorian Shiraz styles are noted for their leathery qualities.

This was savoury, almost vegetally, with minerally leathery blackberry fruits and rustic tannins, ending with a very dry finish. Almost mindful of an Italian red, with its own individual rugged personality. Different, but enjoyable. (CHP 16)

10. Bird-in-Hand Shiraz 2006 Fleurieu Peninsula (£10.95 Tanners)
An opportunity to contrast the Fleurieu Peninsula with McLaren Vale, both located in the Fleurieu zone, south of Adelaide. This had sweet, ripe blackberry fruit, with immediate appeal and a faint backnote of toast. Alcohol is present, but under control. A good commercial style. (CHP 15).

11. Coriole Shiraz 2004 McLaren Vale (£11.95 Tanners)
At long last, a rip-roaring Shiraz in the true Australian mould. Big-hearted, generous, with ripe mulled black fruits, and notes of coconut and chocolate. Youthful and vibrant, with earthy tannins, there was some pleasing complexity. Recommended.
(CHP 17, Bin Ends 7 votes)

Hopefully, tonight’s tasting offered a glimpse into the variety afforded by the different terroirs and regions. My personal highlights were the Bowens, Coonawarrra (perhaps an atypical old-fashioned style), the Kooyong Mornington Peninsula and the Coriole McLaren Vale Shiraz, which all delivered wines of real style and character. Neither was I disappointed by the atypical Fairbank which retained bags of character.

As I feared, though, a number of wines were simply commercial, lacking sufficient quality to justify their price-tag. More serious is a creeping problem of ever-higher alcohol volumes, which throw the wines out of balance, and make them unpleasant to drink with a meal.

COMING UP …

Tuesday, 27th May 2008
Tonight we have a flying winemaker in our midst.
Henry Laithwaite will be presenting a selection of his own wines, and
explaining everything there is to know about them.
(entry: £10 per head)

Tuesday, 24th June 2008
Summer Champagne and Sparklers
An assortment of Grandes Marques, Growers, and
Sparkling Wine producers, including Rosés, all to be tasted blind!
(Entry: £10 per head)

And a summer date for your diaries:

Friday, 18th July 2008
Bin Ends Summer Barbecue
In Quinton, Birmingham
(tickets available from Derek & Barbara Lamb,
0121 421 1204/07831.413677, e.mail: HYPERLINK "mailto:deklamb@lineone.net" deklamb@lineone.net)
Please notify your interest a.s.a.p.

Please note my website link:
www.clives-wines.com