If there’s one thing Australian winemakers have become great at, it’s experimenting with new wine varietals and clones, often grafting them onto well-established rootstock, then monitoring fruit production and best growing conditions to learn how to perfect fine berry development and well-matured seeds for better tannin profiles.
There are myriad steps in this process, including careful site selection, the choice of vine trellising styles, nutrient toppings or irrigation additives, irrigation methods and countless other issues. Perhaps top of the list will be careful management of the vineyard canopy and cropping (the amount of fruit produced) which is controlled by thinning out leaves (or, in warmer areas, manipulating them to improve shading) and sometimes ruthless culling of excess bunches.
Although Australia’s climate can be extremely harsh in places, there are great microclimates in areas such as Victoria’s King Valley, Beechworth and the deeper Alpine Valleys that manage to produce slower ripening fruit and hence very intense flavours. These areas, with their varying terroir (the way in which soil and microclimate interact with the vines and affect flavours) are able to mimic a range of European wine-growing locales.
Although we’ve seen increased popularity of Spanish varietals such as tempranillo and albariño, and a sales-driven resurgence of Rhone blends featuring viognier, marsanne and roussanne, it is the Italians that dominate North East Victoria’s wine region.
Varietals such as barbera, nebbiolo, sangiovese (all savoury reds) and prosecco (the new leader in Australian sparking wine) are now establishing themselves as High Country foundation norms, becoming more popular than even cabernet and merlot. Others such as primitivo/zinfandel (a rich, fragrant red); arneis and savagnin (floral whites); and, to a lesser extent, nero d’Avola, lagrein, graciano (punchy, highly tannic reds); montepulciano (producing a lighter red wine); and fiano (a floral white) colour the mix.
While so many new varietals may sound like a lot to explore and learn about, that list is just a fraction of the vast range found in Italy. To help you become familiar with what’s buzzing in Australia, and to keep it simple, we’ve selected a handful of our favourite wines created from Italian varietals now thriving in North East Victoria. Some are already well known, others are new to the market; all are quality, hand-crafted gems.
Star Lane Nebbiolo 2009 #0802
Right out of the bottle, this wine is a fragrant, beautifully well-developed Nebbiolo – simply heavenly. With classic aromas of tar and roses as well as violets, tobacco and prunes, there’s magic in the air when you consume this heavily perfumed wine.
Okay, so this vino rosso does has time on its side, but that’s a must given the firm varietal tannins that the nebbiolo grape produces. As it pours, this magnificently well-crafted Barolo Riserva-style wine falls into the glass with that rusty light brick-red I so adore. Bursting from the glass at just the gentlest of swirls are sweet, earthy warm layers of so much gorgeous perfume that I’d go as far as suggesting this wine is worth wearing as much as it is drinking, if you catch my drift.
The fruit for Star Lane’s Nebbiolo is grown at an altitude of 480 metres, a site carefully selected for its granitic shale soils and slower ripening. Winemaker Liz Barnes, with some generous assistance from Giaconda wines’ Rick Kinzbrunner, has ensured every detail of quality fruit expression is announced.
Liz’s husband, the winery sales manager Brett, says the winemaking process has been ‘a long journey and a difficult one to make. Nebbiolo simply demands all of your attention.’
After pressing, and ferment, the wine juice sat on skins for a total of no less than three months to soften the tannins. While the winery usually maintains a consistent 17C natural temperature at mid-year, daily monitoring of the vats and their contents was essential to ensure the wine remained stable. From there, the wine was further matured for three years, mostly in aged French Sirugue barrels (popular with most of the Beechworth vignerons) featuring a tight-grained oak that delivers, Brett says, ‘elegance and finesse’. To avoid overpowering the wine’s elegant, subtle bouquet, only 10 per cent of new barrels were used.
The result is a medium-bodied gem with some soft but nicely grippy and earthy tannins that make the palate pleasantly chalky. Layered in are the most exotic fruit flavour profiles: cherries, prunes, fresh bright-ripe raspberries and more earthy but subtle tones: forest floor, truffles, and tobacco … this wine is an Italian masterpiece. Shh! Don’t mention this article to the myriad wine importers. Liz Barnes (and Rick) – thank you!
Star Lane 2012 Quattro Vitigini
Made as a quality bistro wine that, if laid down for a while, will deliver you an easy-drinking keeper, the Star Lane Quattro Vitigini, as you might have guessed, is made from a blend of four varietals, mostly sangiovese and nebbiolo with touches of merlot and shiraz added to increase fragrance, weight and texture – modest homage to the novel blends that deliver the fabled Super-Tuscans.
‘Gee that smells all right,’ I instinctively say to myself soon after cracking the bottle and pouring a little into a wide-brimmed glass. Give it a swirl and the high alcohol level is evident from the legs trailing down the glass. At 14.5 per cent, this wine certainly has earned the term ‘super’.
The nose is rich and layered, punchy and bold. Easily the biggest wine featured here, it again displays more of those beautiful tar and roses nebbiolo characteristics but now with added sangiovese cherry and tobacco elements. Blackberry, plum and prunes also come into play.
But this wine, as bold as it is, is not all fun and games. As a very young wine (considering its style), it packs a punch with strong acidity and some astringency. This could be overcome with the right, robust, food pairing, but even after decanting the bite hangs in there, thankfully underpinned with some great fruit and depth. But all this might be a simple matter of inadequate bottle maturation, so buy now, drink later – I’m confident all will be naturally resolved in time.
The huge positive to focus on is a fat and extremely rich palate of ripe forest fruits that shines after decanting. Palate weight is punchy and bold, and the mouthfeel softly textured and pleasing.
Like many big, bold higher-alcohol wines, this will need further time in bottle to truly impress. Even so, with such incredible fragrances, paired with a robust game meat dish or simply a BBQed steak, you won’t to be too disappointed drinking it young. She’s a sleeper, and a very good one at that.
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