Author: Richard

Another year over; a new one just begun

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An exclusive internal corporate email from Hector Lannible, CEO of Stoney Goose Ridge.

“In this holiday season, it’s timely to introspect and reflect, after a frenetic year’s inspirational leadership at Stoney Goose Ridge.

Once again, we’ve achieved double digit growth in sales, our stock market performance excelled, and more importantly we have improved our ROI.  We’ve won countless medals at prestigious wine shows, numerous advertising, promotional, marketing and media awards, plus the critical and business press naturally applauds our legendary efforts. Our social media rankings are through the stratosphere, new export markets have been conquered, and traditional markets blitzed. And apart from my essential guidance and 24/7 oversight, this could not have been accomplished without the competence and commitment of my underlings.

Both within Australia and abroad, the  many fine Stoney Goose Ridge products are welcome at any occasion- hatches, matches and dispatches. Plus of course anniversaries, celebrations, casual and formal meals, BBQs, and so on whether alone, in couples, small, medium and large groups. Our product portfolio is suitable for family, friends, colleagues – in fact everybody .

For example, just this year we’ve launched our instant runaway successes of Lawyers’ Picnic, and Hipster’s Reward, plus rejuvenated and revitalised all our PLU SKU offerings. There will- naturally- be more new exciting exclusive wines and innovative channel fulfillment deliverables.

We celebrate the successes of all our winningest sales teams; not just our newest Thunderbirds, Rattlers, Buffaloes, Orioles, Grizzlies, Swifts and Sidewinders; we’re excited too about the performance of our traditional long-standing true-blue dinky-di Aussie teams- Dingoes, Macadamias, Koala bears, Wombats, Bilbies, Gumnuts, Copperheads, Bullants, Jumbucks, Lamingtons, and Brumbies.

We reflect on our actions; our commitment to core KPI competencies engendering our highly rewarding bonuses; plus our attention to our necessary soft measures. Our recruitment strategies and ongoing skill development are uniquely admired throughout multiple industries. None would be possible without the scribes that filter and elaborate my illuminating utterances. The contribution from my family is of course essential.

But of course we don’t pause; we face the transformational challenges of this millennium, we march into 2017- refreshed and revitalized-  with a critical mission; Stoney Goose Ridge will naturally prevail; my own new year’s resolution is to go beyond and above, challenging myself to contribute, again, 120% of my endeavors.  This will be a tough audacious goal, but I am confident that with my abilities, and support from my direct reports and sales creatures, my ambitions will be managed.

I am confident you will achieve your own targets magnificently, with ensuing consequent potential recognition.

Good cheer to all, with my blessings, Hector”.

Cork problems in 2016 – 5.5%

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The headline figure for my cork problems (TCA or oxidation) throughout 2016 settled at 5.5%.

I’m relieved that the mid-year result of 8.6% did not continue; with only one bottle  I opened in the past six months having unacceptable cork-derived problems (a 1992 Stanton and Killeen Vintage Port).

5.5% is still a terrible result- and a key reason why I avoid-purchasing-  where possible- wines that are cork-sealed.

The last few years’ cork failure performance can be seen in the “corks and statistics” tab.

2011 Auburn (lowburn) Riesling 11.5%

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2011-auburn-lb-riesling

This is a sibling of the Auburn Bannockburn Riesling tasted recently. Not surprisingly, it’s similar, but not identical.

From a sub-region of Central Otago, in a screwcapped crazy-tall bottle, the wine is pale in colour. It has varietal lime and lemon aromas, with wafts of mineral and tangy saline characters, possibly with some botrytis. The palate is rich and crunchy, carrying its 48 g/l of residual sugar; intense citrus , red apple and stony, talcy flavours linger deliciously. This wine is more complete than the nearby Bannockburn-sourced wine – there is no hardness or reductive distractions; just fruit purity.  Overall, an excellent wine.

Drink to 2022, and 92 points.

McWilliam’s Show reserve Muscat 18.5%

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Available for around $70 for 500ml, this “limited release” wine provides excellent value. It proclaims an average age of 25 years (in French oak), and it’s batch 002, bottled in 2015. There is no mention of where the grapes were grown. The art in constructing these fortifieds is to balance the aged material with younger, fresher wine so there is freshness and vibrancy- mission accomplished!

The colour is a healthy glowing amber/brown with a khaki rim; the aromas are lush soaked raisins and assorted fruitcake spices of nutmeg and cinnamon, with a rancio edge derived from extensive barrel maturation; and the concentrated palate delivers a long-lasting sensation of raisin, mocha, dark chocolate and green olive. Silky and voluptuous,  it’s intense, beautifully balanced and conceals its enormous sweetness through zesty acidity.

nv-mcwilliams-muscat

Australia excels with this underpriced and hard-to-sell style, and this bottle is another that compelled assorted decadent re-tastes, overcoming inertia and willpower.  There is no recommended food match- perhaps a strong coffee!

Drink now, and a very easy 94 points.

2011 Auburn (bannockburn) riesling 10.5%

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I seldom see Rieslings from Central Otago (NZ) – apart from Felton Road- and I am not familiar with wines from Auburn. They make Riesling wines from several small plots in the region, and I will open a Lowburn and report on it soon.

2011-auburn-bb

It’s a tall, and absurdly heavy bottle. Under screwcap, this wine is pale, but displays vibrant lime and orange blossom aromas, fainter spice (ginger) notes, and some reductive touches too. The palate shows welcome viscosity, and brisk natural acidity which neatly balances the 45 g/l of residual sugar. There are echoing orange and mandarine flavours, plus mineral notes, but there is also some underlying hardness, which prevents a higher score. This level of integrated sweetness means it suits a surprising variety of dishes; it was consumed with pan-fried salmon, but would also match well with many Asian-oriented meals – or by itself as a surprising aperitif.

It scores 89 points, and will provide drinking pleasure to at least 2020.

 

2005 MF Richter Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 8.5%

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From a terrific year in the Mosel, this wine provides extremely attractive drinking, and shows the magic that time can generate. We visited the cellar door (via appointment) in 2007, and were struck by the quality, then the astonishing range of back vintages available. A quick tour of the winery and the small library of museum stock left us breathless.

2005-richter-bjs-spatlese

Golden in colour, this wine possesses varied attractive and complex attributes -there is certainly the TDN (petroleum) character, and a mélange of green (nettle), yellow (peach and further tropicals), plus red (blackcurrant) fruits. The palate also displays these, as well as a dense minerally stony texture. I continue to be surprised at how much flavor can exist in such a light frame. And a key bonus attribute is the wine’s vitality and freshness, with crunchy acidity neatly offsetting the 106 g/l of residual sugar (my speculation was 90 g/l). All -around deliciousness saw the bottle contents diminish rapidly.

This wine is in its prime, expected to thrive till 2026, and 92 points.

2015 D’arenberg Noble Mud pie 11.1%

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95% Viognier, 5% Arneis; screwcap, 375ml RRP $20

People seem to tolerate my comments on wines that are not available- so here’s one at the start of its journey, for $20; less with careful shopping.

Viognier is a grape of Condrieu, where it makes distinctive, exotic dry white wines (and in more recent times, sweet wines too. More important is its contribution (in minor proportions)– with Shiraz- in Cote Rotie. In Australia, Yalumba has pioneered Viognier to make a dry white at varying price levels, from the humble but VGV “Y” series, through the Eden Valley range, then up to the Virgilius, (and sometimes a botrytis Viognier as well). Viognier is also used in some Cote Roties, with Clonakilla’s Shiraz Viognier generally regarded as Australia’s best.

Viognier may have vivid scents of ripe aprico -better examples show white peach- and the texture and mouthfeel make an enormous contribution to its appeal. Getting picking times correct seems critical to keep the wine brightly flavoured.

Arneis is an Italian grape variety- albeit one that I am not familiar with- but the textbook descriptors of pear, apricot and peach seem a good fit with Viognier. Arneis is another variety that is becoming hip throughout Australia, although vine age  and familiarity with appropriate growing and winemaking mean we hasten slowly.

The number of wines that D’arenberg produces from its base in South Australia’s McLaren Vale is dizzying; and the labels have their own distinctive quirks, and stories.

For the last few years, they have produced several “Noble” (botrytis-affected wines) – and this is one, from along the road in the Adelaide Hills. Using Viognier in a botrytis wine is unusual, and this blend is a one-off; how much the 5% Arneis contributes is problematic.

2015-darenberg-mud-pie

It’s a bright gold lemon colour, with aromatics of apricot, marmalade, cumquat, and dusty nutmeg botrytis spices. The palate is intensely sweet (my guess was 150 g/l of residual sugar, but a peek at the spec sheet indicated 185 g/l). Most Australian sweet wines are flabby, but thankfully here is ample acidity to maintain freshness. The palate is also complex, and very dense with some tropical fruits- candied pineapple, and some lime pie to bolster the yellow peach and ripe apricot.

I was quite impressed, with the wine demonstrating excellent value, and providing an interesting “alternative” drink that will work beautifully with desserts from fruit platters through citrus-oriented pies.

Somewhere however, the “x-factor” is missing. Drink to – conservatively- 2020, and 91 points, but the sugar/acid balance makes this wine a bracing and instructive treat.

 

 

 

 

 

Australian Wine Shows -random musings

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The good

I have participated in a few wine shows as a humble steward. This involves – mainly- setting out glasses, pouring wines for the judges, and cleaning up, so there is no glamour.

But the hard work starts much earlier. Organisers/committees of the shows, amongst other matters, need to

  • Establish the classes (eg 2016 Riesling)
  • Solicit sponsors, entries, collect fees,
  • Arrange venue, glasses, select judges, associate judges and stewards
  • Receive and sort the wines
  • Collate and publish results
  • Arrange judges accommodation, meals etc
  • Arrange media, trade, exhibitor tastings etc.

trade-set-up-2

Improvements have been made over the years, including

  • Better glassware used (not the old XL5s)
  • Venues that have natural light and appropriate temperatures
  • Screwcaps – not just avoiding the overt TCA and oxidation, but many wines were slightly cork affected, making them muted
  • Reduction in the number of wines judged in one day to around 100
  • Better education of judges through threshold awareness and sensitivities
  • Greater courtesy shown to associate judges
  • Broader selection of judges (overseas, trade, media – not just winemakers)
  • Clustering of wines into regions- or varieties (so judging a class is not generally a pinballing of wine from region A, then region B, then region A etc,
  • Accommodating new varietals (eg Mediterranean and Iberian)
  • Wines from named vineyards/plots
  • Wines of provenance (same producer, same wine, different vintages; this needs a tweak so older vintages are not always the same ones!)
  • Len Evans Tutorial – which exposes winemakers and judges to world-class wines, old and new

The confusing

There seem to be many, many wine shows. In the past few months, there have been (with links to results attached)

Yarra Valley Wine Show, Halliday Chardonnay challenge, Ballarat, Rutherglen, Melbourne, Adelaide, Cool climate, Canberra regional, Geelong, McLaren Vale, Hilltops, Mt Barker, Clare Valley, Tumbarumba, Shiraz Challenge, Riesling Challenge, Sweet wine challenge, NSW wine awards, Australian Italian varieties, Limestone Coast. I have probably missed a few!

Some of these are “regional” shows, others are open, some are “focused”. No doubt each has their rationale, so we are unlikely to see any consolidations.

Keeping track of results is basically not possible, without much data entry, but here are some anomalies;

  • Use of 20 point vs 100 point judging scales. This can mean in some shows judges scores are “added” so the top score is theoretically 60 (and 57 is an outstanding result); or averaged, or agreed between judges – 100 is a theoretical top score– with 98 being an outstanding result.
  • Some shows provide scores for all wines; some provide scores for the medal-winners, and no scores for “the rest”
  • Some shows provide brief judges’ comments about some classes “excellent results for this year; medal winners show freshness, non-medal winners advanced, many over-extracted)
  • Some shows generally name the wines in a class, not just that its Winery X “wine A” and winery X “wine B”; or did not list vintages in a class of vintage fortifieds -unhelpful!
  • Some shows prohibit a judge scoring wines in a class where their own wines may appear in a line-up.

Room for improvement

But the underlying question is “why”?

Are wine shows for the benefit of consumers who lust after medals and trophies? Are wine shows for the benefit of wine-makers who gain an understanding of how their wines compare relative to their peers/competitors, and improving the calibre of wines overall? Are the results for the benefit of companies to claim general bragging rights? Are the shows to benefit the judges (and associates),  to learn views and network with the other judges, media and exhibitors? Or are the shows run as an adjunct- partly financial-  to bolster events at a regional festival or day?

As a committed fence-sitter, the Show system is an amalgam of these objectives (and probably more).

Judges are not entirely interchangeable; we all have different sensitivities- to such characters as rotundone and indole. Again, there are judges who are competent but have a lesser feel, liking or understanding of some classes. I have known winemakers reluctant to submit wines- some partly from philosophy, some for cost reasons, some who check the judging panel composition- as certain judges are deemed clueless on some varieties/styles.

Judging is demanding, hard work -concentrating, maybe spending a few minutes on each wine, describing highlights, lowlights etc. Its understandably easier to describe an excellent wine, that is gold-medal standard – or close; it’s harder to pin down why a wine that provides less excitement is worth a lesser score; wines that have a blatant fault – or more than one, are easily discarded- but still have to be scored, and described.

Confronting a class of say 40 different 2015 Merlots at 10am is not something that many judges would look forward to; or a class of rose or pinot gris; I have heard judges happily confess that that they had “room for improvement” in their understanding of sparkling wines, or fortified wines. There is thus scope for more “class specialists”. There is scope for an “opt-out” with judges able to swap panels.

Again, use of trade or media judges, especially on determination of top gold or trophies may provide some stylistic guidance, after the technical soundness, typificity and quality has been demonstrated. In most cases, they will support the panel chair’s view; but they may be called (as may the chair of judges) to resolve issues where panels are strongly divided.

Apologies that this post is just an airing of quick thoughts- perhaps there is illumination of selected issues.

 

2003 Pondalowie Vintage Port 19.5%

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50/50 Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) and Shiraz; 500ml bottle “fortified with selected grape spirit”, and only two barrels made- cork stained about 1/3 through.

Domenic and Krystina Morris have ample experience in Australia , and overseas, with workplace Quinta do Crasto in Portugal being perhaps an inspiration for their only fortified – so far. The Bendigo-based  Pondalowie wines are fruit-driven with oak as a complement; the reserve wines are vintage and variety-dependent. Prices are very fair.

2003-pondalowie-vpFrom a hot, low-yielding drought year in Victoria, the colour of this wine is a dense black red, with minor bricking;  Fruit-powered, with aromatics of  exuberant dark liqueur Morello cherry and some red liquorice; the palate mirrors this with some plum too, and fine, lingering chalky tannins; spirit is a bit hot to start but resolving.

Lovely drinking to 2023 and 91 points, but certainly requires a decant to remove the sediment.

 

 

Blogs, sites, resources (part 2)

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Frank Zappa’s quote on rock journalism has long resonated “People who can’t write, doing interviews with people who can’t think, in order to prepare articles for people who can’t read”.

There must be something similar about wine writing; perhaps like Samuel Johnson.  “Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all”. Now, If only wine writers could talk; alas, some of them do, sometimes forcing us to listen.

And once more, an excerpt from Steve Slatcher from a World of Fine wine article, with the key quote being “One result was that while the experts’ ratings correlated with price, the non-experts (customers lacking a wine education) actually preferred cheaper wines. It is a difficult sell to get those customers to invest time and money in learning about wine so they can then spend even more money on expensive wines they never used to like”.

Yet this is exactly what wine writers aim at – convincing readers to follow their own tastes and prejudices.

Here is a list of some selected – free- international sites, again for people with much spare time.

Regular posters

  • Winenous – Steve Slatcher in flight, a thinker, a  researcher,
  • Andrew Jefford on Monday (Decanter magazine). Writes with heart; tasting notes that have a admirable touch of melancholy
  • Wine anorak – Jamie Goode’s wine-ranging blog- reviews, news, welcome and refreshing material
  • Wine Detective – Sarah Ahmed’s “outside” views; the affection shines through, and some courage too.
  • Hosemaster – Ron Washam – satirical, with a US focus- not every post is not a winner, but crikey what fun when it is. (Eg Bob Dylans Nobel win)

Reference sites – general

  • CellarTracker -a wonderful resource with community reviews (but you should find “sympathetic and knowledgeable” reviewers – such as Cam Wheeler) . Payment is encouraged, and allows you to upload your wine details.
  • Wine-searcher; where can I get it- and how much? The pro version captures more retail sites; subscribing may thus save you money when buying wine!

Reference sites – specific

Most regions, and many companies, and wine retailers have their own sites; Google away, but the two sites below are among my regulars

Mosel Fine wines – by Jean Fisch and David Rayer-  I am astonished at the depth, and number of reviews; their, charm, scores,enthusiasms and knowledge have led me to many purchases, and guided appointments made in the Mosel.

Bureau du Champagne – Not wonderfully up-to-date, and ultra-protective of Champagne, but there is a vast amount of history, geography and “feel” here, if you have the patience to trawl through the links