Australia – Reclaiming National Treasure

The basket presses at Rusden

There's a certain irony in the fact that the best Australian producers are now making hand crafted, small batch and single vineyard wines, often from vineyards that, for decades, produced fruit snapped up by the giants of the country's wine production, perhaps ultimately to be blended with the produce of vineyards lying hundreds of miles away.

And it wasn't long ago that these same giants were bottling liquids that tasted as though they were all made from the same pot of melted bramble jam.

The oldest Shiraz vines in the world are to be found in Australia. Some of the fruit that's pressed to make up the wines below is sourced from vineyards planted in the 1870s. Why is this worth noting? Well, because old vines have big roots with which to suck up more of the character of the soil on which they are grown. And they produce less fruit into which to cram all that character, less fruit around which to spread all that energy produced by such an antique plant each vintage.

One of the pleasures of being truly independent is that we are not tied to a list that obliges us to offer wine from the same producers year in year out, regardless of vintage variation. We have previously offered only one of the four estates below, and then it was a different wine from a different vintage.

So I guess that this offer could fall under the banner of “diversification”.

The Producers and Wines

Yarra Yering

Oxford educated Dr Bailey Carrodus found his ideal site in the Yarra Valley in the late sixties and commenced a program of planting. No wine had been produced commercially in the valley since 1921, but it was the valley's "traditional" varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz - that Dr Carrodus included in these initial plantings. He also included some Pinot Noir.

The wines made largely from Cabernet and Shiraz, labelled Dry Red No.1 and No.2 respectively, have become widely known as some of the finest and most age-worthy reds of Australia. The cooler climate in the valley, just an hour or so to the north-east of Melbourne, produces wines of great finesse and structure. The same holds for the Pinot Noir.

Alas, Dr Carrodus died on 19th September this year, so this offering is something of a tribute to a true vinous voortrekker.

Vintage	Wine	Drink dates	Case size	Price In Bond
2005	Pinot Noir, Yarra Yering, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia Notes: There are tarry, briary, very spicy and meaty notes to the nose here. It's pretty savoury for the time being, but in tandem one gets ripe red fruit of strawberry and plum. In the mouth, the Yarra Yering starts supple and rich before tannins gather themselves, chunky and fine. This is long, a touch animal and has really good grip and intensity at the back. Altogether structured, intense and masculine and with accurate varietal stamp. Good Pinot.   "The 2005 Pinot Noir included 20% stalks and was aged in 75% new French oak. Dark ruby-colored, it exhibits aromas of pain grille, scorched earth, meat, black cherry, and black raspberry. Full-bodied, mouth-filling and ripe, this uniquely-styled Pinot Noir has layers of sweet fruit, 6-8 years of aging potential, and a long finish. It could easily masquerade as a Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru (from a top producer). 91%." erobertparker.com	2010-2015	12x75cl	£303.00
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Rusden

Christian Canute, Dennis’s son, finds a levelness of spirit

This estate has existed since 1979 when Christine and Dennis Canute bought a chunk of land in the Barossa which, at the time, was considered a source of blending wine by the big producers.

Dennis started titivating his vineyard, which had become rather run down. He even grubbed up some very old vine Grenache and Mataro (Mourvèdre), a decision he now (unsurprisingly) regrets.

The name Rusden is an amalgamation of the names of Dennis and his mate Russell, with whom he made his first ever barrel of wine.

We have offered Rusden before in the form of their Black Guts Shiraz (I have drunk the 1999 vintage recently and it still needs a great deal of time. It does not, however, render one's innards deep-hued.) The wines have a tell-tale Rusden character: they are not that dark in colour and have a high-toned complexity that I love. They are quite different to the usual belt-and-braces, full-blown Barossa wines.

Vintage	Wine	Drink dates	Case size	Price In Bond
2005	Ripper Creek Cabernet/Shiraz, Rusden, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Notes: There's a high toned aspect to the creamy red cherry, bramble and stalky, cranberry nose. Definite Rusden character. A rich and supple entry leads on to mineral-tinged, pastille-like fruit with milk chocolate notes. Then there's the powerful finish. Very nicely composed and bristling with intent.   "The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (50%) - Shiraz (50%) "Ripper Creek" was aged for 18 months in seasoned French oak. It exhibits a splendid nose of scorched earth, saddle leather, black currant, blackberry, and blueberry pie. This leads to a medium to full-bodied, smooth-textured wine with racy, intense fruit, excellent balance, and a pure finish. It will evolve for several years and drink well through 2020. 94%." erobertparker.com	2012-2018	6x75cl	£171.00
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Teusner

Wine maker Kym Teusner and viticulturalist Michael Page

Kym Teusner (pron. Toyzner) gained a BSc from Adelaide University in 2001 and determined to return to the Barossa Valley in order to experiment with Rhône varieties. One day he overheard a conversation between his brother and his girlfriend's uncle about the fate of an old Grenache vineyard; its then owner found working the vineyard and selling the fruit to be uneconomical. They counted their pennies and managed to club together enough to buy 25% of the fruit from the vineyard for their first vintage. Things have snowballed ever since.

I tasted a range of Teusner wines the other day and felt compelled to offer the best of them.

Vintage	Wine	Drink dates	Case size	Price In Bond
2005	Albert Shiraz, Teusner, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Notes: Instantly, a very smoky nose. There are rich aromas of black plum and cold tea fruit, as well as bramble and earthy notes. There's a nuance of creamy, milk chocolate from the wood. This is compact and backward in the mouth with firm, fine tannins backing up the wave of ripe and delicious fruit. Very long in the mouth, with a substantial finish.   "The 2005 Shiraz "Albert" is an old vine cuvee sourced from 50- and 85-year-old vines. Saturated purple in color, it offers up aromas of pencil lead, scorched earth, smoked meat, bacon, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. Medium to full-bodied, it has gobs of spicy blue and black fruit flavors, outstanding depth and concentration, silky tannins, and a lengthy finish. Cellar it for 6-8 years and drink it through 2025. 94%." erobertparker.com	2013-2020	12x75cl	£219.00
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Kalleske

Brothers Tony and Troy Kalleske

From a winery no more than 8 years old, we come to a family that have been farming grapes in the Barossa since 1853, although to be fair, Kalleske have only been bottling their own wines since 2004, previously selling off their fruit to the “majors”.  

The estate is situated in Greenock which, along with Ebenezer, is one of the two famed quality kernels of the Barossa. 

All wines here come from Kalleske's own vineyards and both the wines here offered are sourced from single vineyards.

Vintage	Wine	Drink dates	Case size	Price In Bond
2006	Johann Georg Shiraz., Kalleske, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Notes: It is apparent from the first sniff that this is a wine built to age. There's a wealth of ripe bramble fruit plus damsons peppered with mineral notes and some toasty chocolate wood. There a creamy entry here, but then it snaps into a very backward mode. Highly structured and full of minerals and grip. Very long and juicy. Bristling and highly concentrated. Needs time.   N.B. This vintage of Johann Georg is, as yet, unscored by the world's critics. The problem is that, by the time they get 'round to tasting it, it's generally sold out! The last two vintages have received a 96% score from Robert Parker and I can only imagine that the 2006 will be similarly treated.	2014-2022	3x75cl	£147.00
2006	Greenock Creek Shiraz, Kalleske, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Notes:	2012-2019	12x75cl	£243.00
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