Wine Wars: Trans-Tasman Rivalry - part two

Wine Wars: Trans-Tasman Rivalry - part two

by Ben Edwards

Wine Wars: Trans-Tasman Rivalry - Part Two

The stage has now been set for a good old-fashioned show down. After our last episode of discovering the diversity of white wine styles from Australia and New Zealand, we can dust off the gloves and get serious about tackling the issue of red wine, who produces the better varieties, and why. Maybe the answer won’t be so black and white (forgive the pun), but after our first lesson on sorting out what makes each country’s white wines unique, there should be an opportunity to sort out who is superior once and for all.
A little recap at this point is necessary to help move things along. Australia is a distinctly warmer country and as a result, many of our wines are rich, ripe, and warm, with a sweetness of fruit that is approachable and immediately appealing. New Zealand is quite a bit cooler, with the wines there showing less fruit, and they are dominated by a slightly cooler and more savoury character that runs through all of them. Different styles of wines are the result. While there is a time and place for them all, it is important to understand what you prefer and why.
Use the following breakdowns of wine styles as a guide to figuring out what wine is best going to suit your drinking situation. In addition to the descriptions below, remember to consider the relative value of price, the company you are going to keep, and the type of food you will be enjoying. If food is not a factor, then lean in the direction of wines with a preponderance of fruit.

LIGHT + BRIGHT RED WINES

When considering what a wine is going to taste like you can learn a great deal from the colour alone. If the colour is in the light red of the spectrum and quite opaque (see through) then it is more than likely going to be a light-bodied red wine. Often the sort of fruit you will expect to enjoy will coincide with the colour so cherry red colours in a wine will often lead to cherry fruit aromas and flavours. This is a terrific rule of thumb when trying to distinguish the characteristics of a variety and where it is from.
The king of light-bodied red wine is Pinot Noir and as a variety there is no other that is as transparent at telling the story of its origins and the way in which it has been made. Pinot Noir is often a little more expensive than other reds as it is a very difficult variety of grape to grow and make well. It requires a great deal of attention and care with even the slightest mishap showing up in the end result. The development of Pinot Noir in Australia and New Zealand has come a long way in the last 20 years. When Pinot Noir first excited us, we grew the grapes in areas too warm for quality wine, instead making thin and insipid strawberry lolly water wines. Today we are seeing a vast array of fine styles from both sides of the Tasman Sea.
The main difference between New Zealand and Australian Pinot is the expression of the fruit. In Australia we tend to see elegant examples that show lighter red fruits such as cherries, raspberries and sometimes plums. There is a softness and approachability that gives immediate pleasure when first released. New Zealand Pinot tends to be a bit heftier and more often than not shows dark and quite savoury characters with spicy black fruits and a concentrated core of flavour. Of course there are some regional differences within each country, but the generalisation still holds true.
In Victoria, Melbourne is blessed by what is known as the “dress circle” and some of the best Pinot Noirs in the country come from there. The Mornington Peninsula provides an array of styles from cool, red berry-fruited wines in Red Hill (Main Ridge, Eldridge Estate) to a fleshier, darker and more robust flavor in the Tuerong area (Yabby Lake, Kooyong Estate). Across Port Phillip Bay the Geelong (Bannockburn, By Farr) and Bellarine Peninsula (Bellarine Estate, Leura Park Estate) regions make spicy and ethereal examples with an emphasis on texture rather than weight. The Yarra Valley (Coldstream Hills, Yering Station) produces fruit-forward and accessible wines that emphasise the charm of red fruits and a touch of Asian spices. Other regions to consider for quality Pinot Noir production are Gippsland (Bass Phillip) and the Macedon Ranges (Bindi Wine Growers). These are both fairly new regions for wine production so stay tuned for increased coverage on these areas as more producers put their best foot forward. As for the rest of Australia, you will see examples from warmer regions but the best red wines still come from cooler regions. Mount Barker in Western Australia (Capel Vale, Plantagenet) and Adelaide Hills in South Australia (Ashton Hills, Lenswood). The true hotspot for Australian Pinot is Tasmania (Josef Chromy, Stoney Rise), and we are seeing some lovely poised, concentrated and intriguing wines being produced all over the island state. The places to look out for hot Pinot Noir in New Zealand are mostly on the South Island, but on the North Island the area of Wairarapa has been producing great wines for quite some time. Martinborough (Ata Rangi, Voss Estate) is the heartland of the region, producing powerful, dense and muscular wines with the sub-region of Gladstone (12,000 Miles) producing more fragrant and lighter-bodied styles. Moving to the South Island the Marlborough area (Fairhall Downs, Spy Valley) is famous for Sauvignon Blanc, but the Pinot from there is savoury, slippery and full of red fruits and mineral complexity, not un-like the spiritual home of the variety in Burgundy, France. Along the coast there is Nelson (Neudorf) showing bright blue fruit character; then there is the inland area of Canterbury (Pegasus Bay), with real weight and depth, and, of course, the uber-trendy spot of Central Otago (Felton Road, Waitiri Creek) down near Queenstown, where the wines there are super concentrated and essencey in their character.

MEDIUM BODIED + LUSCIOUS

The wines are getting darker now and the mood more intense. We have moved into darker fruits, reminiscent of plums, fruitcake and mocha, and these are truly the domain of the Australian wine industry. This is due tothe fact that our warmer climate gives us the opportunity to grow fruit-laden varieties that love the sun such as Grenache and Shiraz. Grenache blends are soft and silky but with underlying power, depth and spice, and the McLaren Vale (d’Arenberg, Maxwell) region produces quality wines with an abundance of sweet fruit that match beautifully with curries and other Asian dishes. The Barossa Valley has pockets of beautiful old vines that produce some of the most famous wines to come out of Australia (St Hallett, Penfolds), and there are so many styles to choose from. Some make big, rich, heavily oaked wines, while others strive to let the fruit shine without too much winemaking artefact (First Drop, Turkey Flat). New Zealand has seen a recent onset of Shiraz production, where it is usually known by the French name for the variety, Syrah. There is really only one area where they are having much success and that is in Hawke’s Bay (Trinity Hills, Bilancia), which is one of the warmest and driest regions of New Zealand for wine production. The style of wine here is quite savoury, with drying, gravelly tannin and dark fruits, and a touch of earthy complexity. If you like more Europeanstyled wine, then this is a region for you. The wines are perfect with a big piece of protein, like the rear end of a cow.

FULBODIED + FULBLODED

It is time to encourage those shy and retiring heavyweights to come out of their respective corners and start swinging. New Zealand wine producers have been pretty keen to show us that they can do more than produce their distinctive Sauvignon and so far, they have had a lot of success with their varieties based on the Bordeaux model of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Here we start to experience truly age-worthy wines with a great deal of tannin and blackcurrant to satisfy our need for cerebral wines. In Waiheke Island (Goldwater Estate, Stonyridge) there are plenty of producers putting together elegantly crafted wines, with slippery tannin and full of cigar box complexity. In Hawke’s Bay (Craggy Range, Te Mata Estate), there is a palpable level of excitement for Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon grown on the Gimblett Gravels and beyond. The wines produced here are highly perfumed but have a serious backbone of acid and tannin, which helps keep the wine humming for many years to come.
The Australian equivalent is distinctly more fruit-dominant, with Margaret River (Woodlands, Cullen) producing exceptional wines with grace and power in spades. The last two vintages of 2007 and 2008 were incredibly exciting and offer great value at all levels of price. A little further south in the Great Southern region the wines are equally as powerful but they show a little more savoury character rather than the pure sweet fruit flavour of Margaret River.
In South Australia, the Coonawarra (Majella, Wynns) is producing some of the best Cabernets in the country, with a pure cassis core of fruit, ample levels of tannins and a distinctive touch of mint, which it wears with pride. In Victoria, the Great Western and Grampians regions (Seppelt, Mount Langi Ghiran) continue to put together wines of power and personality, from some staggeringly old vine material.
The wine war between these two powerhouse countries will inevitably continue and it may take some time and effort to finally come up with a clear-cut winner. Australia will always have fruit weight on its side and the Kiwis will offer savoury complexity as a counterpoint. Perhaps it is best to shake hands, accept our differences, and celebrate the great and diverse range of wines so close to hand. Enjoy the journey of discovery!