How Australia’s McGuigan Wines managed to get its mojo back
When Australian wine started to lose its mojo 15-20 years ago, Neil McGuigan, who has just departed as CEO of Australian Vintage Ltd, decided to do something about it. He felt that going back to basics and over-delivering at every price point was the route forwards – and using the size of the company to its advantage. Every year, for example, he holds back 500-1000 cases of many of his wines so he can deliver them to the trade ready-aged, the company has a major innovation programme and sees international awards as a key component. Geoffrey Dean caught up with McGuigan over a tasting of four vintages each of the McGuigan Shortlist Riesling and McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon
Neil McGuigan, who has just retired as chief executive officer of Australian Vintage Ltd, will be missed but has left a healthy legacy for the company, which owns McGuigan Wines, Tempus Two and Nepenthe. At a vertical tasting lunch in London last month, the McGuigan Rieslings and Semillons showed exceptionally well, notably the more mature labels that he thinks are so important to the brand.
Neil McGuigan: leaving behind a formidable legacy
One of the shrewdest Australian wine industry brains, McGuigan likes to get straight to the point.
“Australia’s reputation was established by making outstanding quality wines and engaging with consumers worldwide,” he told The Buyer. “However, we lost our mojo 15 to 20 years ago, and I felt we needed to get it back by going back to basics, making wines with balance and harmony and over-delivering on quality at every price point. We are a large organisation and I thought we needed to go out there and perform for our own brand and Australia on the domestic and international show circuit.”
The McGuigan Rieslings and Semillons have certainly done that, chalking up trophies like Manchester United did under Alex Ferguson and winning more gold medals than the United States at the last Olympics. The scoreline reads: Rieslings (2008, 2010 and 2013 vintages) 13 trophies and 62 gold medals: Semillons (from 2003, 2007, 2013 and 2019) 20 trophies and 79 gold medals. Of the 22 worldwide trophies awarded by International Wine and Spirit Competition in the past 11 years for Riesling and Semillon, 12 have gone to McGuigan Wines.
Neil McGuigan continued: “We also had to start a maturation programme whereby we get Eden Valley Riesling, Hunter Semillon, Barossa Shiraz, Langhorne Creek Shiraz and Coonawarra Cabernet, put 500-1000 dozens of those wines away and re-release them at their peak. That’s a huge commitment. The CFO and CEO at the time both had kittens, as it’s a lot of money, but we felt to make a serious wine company you had to have a serious portfolio of wine not just of current vintage but mature ones.”
The great thing for drinkers is that these older award-winning wines are available to buy as a result. The 2003 Bin 9000 Semillon is A$25 at the cellar door, while the 2013 is A$50 (both having a release price of A$12.99).
“I can’t remember a wine that has been as dominant as the 2013 Bin 9000 Semillon,” McGuigan purred. “In the second half of this year, it has won 11 trophies in 16 weeks. What these awards do for Brand Australia is incredibly important. Between 2006 and 2016, our organisation won IWSC’s International Winemaker of the Year four times as well as IWC’s International White Winemaker of the Year. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved.”
What is technically so interesting about the McGuigan Riesling and Semillon is the fact both have low pH, which is of much greater significance than acidity for a winemaker. Lower suphur dioxide additions are possible for a start.
“You get the pH right, and you get outstanding colours and longevity, and time to have these layers of character,” McGuigan said. “The pH of all these wines are all about the same – around 3… low pH but they don’t taste that acid. That’s the trick: to get lower acids and lower pH. That comes from the vineyard; that’s getting the balance right in the vineyard, the crop right and the foliage right – everything in harmony and normally from relatively mature vines. It’s all about pH control.”
Another area of importance for McGuigan is the company’s innovation programme.
“Our innovation programme is about embracing new varieties, new regions and new technology,” he revealed. “We are really working hard to take our wines to another level. We’re embracing cool climate and developing a cool climate programme. We’ve always been in Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills but are also going to another level of cool climate around Australia. We’re looking at Tasmania and Victoria, and in New South Wales which has some beautiful cool climate sites like Tumbarumba where we’re doing a lot of work with Chardonnay. That’s going well.” The same could be said for the whole McGuigan range.
Tasting notes on the Riesling and Semillon:
McGuigan Shortlist Riesling (40-year old Eden Valley vines)
2019: lime juice, lovely line of beautiful, zippy acidity; long
2013: whisper of petroleum; citrusy; texture with slight oiliness on palate; fresh acidity
2010: obvious developed colour; toasty; oily palate; awesome intensity and length
2008: real petroleum noise, full and rich with some oiliness, just starting to dry out
McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon (Hunter Valley)
2019: wet wool, green apple/lime juice nose, fleshy palate, zippy acidity, great length (longer than the Rieslings)
2013: green apple fruit, hayshed, toast, complex nose, depth of character with malolactic overtones (despite no MLF).
2007: butter toast notes with hint of marmalade, grass, complex palate, honey perfume; won Semillon Trophy at IWSC
2003: hot butter toast and marmalade, shading away although beautiful length; so light and elegant
