The 2018 vintage in Bordeaux

UGC tasting shows off the might of Bordeaux 2018 vintage

No elbows were needed at this year’s annual Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGC) tasting in London, and the Leoville Barton didn’t run out – the new tasting environment for the assessment of the Bordeaux 2018 vintage was seated, took five hours with 130 wines tasted. Our man at the tasting, Geoffrey Dean, selects the best wines, appellation by appellation as well as gets the views from 13 of the top châteaux owners on where lies the strengths and weaknesses of Bordeaux 2018.

By Geoffrey Dean

The annual October Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGC) tasting in London was like no other: not a single Bordeaux producer in attendance, and all tasters seated at individual tables so as to observe social distancing. It was, therefore, not the usual scrum, and with five hours allotted to taste the 130 wines on show, it was a great opportunity to get truly to grips with the 2018 vintage. Around half of the classed growths in the Medoc made their wines available although the percentage was a little higher for their Graves and Saint-Emilion counterparts.

Hailed as a great year by certain Bordelais, the wider consensus is that it has produced some outstanding and indeed exceptional wines, but not across the board. Climactic conditions ensured this, notably with white wines, both dry and sweet, which did not reach the heights of some of the reds. Parts of the Left Bank dazzled – notably Margaux and Saint-Julien – but it appears to have been more of a Right Bank year.

The magnificent setting of Church House, Westminster was the location for PR supremo Sue Glasgow’s last UGC tasting

What is undeniable is that weather conditions in 2018 were far from straightforward, with all sorts of extremes that both threatened and assisted quality grape production. Hailstorms in May and July caused damage, with a big one falling on the same day France won the football World Cup. A very wet winter was followed by a particularly damp spring, with rain lasting through till the latter half of June. This meant that one of the five conditions for a perfect red wine vintage, as laid down by the Oenological Research Unit from the Institute of Vine and Wine Science at Bordeaux University, could not be met: namely no significant rainfall after fruit set.

Downy mildew was a major problem throughout much of Bordeaux, with yields reduced accordingly. Christian Seely, general manager of Pauillac second growth Château Pichon Baron, admitted that “mildew pressure was so virulent that it was extraordinarily scary.” Organically or biodynamically farmed vineyards were especially badly hit, with Margaux third growth Château Palmer’s yield cut to a mere 11 hl/ha. By contrast, neighbouring estate Château Rauzan-Segla, which is conventionally farmed and could spray against downy mildew, produced 28 hl/ha (down from a normal yield of 40 hl/ha). Timings of sprayings were still crucial, with Seely declaring that being out by as little as two hours could prove too late.

Crucially, though, flowering, which began in late May under satisfactory conditions, was thankfully quick, ending within ten days with very little ‘coulure’ (where small berries fall off due to shrivelled stems). The timing was fortunate as rain then fell from 9-18 June before sunny weather arrived for most of the rest of the month.

Geoffrey Dean (in sleeveless jersey): “Parts of the Left Bank dazzled – notably Margaux and Saint-Julien – but it appears to have been more of a Right Bank year.”

What now made the vintage was wonderful sunny and dry weather from early July till late October, with above average sunshine hours and temperatures for that period. All the black grapes reached optimum ripeness and could be harvested at winemakers’ time of choosing with no risk of dilution or rot. Total acidity levels were not an issue thanks to the water reserves from the wet winter and spring. Patrick Maroteaux, whose family co-owns St-Julien fourth growth, Branaire-Ducru, declared that “the alcohol is one of the highest but the pH is one of the lowest.”

Etienne Charrier, technical director at Margaux fourth growth Château Prieuré-Lichine, said his pH was 3.69, with no need to correct it. Veronique Bonnie Laplane, owner of Graves estate Château Malartic-Lagraviere, revealed the pH for her reds was 3.50, while her whites came in at 3.22. The pH for Paulin Calvet’s whites at his Pessac-Leognan estate, Château Picque Caillou, were even lower at 3.10. Sufficiently low pH levels – so crucial to freshness – did not appear an issue therefore.

Those who considered this “un grand millésime” included Ludovic David, managing director of Margaux fourth growth, Château Marquis de Terme. “This is a great vintage of Bordeaux: one more – thank you global warming!” he told The Buyer. “The wine is rich and powerful because the berries had a very beautiful maturity. It is a more classic vintage than 2015, with more acidity; more powerful than 2016 and with perhaps more elegance. Difficult to say which is best because each vintage has its personality, but what connects all these wines is their quality and their balance. They are all of a very high level like the 2019 … and the 2020 that is coming.”

Likewise, Olivier Bernard, owner of leading Graves estate, Domaine de Chevalier, considers that his 2018s are the best he has made. Certainly, his white possessed vibrant acidity, layers of complexity with glorious concentration and length; and his stunning grand vin was similarly complex with gorgeous red and black fruit, sensuous tannins and a very long finish.

A general difference between the red 2018s and the much lauded 2016s is their higher sugar, and often higher alcohol levels, rendering them exuberant and almost untamed. By contrast, the 2016s are in a more classical mould. Bruno Borie, owner of Saint-Julien second growth Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, called 2018 “a revolutionary vintage that sets new standards.” His comparison of 2018 to the legendary years of 1945, 1961 and 1982 may reflect the notable Bordelais capacity to talk up the vintage.

Prominent Right Bank estates showed especially well, helped by the fact Merlot and Cabernet Franc reached optimum ripeness. Nicolas Audebert, managing director of one of the stars of the vintage, Château Canon in Saint-Emilion, declared pertinently: “We wanted to keep the freshness and limestone expression. We have to find that balance – we don’t want to lose that classic style but still follow the climate.”

Neighbouring Château Canon-La-Gaffelière, a certified organic estate, was another standout, leading Count Stephan von Neipperg, its general manager, to tell The Buyer: “We have a pretty perfect balance and freshness that becomes for me more and more important…..there’s energy in this wine. 2018 is a little between 2016 and 2015. It is less ‘easy’ than the 2015, but the tannins are more integrated than in the 2016.” Ronan Laborde, whose family own Château Clinet in Pomerol, said that 2018 “is a vintage that does not show off but has a lot of class.”

As far as the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac were concerned, the lack of botrytis until late in autumn militated against a memorable vintage. Seely revealed that only three tries were made at Château Suduiraut, yielding a tiny crop of 5 hl/ha. Its wine still shone out, along with those of Château Coutet, Château Sigalas Rabaud and Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

TOP 12 MEDOC

Brane-Cantenac

Branaire-Ducru

Lafon-Rochet

Langoa Barton

Léoville Barton

Léoville Poyferré

Lynch-Bages

Marquis de Terme

Pichon Baron

Pichon Longueville

Rauzan-Ségla

Talbot

TOP 10 GRAVES (red)

Carmes Haut-Brion

Domaine de Chevalier

Fieuzal

La Louvière

Latour-Martillac

Malartic-Lagravière

Olivier

Pape Clement

Picque Caillou

Smith Haut Lafitte

TOP 6 GRAVES (white)

Domaine de Chevalier

Fieuzal

Larrivet Haut-Brion

Pape Clement

Picque Caillou

Smith Haut Lafitte

TOP 12 SAINT-EMILION

Beau-Séjour Bécot

Canon

Canon-La-Gaffelière

Clos Fourtet

La Gaffelière

Larcis Ducasse

La Tour Figeac

Pavie Macquin

Troplong Mondot

Trottevielle

Valandraud

Villemaurine

TOP 6 POMEROL

Beauregard

Clinet

Gazin

La Croix de Gay

L’Evangile

Rouget

Care for Wild wines & saving the Rhino

Care for Wild range hopes to help rhinos & boost South African wine

You could probably make a team out of the number of former English cricketers who now have their own wine brands, but Darren Gough’s wine project is a little different. For a start his name does not appear on the label, and he does not claim to be involved in any part of the winemaking. But he 100% believes in what it stands for. As the the new Care for Wild wine range, launched last week by Freixenet Copestick, shares the name of the South African rhino sanctuary that Gough has been involved with since his playing days. Here Geoffrey Dean shares the story of how Care for Wild wine came about and how it hopes to boost sales of South African wine and help save and protect its endangered rhinos at the same time.

By Geoffrey Dean September 30, 2020

If you are looking for a South African wine brand with a point of difference then Frexienet Copestick’s new Care for Wild range – initially available through Slurp – hits the mark for so many reasons…

For much of his nine years in the England cricket team, Darren Gough was the heartbeat of the side, a man for whom the cliché – ‘he wore his heart on his sleeve’ – might have been written. As a passionate animal lover, particularly of rhinos, there could be no better brand ambassador for the appealing new South African range, Care for Wild, which was launched by Freixenet Copestick last week. Twenty per cent of profits from sales will go to the highly deserving rhino sanctuary of that name.

The passion Darren Gough has for the rhino sanctuary that will benefit from the new Care for Wild range shone through on last week’s Zoom launch

Gough was in the early stages of his international career in 1997 when he went to Kenya with England for an ICC tournament there. On a day off, he visited the Daphne Sheldrick animal orphanage in Nairobi, where he encountered orphaned elephants and rhinos. “I was there rolling in the mud with these babies, and there was this one young rhino who really took me by storm,” he said. “He was called Magnum. I took a real shine to him, so we adopted him and paid his way for a few years till he got released into the wild.”Not surprisingly, one of Gough’s nicknames became ‘Rhino’.

Chance meeting

Gough and his wife Anna’s love for rhinos led them to do volunteer work for Care for Wild, which was set up in 2001 two years before the cricketer’s international retirement by South African conservationist, Petronel Niewoudt.

By chance last December at a charity dinner Gough sat next to Robin Copestick, managing director of Freixinet Copestick. “Darren spoke of his involvement with Care for Wild, got me thinking,” said Copestick. “While I recognise that South African wine is amazing for quality and value, there isn’t really any brand that’s doing a brilliant job in the multiple retail sector. I saw an opportunity that could not only add value to the South African category, but also to raise money for such an amazing charity. We have big ambitions for the on-trade and the retail sector for the range.”

Copestick added that much will depend on whether he can get the multiples involved. Volume should not be an issue, for 5,000 cases of the two mid-market wines from Walker Bay (Syrah-Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blends) are available, while the three entry-level wines (Rosé, Pinotage/Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc) are also in plentiful supply. Only the two single varietal premium wines (Shiraz from Elgin, and Chenin Blanc from Swartland) are limited to a few hundred cases.

The Care for Wild range features rhinos who have been cared for by the sanctuary

Fast launch

It is certainly a notable achievement by Copestick and his team to have delivered the whole project only nine months after it was dreamt up. “In wine terms it is really quick, and I’m proud of everyone for doing that,” Copestick said. “Thanks go to Jodie Newman for designing the rhino labels which were beautifully done by the artist Paul Stowe. And huge thanks to Overhex – and winemaker Ben Snyman – who’ve put all of these wines together for us in very difficult circumstances. They did an incredible job to get them over.”

Stowe has drawn a young male white rhino, Arthur, on the labels for the mid-market wines, and a young black male, Odin, on the premium labels, ‘The Protected Collection.’ While only 20,000 whites are alive, mostly in South Africa, around 1,000 per annum have been poached in recent years in that country. Black rhinos are even more critically endangered, numbering only 5,000.

All the orphaned rhinos rescued to the Care for Wild sanctuary are dehorned under sedation to deter poachers but the sanctuary’s location is still a closely guarded secret.

Darren and his wife Anna were able to share their own experiences of visiting and getting involved in the Care for Wild rhino sanctuary during the Zoom launch

Darren and his wife Anna went out to South Africa five times last year to visit the sanctuary, and will go again shortly now that the ban on travel into the country is being lifted on October 1. “We’re so excited about going out there for the first time this year,” Anna said. “I’m so passionate about the charity. My passion has always been animals. The care and love that goes 24/7 into these orphans that are so traumatised is amazing. People think they don’t feel anything but they really do. Arthur put up a real fight when his mother was poached and he suffered machete wounds. They call him Arthur the Great as he’s a very special character.”

Darren and Anna visiting the sanctuary in October 2019

She added: “Petronel and her team rehabilitate orphans over four different phases before introducing them back into their natural habitat. Odin is one such. Even then, they’re monitored to check they are safe and stay healthy. Looking after the surrounding villages is so important as poachers will try every means to get at the rhinos in the orphanage, so the charity gives the villagers jobs and bursaries for their agriculture and farming.”

The sanctuary has been made possible by the personal commitment and drive of founder Petronel Niewoudt 

Gough admits he gets very emotional when he visits Care for Wild. “It is so rewarding when you leave there, knowing that you’ve helped,” he said. “You see the work that Petronel puts in every day. Five new orphans have come in recently and she lives with that rhino 24/7…it’s blindfolded initially to make it feel secure. There have been no volunteers since Covid, so they’ve had to lock in the staff, who’ve had to move their families into the sanctuary, to make sure those animals survive and get the best treatment.”

The Care for Wild team in action helping to rescue a baby rhino

Petronel’s devotion to helping save a species marks her out as a remarkable woman. “May I always be so humble as to recognise how little we started with and how far we have come,” she declared. “We now understand exactly what it takes to save an orphaned rhino calf. We appreciate the time, money, and effort to save a species from extinction. This is by no means a single person’s journey. It takes a team. We spend our energy wisely and share our experience and knowledge. Why? Why not? Is it not all of our responsibility to ensure a future for generations to come?”

• If you would like to donate to Care for Wild you can do so here. 

• You can also adopt a rhino and help its recovery by clicking here. 

• To find out how else you can get involved and all the work the sanctuary does then click here. 

Tasting Notes (introductory prices until October 4 through Slurp.co.uk) 

Care for Wild “Arthur” Pale Rosé, 12% abv, £9.95

Made from Pinotage from last two vintages, with a touch of Chenin Blanc to add extra acidity; dry, clean and fresh with some raspberry notes; 2 hours on skins – very light pink hue.

Care for Wild Sauvignon Blanc, 12.5% abv, £6.95

Plenty of tropical fruit and fresh acidity; a good non-vintage quaffer.

Care for Wild “Arthur” Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2020, 12.5% abv, £9.95

Tropical and citrus fruit from Walker Bay with mineral notes; lively acidity.

Care for Wild ‘Protected’ Bushvine Chenin Blanc, 2019, 13% abv, £15.95

Fruit from Swartland bushvines; apricot and peach notes; barrel-fermented giving some creaminess and richness; quite complex with very good length.

Care for Wild Red Blend, 13.5% abv, £6.95

Excellent value fruit-forward quaffer; fruit from two vintages – Pinotage with some Shiraz added; oak chips give some structure.

Care for Wild “Arthur” Syrah/Viognier 2019, 14% abv, £9.95

Grapes from Walker Bay with splash of Viognier (3%) to give some florally. Forest red fruits with soft tannins and hint of spice.

Care for Wild ‘Protected’ Shiraz, 2018, 14% abv, £15.95

Cool climate fruit from Elgin; peppery and spicey with velvety tannins; good combination of Rhone-style restraint and New World forwardness; very long finish. Will cellar well.

New South Wales Uncovered

Globetrotter Geoffrey Dean is back on the road, this time exploring the wine regions of New South Wales, from Semillon specialist the Hunter Valley to the high altitude region of Orange.

When the globe gets back to some sort of normality and travel becomes easier again, many wine tourists will doubtless return to old favourites, but for those keen to explore wine pastures new, one Australian state remains relatively undiscovered. Not the Northern Territory nor Queensland, but the country’s most populous state: New South Wales.

For, although the Hunter Valley has long attracted tens of thousands of visitors every year, other delightful regions, such as Orange, Mudgee and the southern Highlands, possess both the quality of wines, accommodation and restaurants to seduce the discerning patron. Throw in the likes of Canberra District, Tumbarumba, Hilltops, Shoalhaven Coast and Riverina, and you have a state wine circuit of genuine diversity and appeal.

The New South Wales coast

Officially there are 16 wine regions in New South Wales, many of which can be taken in individually from Sydney. The best option, though, for the wine tourist with both the time and a sense of adventure, is to fit a selection in as a part of a wide sweeping circular drive, lasting anything between several days and a fortnight or more.

The route which I followed, and would happily recommend, is to start by heading south from Sydney to Bowral and the Southern Highlands; then drive in a north-westerly direction via Goulburn to Orange; go north from there to Mudgee and thence to the Hunter Valley; and then circle back to Sydney via the winemakers’ holiday haunt of Port Stephens, a gem of a destination to relax at the end of a trip.

The Southern Highlands are cool climate, as the name suggests, although they resemble somewhere like the Cotswold Hills in England more than their Scottish namesake. Bowral and Mittagong are two lovely old historic towns to explore the region from, with the dozen or so local wineries within commuting distance.

At all of them, there won’t be much, if any, 2020 wines made owing to smoke taint from the bushfires, but plenty of back vintages are available for tasting. Joadja, the oldest winery in the region, having been established in 1983, is worth a visit, as is Artemis, which has a similarly relaxed cellar door atmosphere.

Centennial Vineyards is a more formal setup, with a smart restaurant and shop to complement its wide selection of good wines. The Tertini Wines cellar door should not be missed, housing what I thought the best and most interesting range of wines in the region. This includes not just Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but also Italian varieties like Arneis and Lagrein.

While the Southern Highlands wineries have the advantage of altitude – Tertini’s being at 675m – Orange boasts the highest vineyards in Australia: some over 1,000m, although winemaker David Lowe’s site, at Nullo near Mudgee, is as high as 1,100m. The resultant higher natural acidity levels, and with them greater freshness, are hallmarks of Orange’s wines along with minerality from volcanic soils.

Fruit quality is also exceptional, as is the cellar door experience, and when you add in the appeal of the beautifully laid-out town of Orange, with its many historic buildings, you have the ingredients for a most enjoyable stop-off of several days.

Most of the wineries are west of Orange, but one that should not be missed to the southeast is Patina, whose cellar door is open at weekends only. The stunning gardens there are well worth a stroll through.

Patina and its gardens

Owner-winemaker, Gerald Naef, who came to Australia from California in 1981, skilfully crafts a wide range with particularly good reserve Chardonnay and a signature Cabernet-Merlot blend named Jezza.

Naef is the first to admit he has learnt much from his good friend Philip Shaw, one of Australia’s most revered producers, having twice been IWSC’s International Winemaker of the Year (in 1986 and 2000). It is Shaw that has spearheaded Orange’s rise to premier league status as a wine region after he moved there permanently in 2004.

Philip Shaw, IWSC winemaker of the year in 1986 & 2000

Sons Daniel and Damian now run Philip Shaw Wines, whose cellar door offers delicious cuisine as well as a food-and-wine pairing tasting. Philip himself has branched off to make his own super-premium range called Hoosegg at his nearby Koomooloo Vineyard.

Tastings there are by appointment only but highly recommended, especially the exceptional Merlot blend (named Jade Moon) and outstanding Cabernet Franc blend (named Mountain Dragon).

Koomooloo Vineyard

Just down the road from Koomooloo Vineyard can be found the Heifer Station winery, which last year won the gold medal for tourism from Destination New South Wales. The farm there still has cattle but the owners planted 65 hectares of vines a decade ago and converted an old shearing shed into an atmospheric cellar door that has proved a huge hit since opening in 2016. “We want to ensure people don’t feel out of their depth in a wine sense,” the winery’s general manager, James Thomas, said.

“We have biking around the vineyard or in a golf cart. Apart from cheese platters or lunch at the cellar door, we also do private picnics in a romantic setting, which has led to nine marriage proposals.” Heifer Station’s wines also impressed, notably their sparkling Genisse 2015 (French for ‘heifer’) and Bull Paddock Chardonnay 2018.

Heifer Station

Another fine sparkling wine producer is Printhie, whose Swift Series of bubblies included a 2010 blanc de blancs that spent nine years on the lees. De Salis Wines are also top notch with magnificent views from their Lofty Vineyard (the highest in the Orange GI at 1050m).

The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from it make both superb sparkling and still wines in a range through which Charlie Svenson, owner-winemaker and most genial of hosts, takes visitors with passion and enthusiasm.

De Salis vineyards

No visit to Orange would be complete without a tasting at Bloodwood with Stephen Doyle. One of the pioneers of wine-making in the region, having established the winery in 1983, Doyle is one of New South Wales’ top producers with a wide range that includes Shiraz, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. His wines are all very reasonably priced given their high quality.

Vines at Bloodwood

So too are James Sweetapple’s labels at Cargo Road Wines, from whose cellar door deck dramatic views can be had for 80km towards Nangar National Park. The engaging Sweetapple, nicknamed ‘Sweetiepie’ by his fellow winemakers, grows as many as 10 varieties, including Lagrein, Barbera and Nebbiolo.

Two other top Orange producers with welcoming cellar doors are Swinging Bridge and Ross Hill Wines. Tom Ward crafts excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the former’s six hectares under vine, while Ross Hill’s new winemaker, Luke Steele, presides over a range that includes a fine Bordeaux blend named the Griffin and a single varietal Cabernet Franc.

As far as Orange accommodation is concerned, The Oriana is a good mid-price hotel that is ideally situated at the western end of town for easy access to and from the wineries.

Within walking distance is the best restaurant in town, Charred, whose tasty cuisine is complemented by a wide-ranging wine list featuring the best Australian labels as well as many top international ones.

From Orange, it is a leisurely scenic drive of a couple of hours or so via Bathurst to Mudgee, another of New South Wales’ prime wine-producing regions. It is also the oldest, dating back in 1822 when the Cox family from Britain planted vines. German emigres followed them, and one of their descendants, Jacob Stein, is making world-class Riesling at the Robert Stein Vineyard.

The Pumphouse at Robert Stein Vineyards

It is well worth a visit, for apart from the wines to taste, the winery also has an outstanding restaurant named the Pumphouse along with a motorbike museum that houses a collection of classic old bikes dating back to 1926. Other top Mudgee wineries include Logan Wines, Huntington Estate, Robert Oatley Vineyards and Lowe Wines.

The latter, with the forward-thinking David Lowe at the helm, produce some of Australia’s best Zinfandel, which probably explains why their acclaimed restaurant is named the Zin House. Lowe’s wife, Kim Currie, produces delicious cuisine from their biodynamically-farmed Tinja property, over which the restaurant has glorious views.

Forgandenny House, Mudgee

A lovely place to stay in Mudgee is Forgandenny House, a historic B&B in overlooking Lawson Park and Cudgegong River. From there, it is an easy stroll along the river into the town centre. Named after a village in near Perth in Scotland, whence the current owners’ ancestors came, Forgandenny has three double bedrooms as well as a self-contained cottage for six.

Possessing its own tennis court within pretty gardens, and with a 50-metre Olympic pool in the park opposite, it has excellent amenities. Moreover, the Forgandenny breakfasts are legendary for their size and quality.

The Hunter Valley specialises in Semillon

From Mudgee, it is a two-hour drive to the town of Pokolbin and the Hunter Valley, New South Wales’ best-known wine region. Of the umpteen wineries of note there, those not to miss include Brokenwood, Mt Pleasant, Tyrrell’s, McGuigan Wines, Audrey Wilkinson and Pepper Tree. All produce superb examples of the Hunter’s signature white grape, Semillon, which is picked early to preserve acidity and keep abv levels low, typically 11%.

Hunter Semillon is renowned for ageing beautifully with honeyed toast notes, and wonderful old library stock is generally available for tasting and purchase at wineries. Some highlights tried were Brokenwood’s Trevena Vineyard 2014. Tyrrell’s HVD 2014, from 110-year old vines, and Audrey Wilkinson’s The Ridge 2011.

Sunset at Tyrrell’s

Hunter Shiraz is very different to its Barossa counterparts, being much more medium-bodied than many of the South Australian big bruisers. Brokenwood’s iconic Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz 2017 showed especially well, as did Audrey Wilkinson’s the Lake Shiraz 2017 and Pepper Tree’s Single Vineyard Reserve Coquun Shiraz 2017 – Coquun being the Aboriginal name for Hunter Valley.

One other Hunter winery, Lake’s Folly, that specialises in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon must be highly commended. Rodney Kempe crafts special examples of both, although the latter also has small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Shiraz blended in. Tasting at the atmospheric cellar door is strictly by appointment, but very worthwhile, with Kempe the most engaging of hosts.

While the Hunter has a selection of places to stay, Spicer’s Guesthouse is an outstanding option, offering five-star accommodation in a relaxing location. Its excellent Eremo restaurant does contemporary Italian cuisine. ‘Leaves and Fishes’, which focuses on seafood with an Asian kick, is a scenic place for lunch, while the cosy EXP Restaurant has consistently won plaudits for its dinners. Binnorrie Dairy, which is open for visits, is a must for cheese lovers.

Quad biking on Port Stephens’ sand dunes

Many Hunter Valley winemakers have holiday homes in Port Stephens, an hour’s drive away on the coast and a ‘must’ stop-off on the way back to Sydney. A whole range of things to do and see there can be found, including quad-biking through the biggest range of coastal sand dunes in the southern hemisphere (sanddunesadventures.com.au), dolphin-spotting cruises (moonshadow-tqc.com.au) and a new koala sanctuary, opening late September 2020  (portstephenskoalasanctuary.com.au).

For world-class seafood cuisine as well as a superb wine list, there is the Rick Stein restaurant at the Bannisters hotel, which is a good place to stay.  Culinary delights also await visitors to the Little Beach Boathouse and the Shoal Bay Country Club.

Rick Stein at Bannisters

All the ingredients for a boom in wine tourism in New South Wales, therefore, are in place. If it has remained something of a secret, that should change when travel eventually returns to former levels. The state’s sheer size means there will always be unexplored pockets, but there will be no better time to go than during the 2021-2 Ashes series, or the run-up to the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in Australia, rearranged for autumn 2022.

For more information, go to: www.visitnsw.com

A Miraculous Recovery from Coronavirus

Sister of England cricketing great Tony Greig salutes hospital staff after five-week stay in ICU

Geoffrey Dean

Saturday May 30 2020, The Times

The sister of the late England cricket captain Tony Greig has recovered from Covid-19 after spending five weeks on a ventilator. Sally Ann Hodson, 66, who was in an induced coma for most of her hospital stay, will be released today after initially being given a 20 per cent chance of survival by doctors.

Sally Ann Hodson with her brother Tony Greig

Mrs Hodson, who has been using a Zimmer frame to take tentative steps around the ward at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, Yorkshire, has been christened the “walking miracle” by nurses.

“I was longer in ICU than most, and on tracheotomy and life support for nearly six weeks, whereas most do no more than four,” she said. “I’ve just been blessed and very, very lucky. It’s beyond nursing what they provide for people like us. Every time anyone walked past — whether it was a cleaner, a tea lady, a nurse — they would kneel beside me and say ‘Come on, hold my hand.’ The little lady who showers me, Alison . . . she’s just fantastic. They are just the most incredible people at Pinderfields: I’ve never seen one nurse here lose their temper and they have a wonderful sense of humour.”

For Mrs Hodson, who has not seen her husband or two sons since being admitted on April 6, the past week has been emotional with messages and calls flooding in. “After my brother Tony’s daughter, Samantha, rang yesterday from Australia, I put the phone down and started to think I’m 66, and Tony died at 66. It really upset me.”

Referring to her brother’s death in December 2012 after a diagnosis of lung cancer, she said: “Knowing what it’s like to fight for your breath, what he must have gone through, I started to sob, and every time I stopped and said my prayers, I started again. I was spared and I’ve lived. My mother was 98, but I can’t believe I’m the same age that Tony died at, but there but for the grace of God go I.”

Sally Ann pictured after five weeks on a ventilator

Giles Toogood, of St James’s University Hospital in Leeds, sent an email at the weekend to Mrs Hodson’s husband, Phillip, a former president of Marylebone Cricket Club, in which he wrote that he feared last month that “it was not going to end well” but did not want to tell him at the time.

Professor Toogood said: “It’s amazing, quite amazing after 54 days in hospital, most of it in an ICU. I have a thing that if patients’ kidneys keep working, then they go home. As soon as you get multi-organ failure, you’re in deep trouble.”

The days after Mrs Hodson came round from her induced coma were far from straightforward. “When I sat up for first time, I had 30 minutes of the worst dizziness and sickness as I’d been lying flat for six weeks,” she said. “I didn’t realise when I came round that I wouldn’t be able to walk — initially I couldn’t move my legs, never mind my arms.

“The first time they helped me up and put my legs over the side of the bed, I could hardly breathe and I had this terrible nausea attack. That happened every day for seven days, but now it doesn’t happen at all.”

Sally Ann, second left, with her brothers Tony and Ian; their mother Joycie, and sister Molly

Happily, Mrs Hodson has been told that she will eventually recover all her physical capabilities in time. “I’m one of the few who’s recovered from my journey,” she said. “There’s no medication on discharge — just painkillers [paracetamol] as I’ve got a sore back from lying in bed and have quite a few headaches. I get a sleeping pill and a special liquid just to keep you calm. I have injections for clots and have been on quinine.

“I’ll be in isolation when I go home, although I can see family and will have a carer to help me manoeuvre. They don’t want me to have visitors — even the physio will wear a mask and gloves.”

Ahead lies a period of recuperation that is likely to stretch to 12 months. But as Mrs Hodson reflected, “a year out of my life after such a close shave is nothing — I’ve got lots to live for.” Already, she is looking forward to the birth of another grandchild in November, and a life beyond thanks to the efforts of outstanding medics.

'Super Rhone' Chene Bleu's latest releases

Why for Chêne Bleu it is the best of times and the worst of times

Getting the UK’s first taste of the new wines from Chêne Bleu would normally be an occasion for unbridled joy, especially with the Southern Rhône estate having just won the 2020 Terre de Vins trophy for best wine tourism in  France. But Geoffrey Dean hears first hand from owner Nicole Rolet of the stark reality that small wineries face during Lockdown and coming into the recession that awaits – and all that she and her winery are doing to help those most in need in the hospitality sector.

By Geoffrey Dean May 12, 2020

The new vintages ‘Héloïse’ 2012, Abelard 2012 and Viognier 2016 are tasted alongside a selection of other Chêne Bleu back vintages.

Lovers of Chêne Bleu’s wines, as well as wine tourists who have visited the stunning estate near the old Roman town of Vaison-La-Romaine in the southern Rhône, will be heartened by twin pieces of good news in these most trying of times. First, The Buyer can reveal that the IGP Vaucluse winery’s latest releases – the 2012 reds and 2016 Viognier – are showing outstandingly well; secondly, Chêne Bleu has just won a prestigious oenotourism trophy from French magazine ‘Terre de Vins’ – namely the Grand Prix d’Or Restoration dans le Vignoble ‘Bistronomique.’

The La Verrière estate

More on the award later, as well as the trials and tribulations facing Chêne Bleu under lockdown, but first the wines, which are available in the UK from Justerini & Brooks and in California from Wilson Daniels. The Rolet family, who in the mid-1990s acquired the estate, known as La Verrière after its medieval glass-making tradition, initially sold their grapes to the local co-operative before deciding to make their own labels in 2006.

Because Chêne Bleu did not want to take any chances with other wineries’ used barrels, they opted for 100% new oak in their first vintage, followed by 50% new and 50% second fill in 2007, and 33% new, 33% second fill and 33% third fill thereafter. Feeling that the wines needed time for their tannins to bed in, they held back release. Hence the fact that the 2012 reds are the newest release.

The new vintages

Detailed tasting notes of several vintages follow this piece, but it was noticeable how effortlessly well the 2012 reds had absorbed the new French oak. The ‘Héloïse’ 2012 (65% Syrah, 31% Grenache and 4% Roussanne), possessed quite overt but very fine, refined tannins that gave it impressive structure; the ‘Abelard’ 2012 (85% Grenache, 15% Syrah) had silkier tannins with sumptious red plum and cherry fruit. Both wines spent 18 months in barrel, were 14% abv and had a pH of 3.6, with an exquisitely weighted balance between tannins, acidity, fruit and alcohol.

Until 2011, the Héloïse contained no Roussanne, but that year it was added in place of Viognier at the behest of winemaker, Jean-Louis Gallucci, brother-in-law of Xavier and Nicole Rolet, co-owners of Chêne Bleu.

Nicole Rolet

“It was a big departure for us,” Nicole told The Buyer. “The original decision to blend Viognier was very controversial as that’s classically a northern Rhône style. But we thought if we have a high micro-terroir elevation [530-550m] and good levels of acidity with it, as well as perfumes that are elegant rather than over the top, then maybe it’s a good idea to blend Viognier. We were very pleased with the result and that’s one of the reasons we stepped out of the appellation, and made wines we felt were a better reflection of our terroir. But Jean-Louis was very intrigued with Roussanne, and it was his idea. I was initially resistant to it as liked Héloïse as it was, but the Roussanne brings two benefits: we feel it adds to the pretty perfume on the nose and makes our Syrah a bit more feminine and appealing. I also love how it fleshes out Héloïse and gives it a bit more texture, adding to the voluptuousness of the wine.”

Chêne Bleu’s Viognier 2016 is a classy wine, oozing elegance and harmony. Barrel-fermented, it has a hint of oiliness and some pears-in-syrup richness, but apricot and peach notes on the palate provide attractive fruit.At 13% abv, the alcohol has been kept in check for a grape naturally high in it, and there is enough fresh acidity to balance the wine neatly. In short, a lovely example of Viognier.

How Chêne Bleu is coping with the lockdown 

“Jean-Louis and his wife Benedicte [Chêne Bleu’s viticulturalist] are at the property and trying to hold down the fort along with their son Hugo,” Nicole said. “They have very specific instructions as how to do work on the estate, social distancing and keeping everyone safe. A lot of people rely on Romanians and other Europeans at this time of year as there’s so much to do in the vineyards. These people, of course, are home with their families in whatever countries, so there’s really no one around to do the work. So it’s quite tricky.”

“I think small wineries are set to be whacked because they have very high fixed costs with no flexibility on production or labour costs. In France, you can’t furlough anyone in agricultural production, which includes wine. In a small company you have staff that are either your family or they’re like family, so you’re not going to be hard-nosed about saving the company finances at the expense of the people that make your company work. You’re going to do what’s right for your staff.”

“On the marketing and sales side, the cheques for a lot of the big ticket items like trade fairs have already been written, with no chance of getting the money back. So I think I speak on behalf of all small winemakers when I say it’s really not possible to lay low in terms of cashflow expenditures, which are pretty inflexible. Meanwhile, a small winery depends or over-depends on sommeliers and middle men talking about their wines, recommending them and getting people to buy them. The big wine companies all sell to supermarkets, whose sales have gone up 30-40%, but the little guys don’t really have access to them. And if you’re a small producer and you make high-end wine, you come straight into the jaws into one of the worst recessions for 100 years. I’ve done the scenarios for small wineries, and unfortunately I don’t think it’s looking good.”

To their great credit, Chêne Bleu have been contributing to charities who support restaurants and their workers. “Those are the people we know are first in line to be hit, and we need to be looking after them,” Nicole continued. “In the USA, there are no safety nets… it’s a shocking sign when many sommeliers there don’t have enough money for food. The first thing was trying to figure out the best charities that would deliver on promises, so we did quite a bit of research for the US, UK and France as to how to support people.”

“In USA, we donated to the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation, which has no admin fees with 100% of the money going to those who need it – half to the restaurants and their owners and half to their workers, including immigrants who don’t have papers to qualify for benefits. In the UK, after asking around the trade, we were directed to the London-based Hospitality Action, which has a good reputation and has been around for a long time. In France, it’s less part of the culture and harder to find somewhere that’s been already set up. So we have a helpline every Monday where any member of trade can call in and talk with colleagues about any problems; and every Wednesday, at the winery, we have a weekly charcuterie happy hour gathering, which we’ve transposed online.”

Having personally experienced Chêne Bleu’s superb cuisine at La Verrière, it was no surprise to hear of Terre de Vins’ wine tourism award with its emphasis on food. “Our chef is so good, and sources ingredients very carefully,” Nicole declared. “He’s worked in Japan and Canada, and is bringing a bit of Japanese fusion. We’ve put a lot of effort into our tasting-room as we’re off the beaten path and want it to be a fantastic experience for people when they come. We treat people very well as we’re very happy they’re there. We try to punch above our weight and compensate for the handicaps of being in a lesser-known region and off the beaten path.”

“It’s great for the Ventoux region long-term as you get a lot of people around the world seeking out these little micro-terroirs with really exciting soils and micro-climates that require big investment of sweat equity but not a big investment financially. For you can still buy land for a very reasonable price in Ventoux compared to so many of the well-branded and established neighbours like Gigondas where the real estate prices have gone through the roof. A willingness to experiment and innovate gives you more long-term upside potential than if you want to sing from everyone’s else’s hymn book.”

So how are the Chêne Bleu wines tasting?

Abelard 2012 (85% Grenache, 15% Syrah; 14% abv): clove, licorice & pepper on the nose; red plum & red/black cherry fruit; very silky tannins; tremendous intensity of flavour; long finish with hints of spice.

Héloïse 2012 (65% Syrah, 31% Grenache, 4% Roussanne; 14% abv): truffle notes on the nose with hints of violet; red and black fruit on the palate with powerful, well-integrated tannins; notable concentration and very lengthy finish.

Abelard 2011 (85% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% abv): strong tannic backbone but beautifully integrated and silky; black cherry and plum notes with some fine spice; marked intensity of flavour and finish; balance not an issue despite 15% abv.

Héloïse 2011 (65% Syrah, 31% Grenache, 4% Roussanne; 15% abv): deep garnet with coffee, mocha and truffle on nose; black fruit and spice on palate; voluptuous texture with refined tannins; particularly long.

Abelard 2007 (90% Grenache, 10% Syrah; 15% abv): deep ruby colour with spicy garrigue nose; red fruit with some black cherries; silky tannins; complex wine with clear intensity and real concentration. Long persistence.

Héloïse 2007 (60% Syrah, 37% Grenache, 3% Viognier; 14.5% abv): deep ruby with floral sweet spice nose; red and black fruit merge seamlessly; rich with velvety tannins; wonderful concentration and lingering finish.

Aliot 2014 (65% Roussanne, 30% Grenache blanc, 4% Marsanne, 1% Viognier; 13% abv): golden yellow after 8 months in demi-muids; toasted almonds, brioche and honey on nose; rich, citrussy fruit yet freshness from low pH (3.3). Hints of minerality. Rich with persistent finish. 

Viognier 2016 (13% abv): apricot and almond aromas; peach, pear and brioche notes; richness from barrel fermentation (seven months in demi-muids); quite fresh acidity; lovely concentration & lengthy finish.

Rosé 2019 (60% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 12% Rolle, 8% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault; 14% abv): pale pink, bone dry; hints of red fruit with elegance and freshness. Satisfying length.

How Bordeaux 2019 is shaping up

With the Bordeaux en primeurs cancelled the Grand Circle des Vins de Bordeaux’s London tasting last Thursday was the first and only glimpse at Bordeaux 2019 for the foreseeable future. 2019 was a vintage which was all about the hot dry summer and the resulting high pHs – which led some châteaux to acidify. The whites are great, the reds mixed between good and very good, depending upon how much Merlot was in the blend – the Merlot ripening early and the Cabernet Sauvignon caught out at some estates by a lot of October rain. Geoffrey Dean tasted through the wines, talked to Grand Cercle’s Alain Reynaud and the winemakers about how 2019 compares with other vintages of the 21st Century.

By Geoffrey Dean March 16, 2020

At Saint-Emilion estate Château de Pressac winemaker Jean-Francois Quenin declared 2019 to be his best vintage in 23 years of ownership, writes Dean.

Amid so much global gloom and doom, it is heartening to report some encouraging news from the Grand Circle des Vins de Bordeaux’s annual mid-March tasting in central London. A healthy number of hardy Bordelais made the trip over the Channel to show the 2019 vintage to the trade, and while it is not going to be regarded as an exceptional year, some very good red and white wines were in evidence.

Alain Raynaud, who founded Grand Cercle in 2001 and has been president ever since, gave a frank overview of the wines made by the 150 châteaux from 26 appellations that are its members.

“2019 is a good vintage but not a great one,” he told The Buyer. “I would say that a third to a half of the properties made very good wines. There were some very good whites. The Right Bank is showing better in my opinion due to the fact the Merlot could be picked earlier than the Cabernet Sauvignon. In a lot of places, we had 125mm of rain from the second week of October till the end of the month. So we had to pick the Cabernet very quickly. There was no disease or botrytis, but the very hot summer led to some high pHs. Therefore many had to add acid to the reds – typically 1g/l of tartaric.”

Yields were, according to Raynaud, “a bit generous”, especially for those who opted against any green harvest. “So they had to make some saignee or increase concentration by reverse osmosis,” he added. “But that increases your alcohol. There was lots of sunshine, which led to thick skins and strong tannins.”

Geoffrey Dean gets the lowdown on Bordeaux 2019 from Alain Raynaud, London, March 2020

Certainly, the estate where Raynaud himself acts as consultant, Château Serilhan in Saint-Estèphe, produced a blend of startlingly dark colour and overt tannins (partly due to three days of cold soak). Long and extremely concentrated, this was an impressive wine, and with 50 hl/ha made, there should be plenty of it.

Another head-turner with notable colour but lower yield (40 hl/ha) was Château de la Dauphine. Widely distributed in the UK, this Fronsac estate, which farms its 53 hectares of vines organically, settled on a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc with 30% new oak. Fine, well-integrated tannins as well as lovely crunchy fruit and florality were hallmarks of this blend.

Another Fronsac property that stood out was Château Moulin Haut-Laroque, whose vines have an average age of 55 years, with the Malbec (which made up 5% of the blend) having been planted just after the Great War. Owner-winemaker Thomas Hervé revealed that his vines received just 15mm of rain over the growing season, allowing him to pick in the first half of October. “The lack of rain meant we had low yields – under 30hl/ha – but small berries and good concentration,” said Herve, whose family have been making wine on the estate since the 18th century.

Thomas Hervé: “I think 2019 can be as good as 2018. It is rich, dense, powerful and fruity.”

The same power and concentration was evident in the very pleasurable wines of two Saint-Emilion Châteaux, Grand Corbin-Despagne and La Marzelle, both of whom used around 75% Merlot and a quarter Cabernet Franc with a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon. Meanwhile at another Saint-Emilion estate, Jean-Francois Quenin, winemaker of Château de Pressac, declared 2019 his best vintage in 23 years of ownership. Made up of 70% Merlot, roughly equal amounts of the two Cabernets as well as a dash of Carmenere, his wine was blessed with freshness, beautifully integrated tannins and excellent intensity and length.

“I replanted the entire 36 hectares of wines when I bought the estate, and I think the vine age, combined with the very dry summer, is the key,” Quenin said. “I also vinify each plot separately in 40 different vats.”

For Pessac-Leognan producer, Ghislain Boutemy of Château Haut-Lagrange, 2019 was “definitely one of the best, although not the best” years. “It was a very good vintage because we had enough sun and rain for the best maturity for the whites, which have a very nice freshness,” he said. “Also, we picked the reds early for freshness and acidity to have good balance.” His Merlot was harvested in mid-September and his Cabernet Sauvignon by the end of the month before any rain came. Both his red and white wines showed very well. So too did those of Graves estate, Château de Cerons, whose white blend (which included 10% Sauvignon Gris) showed notable freshness and length.

In Margaux, Château La Tour de Bessan produced a delightfully elegant and harmonious wine which, unusually according to owner Marie-Laure Lurton, contained as much as 12% Petit Verdot due to its high quality. The balance was made up of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot. “It was a very good but not a great vintage,” she mused.

Further north in the Haut-Medoc, Château Lanessan settled on an almost identical assemblage to make an excellent wine. Estate manager, Paz Espejo, revealed yields were low at 35 hl/ha due to frost and some rot, but the floral character, beautiful balance and long finish of the blend made it especially appealing.

Perhaps the last word should go to Thomas Hervé. “Last year, Comte Stephan van Neipperg, who owns La Mondotte, told me he thought 2018 was the eighth best vintage of this century after 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016. I think 2019 can be as good as 2018. It is rich, dense, powerful and fruity.”

Wine tourism in Tenerife

First mentioned by the Bard, and shipped back to Blighty by the boatload in the 16th Century, the wines of Tenerife have long been admired for their quality and individuality. Geoffrey Dean went there to discover the island’s 6,500 hectares under own-rootstock vine, its dozen local grape varieties, five DOs, half a dozen wineries that are pushing the envelope, and tasted and recommends the wines that are worth seeking out. Dean also finds that wine tourism is alive and well, particularly in the European winter months.

By Geoffrey Dean

Unlike the five other wine-producing Canary Islands, which have a single D.O. named after each island, Tenerife possesses as many as five D.O.s which underlines the diversity of wines that can be found there.

Wine tourists and drinkers searching for an unheralded gem should look no further than Tenerife. Wine has been made since the 15th century on this best known of the Canary Islands, where the highest vineyard sites in the EU and volcanic soil combine to produce an ideal terroir. Indigenous varietals, both red and white, give Tenerife a unique selling point, with quality exceeding expectations on a five-day visit. Throw in excellent restaurants, characterful boutique hotels and, of course, warm weather in the European winter months, and you have all the ingredients for strong year-round wine tourism.

Reference to wine production in Tenerife dates back to William Shakespeare’s times, with the Bard praising the island’s highly-reputed sweet wines. According to Carlos Cologán Soriano, in his well-researched tome, ‘History of Tenerife Wine’, around 13,000 barrels of the island’s wine were exported to England each year in the late 16th century and first half of the 17th.

Current Tenerife wine exports make up less than 5% of total production thanks to heavy demand on the island itself, not just from 800,000 residents but also from the legions of tourists, many of them thirsty imbibers. Moreover, domestic prices are extremely reasonable at all quality levels.

The island’s approximate total of 6,500 hectares under vine features a dozen ‘local’ varieties, although only two, Listán Negro and Marmajuelo, are thought to be genuinely indigenous. Listán Blanco (aka Palomino Fino), Negramoll and Vijariego, originated in Andalusia, while Baboso Negro and Gual (aka Bual) came from Portugal (Dao and Madeira respectively). Vijariego Negro (aka Sumoll) originated in Catalunya.

Unlike the five other wine-producing Canary Islands, which have a single DO (Denominación de Origen) named after each island, Tenerife possesses as many as five DOs. That underlines the diversity of wines that can be found there, although all DOs have varying amounts of volcanic soil. This comes from the island’s Teide Volcano, the most visited national park in Europe each year. The Tenerife DOs are Abona (in the south), Valle de Güímar (east), Tacorente-Acentejo (north-east), Valle de la Orotava (north) and Ycoden-Daute-Isora (north-west).

Juan Jesus Mendez, Viñátigo’s MD

Some producers, such as Viñátigo, prefer to use the generic DO, Islas Canarias, especially for export purposes, as “nobody in the US or UK knows where Ycoden-Daute-Isora is” in the view of Juan Jesus Mendez, Viñátigo’s MD. He exports 60% of his 18 labels, four of which are available through Hallgarten in the UK. These showed particularly well, notably the Vijariego Blanco 2018. Fermented in barrique and receiving batonnage for six months while on the lees, this was complex and concentrated with a fullish body yet fresh acidity. Its pH was as low as 2.9, confirming it as the variety with the highest acidity in the Canaries.

One of several interesting Viñátigo reds was the Ensamblaje 2018, a blend of Tintilla, Baboso Negro, Negramoll and Listán Negro. Red and black fruit, together with supple tannins, underpin a complex, concentrated and long wine with ageing potential. An Ensamblaje Blanco 2018 made up of five varieties – Gual, Marmajuelo, Vijariego, Malvasia Aromática and Verdelho – also worked well. Gual is also used to make an ‘orange’ wine named Elaboraciones Blanco 2017 that is left on the skins for a month. A complex sweet wine, Malvasia Dulce 2009, completes a fine Viñátigo stable.

Bodega Monje vineyards beneath Teide Volcano

The Monje winery, which is situated at 600 metres in the Tacorente-Acentejo DO with fine views of the Teide Volcano, also has an impressively wide range. The family have been making wine since 1750, with fifth generation Felipe Monje now at the helm. Some of his Listán Negro bushvines are up to 200 years of age, for happily phylloxera has never made it onto Tenerife. As a result, all the island’s vines are on own rootstock, with none grafted onto American rootstock. 

Monje’s medium-bodied Listán Negro 2014, which is vinified traditionally (rather than with carbonic maceration as many examples are on the island) has appealing fruit, neatly-integrated tannins and good length. At €15, it offers great value. Monje’s Bastardo Negro 2013 (aka Trousseau)  is a pricier €46, but showed complexity, concentration and a lengthy finish as well as some structure from eight months in oak (a quarter new).

Listán Prieto, a dark-skinned variety that originated in Castilla-La Mancha, was brought to Tenerife in the mid-16th century, and is misleadingly known as Moscatel Negro in some parts of the island. Gratifyingly, the Alma de Trevejos winery near Vilaflor uses the correct name for their 2016 sparkling wine, which they proudly hail as the only one in the world made from Listán Prieto. At 1450m, Trevejo is thought to be the highest commercial winery in Europe, which helps to explain the thirst-quenchingly vibrant acidity of their bubbly. Made by the traditional method, aged on the lees for two years and receiving nil dosage, it offers real value at €15.

So too does Tenerife’s biggest co-operative, Cumbres de Abona, which receives fruit from over 300 growers and makes 17 different wines. Winemaker Pedro Rodriguez’s speciality is Malvasia Aromática, which he makes in both dry and sweet styles. His Testamento Esencia 2010 (RRP €30), which has 120g/l residual sugar, is very full-bodied, complex and long. It is one of Tenerife’s finest sweet wines.

Juan Ferrera with his Unico label

A white blend of real distinction, suitably named Unico is made by Bodegas Ferrera (in the Valle de Güímar DO), being fermented with wild yeast in chestnut barrels from Catalunya. Winemaker Juan Ferrera, whose organically-farmed vines are at 1000m, blends Malvasia Aromática, Listán Blanco and Albillo Criollo in equal quantities. Full-bodied, concentrated and long, it gains complexity from 12 months on the lees, coming in at 12% abv and an RRP of €28.

Many other interesting wines from Tenerife are available for tasting at the excellent Casa del Vino wine museum in El Sauzal. A 400-year old wooden press by the entrance represents an imposing reminder of the island’s long history of viticulture. The restaurant there is outstanding, as is another with a fine selection of wines, El Secreto de Chimiche, near Santa Cruz. Gastronomic delights await visitors all over Tenerife, with other establishments worthy of commendation including Restaurante Regulo in Puerto de la Cruz, Casa de la Comidas La Parada in Icod and Parador las Cañadas del Teide. The artesanal brewery Tacoa, which produces excellent craft beer, also does tasty lunches.

Teresa Queipo, owner of Tacoa, with son Eric

Tenerife, therefore, has everything needed for successful wine tourism. Two excellent boutique hotels to stay at are Hotel Rural Victoria in La Orotava and Hotel San Roque in the picturesque old coastal town of Garachico. A plethora of good bodegas, aside from those already mentioned, include Reverón, Linaje del Pago, Marba and Zanata. With the quality of the island’s wines not in doubt, the future of the wine industry there looks very bright. 

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Rebuilding Lismore: Samantha O'Keefe on the long road ahead

Six weeks ago a bushfire devastated Lismore Estate, the South African winery owned by Samantha O’Keefe – destroying the winery, her home and a large part of the vineyards. For the first time since the tragedy she opens up to Geoffrey Dean about how the global wine community has helped her, the practical steps she is taking to make a vintage in 2020, and the many worries she has in not only rebuilding the estate but also in maintaining the momentum of a wine business that had just started to turn the corner.

By Geoffrey DeanJanuary 28, 2020

“What I worry about is when this really hits, everyone will have forgotten. It’s a long-term thing and I worry that people will tire of it,” Samantha says.

It is impossible to imagine the anguish and pain that Samantha O’Keefe has felt in the last six weeks after her Lismore Estate winery, vineyards and house were destroyed by bushfire on December 17. The 48-year old Californian, who moved to South Africa two decades ago and was making some of the best wine in the western Cape, finally felt able last week to speak publicly about the whole range of emotions she is still feeling: devastation at her loss; gratitude for the support and donations that have poured in from all over the world; worry about her financial predicament despite people’s generosity; and, perhaps most importantly, hope.

For, this remarkable woman is not going to run away.

The fire destroyed Lismore’s entire 2019 vintage along with Sam’s Cape Winemakers Guild wines

Samantha admits she has been “overwhelmed” by the support of fellow winemakers in South Africa, as well by the kind financial donations that came to around £30,000 before drying up. There is no point in hiding the fact that she faces a very difficult financial future, with the insurance payout for her destroyed 2019 wines (all unbottled) amounting to ten rands per litre (less than US$1). Her winery was insured but only enough for a rebuild with second-hand equipment, while the contents policy for her house will barely scratch the surface of the value of its cellar, which contained all her library stock going back to 2006 as well as stockpiles of the 2017 vintage. Luckily, the majority of her bottled stock is housed in a warehouse in Stellenbosch.

“It is the only reason I’m marching on, because without the vineyards, there is no Lismore. I would never have started from zero. But having some vineyards live gives me hope.” Samantha O’Keefe in her new tasting room, January 20, 2020.

“I lost the entire 2019 vintage, which is all my turnover for a year and a half, but also my first Guild wines,” said Samantha, whose induction into the Cape Winemakers Guild underlined the respect with which she is held by her South African peers. “From a financial point of view, I’m still selling the ’17s and ’18s, but in about ten months I’m going to fall off a cliff, and I haven’t quite wrapped my brain around that yet. I might be able to find some bulk wine that’s of really good quality, but I don’t know and don’t really have a plan yet. There’s been some great fruit given to me, and the generosity of the wine industry has been incredible.”

About two-thirds of the Estate Reserve Syrah vineyards are gone

“Andrea Mullineux has given me some of her estate grapes, and Alex Starey of Keermont gave me a ton from his very top single vineyard Syrah, and Johan Reyneke has given me some of his Syrah. With that my intention is to vinify it separately, and possibly make a wine that’s a tribute to the South African wine industry.

The messages I’ve received from all over the world – not just from the UK retailers and distributors, but also from Australia, France and New Zealand was almost too much – it was so overwhelming. It made it feel more real – the fact that they were so grief-stricken, they really were, it was incredible. I don’t think I could ever have imagined the South African wine industry had this absolute selflessness and generosity.”

“I don’t know yet if insurance will cover the house properly. In theory, it was perfectly insured but what does that mean? You never think you will have to start over. Everybody has faith that I will be fine, but I was already over-extended. Now I’m supposed to build a house, as well as make wine in three cellars and rebuild a cellar and replant vineyards, all on my own. I have to – I don’t have a choice, but it’s just daunting.”

“Even when it [the estate] was burning, I couldn’t believe it – this year of all years. I joked that it wasn’t enough for me to do it once – God wants me to do it twice.”

Having shown me the blackened and charred remains of her winery, which she built only three and a half years ago, Samantha now took me down to her house half a kilometre away. I remembered what a wonderful home she had made it into from a previous visit, but now it is just a burnt-out shell.

The burnt-out wreckage of Sam’s house

“It was my perfect house,” she said. “It was as if everything had just settled into this space. Everything belonged here. It was just going so well. Out there it was the best crop we’d ever had. The pruning in the vineyards we’d been working on for five years, and they were so healthy. They had such a heavy crop, and in a good way because I usually hit two to four tons a hectare. Probably they were holding four, five or even six tons on some blocks, which they never had before. Even when it [the estate] was burning, I couldn’t believe it – this year of all years. I joked that it wasn’t enough for me to do it once – God wants me to do it twice. This Natal fig was such a beautiful tree – I really hope it comes back to life. I’ve been quite numb and not that emotional but looking at these trees today has made me emotional.”

Green vines – a beacon of hope

From what is left of the house, Samantha drove up to a higher point where some rows of healthy-looking, green vines provide a beacon of hope above the blackened vineyards below. She then recalled the dreadful emptiness of the day after the fire struck.

“At 6am the next morning, I drove to the entrance to Lismore. I was with my partner and I said ‘I can’t, please turn around.’ At 8am, Jeff, my pruning consultant, met me in Greyton after having driven to the vineyards, and he he was very bleak and so I expected nothing to have survived. Then at 3pm I had to come with the insurance assessor and my broker. But when I drove on to the farm, I just saw so much green. Now you see all this stuff that is black and really ugly and so awful, but this stuff up here is fine.”

“All of this was on fire, all these orchards were on fire, all these trees were on fire. We couldn’t see anything – the vines were being engulfed. The fact that they lived is the only reason I’m marching on, because without the vineyards, there is no Lismore. I would never have started from zero. But having some vineyards live gives me hope. Parts were saved because we hadn’t put out any straw mulch. About two-thirds of the Estate Reserve Syrah vineyards are gone.”

“Disaster tourists turned up – it was violating, so we locked the gates. My partner chased a guy who had a drone, but we got pictures off him and it at least allowed me to estimate the actual damage – about 48% of the fruit.”

Everyone is pitching in to help Samantha find enough older barrels to make 70,000 litres of wine a month before harvest.

Everyone is pitching in to help Samantha find enough older barrels to make 70,000 litres of wine a month before harvest.

Samantha has been sent studies and information on burnt vines and smoke taint from Australia.

“The purpose of the study was to give direction to winemakers: replant now or wait and see,” she said. “Basically, what they found was that at end of year one there was enough energy in the vine trunk for half the vines to survive and carry on, but in the end, after year two, only 20% survived. Only time will tell. If can find money to plant, I’ll plant in empty blocks. We’ll know in a year or two if some of my vines survive.”

She is hopeful that smoke taint may not be an issue as it only gets into the into waxy layer around fruit after veraison. “Because Greyton is such a late wine region, my fruit hadn’t even begun to soften. As the berries were hard – like peas – I was optimistic.  But smoke taint can be tested in the lab, so I will know.”

It is good to hear Samantha talk about making wine again, and thanks to the fruit she has been given and will buy in, she expects to vinify some 135 tons of fruit from the 2020 harvest. She will do most of it at the Stellenbosch winery of Radford Dale, whose co-owner, the British-born Alex Dale, has led the magnificent support from the South African wine industry.

“Alex called me the day after the fire when I was absolutely in shock, and asked ‘Who’s organising all of this: your donations that are pouring in, your harvest and the rest of it? OK I’m appointing myself.’ His partner is a lawyer, and she was going through all the legal ramifications. I was so dazed and confused. They really battened down the hatches for me and kept things tethered while I figured things out, and where I was going to live.”

Last week, Samantha and her two teenage sons, Keenan,16, and Quinn,14, moved into rented accommodation in Somerset West.

“I initially wanted to be in Greyton and then I didn’t want to be. My first thought was we’d rent somewhere furnished, but after living in other people’s houses for the last month, I didn’t want to be in other people’s beds, on someone else’s couch worrying if my dog was slobbering on it. So I said to my kids, who are at boarding school anyway and only back at weekends, that we’d just buy a couch and three beds. Then they’re ours, and everything we buy over time is ours. And when we finally move back to the farm, we can move what will be our furniture back there. The house I’ve rented has kitchen stools and an island, so I don’t really need a table. For the next three months of harvest, I’m hardly going to be home anyway.

Samantha (centre) part of the winning South African team at the Tri Nations Challenge, November 2017

“My boys are still in shock also. When it happened, I’d just opened up the new tasting room in Greyton, and I put them there to work. So they didn’t really have an opportunity to process it, and then they had to go out into the vineyards and drop all the dead fruit. I am just starting to process it – these are the first tears I’ve shed in weeks.”

Fortunately, over the three days before my visit, 120mm rain has fallen at just the right time, filling her dam for the first time in five years and giving what is left of her dry-grown vineyards the soaking they needed.

“This morning we went up to look at some of the water damage, and I went walking to look at my house and my trees,” Samantha continued. “It’s just starting to really sink in. All I’ve been thinking about is my cellar and my wines because I’m the sole support of my children and I have a small business. Today I started really taking in the fact I’m not going home. Even if I rebuild the house, the trees which took 16 years to grow will take another 16 years.”

Both Samantha’s fears for the future and her gratitude for the global outpouring of support keep resurfacing during our conversation.

“Everybody in this industry has tried to help. I’m a very private person, but as you probably know I was up here with a very carefully-crafted social media image. But what was really going on behind the scenes I kept private. And this has been such a public thing – everything has gone, everyone knows. And everyone is feeling very sorry for me and it feels very vulnerable, and yet it’s been incredible. I really am so grateful. It’s been very overwhelming.”

“The fact people care so much; the immediate coming together of everyone has been quite amazing. People took action – immediately. One very small producer said he had credit for a pallet of bottles, which he offered. It was so sweet – it was a sacrifice not just a generous offer. Tim Atkin sent me a video message from Maria Luz Marin, a remarkable female pioneer in Chile; there were messages from Australia, New Zealand and California. It’s almost been too much – it’s so moving.”

“Part of my concern, I guess, is that people will be very forgiving in the short term. But by the time they’re expecting the ’19 vintage, it will be long forgotten. I could lose all my listings. After 16 years, I’d finally built up momentum and a kind of market presence. Neal Martin made my Estate Reserve Syrah ‘18 his red wine of the year, my Estate Reserve Chardonnay ’17 was Wine Advocate Top Ten Discoveries of the Year. Everything was going so well. What I worry about is when this really hits, everyone will have forgotten. It’s a long-term thing and I worry that people will tire of it.”

The drive to make wine is a key motivator

Samantha, though, says she will never tire of making wine and has no intention of quitting.

“I mean the sums don’t add up for me to do that. I owe too much money to the bank – I can’t cash out. One colleague half-joked I should move to Greece. Financially, that isn’t an option. And I love what I do. I wake up in the morning, wanting to make wine, think about wine, talk about wine. It’s what makes me happy. I really really love what I do – it gives me so much purpose. It makes me feel fulfilled. I have the respect of my colleagues and critical appreciation. I was finally starting to get the business side of it right after years of getting it wrong.”

Slowly, Samantha is confronting reality. “I’m more ready now. In that first couple of weeks, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bear it. I’m still taking it in – I’ve been so focused on the business, I haven’t even began to mourn my home, my trees and my dog [one of her Great Danes died in the fire]. I really planned to make one statement and release photographs on all platforms of social media so the reality of what happened was out there, but I just couldn’t do it. Instead, I sent a more private thank-you to those donation sites.”

“You can see that when I talk about it I just want to talk about it like it’s all still there. This was the vintage when I was finally going to tip over…the business was turning. With that new cellar, I increased production. The 2017s started to pay off that debt; with ’18 &’19 I was finally tipping into – I don’t know, ‘profitable’ might be an over-enthusiastic word – but it was going to work. It’s just surreal; the vineyards were the healthiest they had ever been; this was the vintage when it was all going to start to turn.”

Rebuilding the winery should be feasible when the insurance money is paid out, but finding things like her old second-hand press will take time. “I have to find enough older oak barrels for 70,000 litres of wine, a month before harvest.” Everyone is pitching in to make it happen, producers donating older barrels, traders offering barrels at cost or on extended terms.

When Samantha talks despairingly of “that black hole that’s ahead of me,” you know that she will do everything not to fall into it. Her energy, positivity, industry and courage in the face of adversity will help her quest to avoid it, but wine lovers around the world can do their bit by buying her wine – even if it is just a bottle – whenever they get the chance. For Samantha O’Keefe is both too special a winemaker, and a person, not to cross the road and assist.

For anyone who might like to make a contribution, please visit the Samantha O’Keefe fundraising page which you can access here. 

All of Samantha’s friends here at The Buyer wish her all the very best with getting back on her feet and continuing to make Lismore one of South Africa’s outstanding wine estates.

Around the world in 2019: Geoffrey Dean's 10 favourites

No surprise to find that eight of Geoffrey Dean’s Top 10 Wines from his travels last year come from the New World. As both a cricket correspondent for The Times and a wine expert Geoffrey spends a lot of his time in South Africa and Australia, enjoying the two main passions of his life. 2019 has been a year with many exciting discoveries including a Cabernet Franc from Uruguay and a Rosé from Paarl in South Africa plus he did make room for a deliciously old Lynch-Bages and a top Burgundy.

By Geoffrey DeanJanuary 10, 2020

“It is hard to put either of Catena’s two great Chardonnays – White Stones and White Bones – ahead of the other, for there is no difference in quality. It is simply a style consideration,” writes Geoffrey.

So many other wines deserve to be in a top 10 list, but here are those that caught the selector’s eye – in strictly alphabetical order.

Babylonstoren, Mourvèdre Rosé 2019 (Paarl, South Africa). I can imagine a few people asking what a Rosé is doing in a top 10, but this little beauty from the magnificent Babylonstoren estate half-way between Stellenbosch and Paarl is just so good. Pale salmon in colour, this bone-dry pink has refreshing acidity as well as real elegance. Its delicious raspberry notes, and tinge of creamy strawberry yoghurt, make it oh so drinkable.

Sebastain Beaumont

Beaumont Estate New Baby 2017 (Bot River, South Africa). Sebastian Beaumont, one of South Africa’s leading winemakers, first crafted this premium white blend from predominantly old vines in 2015, scribbling ‘New Baby’ on the barrel, and has wowed many with it. This vintage is 45% Chenin Blanc (from vines planted in 1974 & 1978),  26% Sauvignon Blanc (planted 1983), 15% Semillon, 8% Colombard & 6% Chardonnay. Fermented in 400-litre French barrels (30% new), this is a wine that is voluptuous yet delicate with the added dimension of some great phenolic tension. A pH of 3.35 helps give freshness and balance (12.8% abv).

Bracco Bosca, Gran Ombu Cabernet Franc 2017 (Atlantida, Uruguay). There is so much more to Uruguay than Tannat-based wines as I found on a trip there this year. This superb Cabernet Franc is a notable example of Uruguay’s huge potential, coming as it does from a small winery owned by the delightfully welcoming and enthusiastic Fabiana Bracco, a great ambassador for her country’s wines. Silky tannins and gorgeous red berry fruit are hallmarks of this Cab Franc, which comfortably absorbs 100% new but lightly toasted French oak. It has the structure to age but is difficult to resist now.

Catena Zapata, White Stones Chardonnay 2015 (Mendoza, Argentina). It is hard to put either of Catena’s two great Chardonnays – White Stones and White Bones – ahead of the other, for there is no difference in quality. It is simply a style consideration. The latter comes from underlying soil layered with limestone deposits that have the appearance of crumbled bones (hence the name). It could easily be mistaken for a top Puligny-Montrachet, while the White Stones vineyard produces rounder more Meursault-like Chardonnay. On a dry riverbed very close to the White Bones site, it has different soils that are more gravelly with white calcium carbonate stones. Laura Catena thinks the microbial richness of the parcel gives the wine a special flavour. Intensity of flavour is very marked as is its length. One of the New World’s greatest Chardonnays.

House of Arras, Grand Vintage 2008 (Tasmania, Australia). Made by the king of sparkling wines in Australia, Ed Carr, this blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir spent 7 years on the lees. Very long and with notable concentration, its bready, brioche notes help underpin its multi-layered complexity, but what really marks it out is its sea-spray oystery character. Mainland Australian sparkling wines don’t have it, and Carr puts it down to the maritime influence. 2008 was an especially good vintage in Tasmania owing to some late rain that growing season, which reset the vine balance.

Lagarde, Henry No 1 Gran Guarda 2016 (Mendoza, Argentina). Juan Roby, Lagarde’s winemaker for 20 years, has crafted an exceptional Malbec-dominated blend that is one of Argentina’s great red wines. Malbec accounts for 70% of it, with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot making up the balance. This is a very complex, multi-layered wine, with wonderful red and black fruit and firm but beautifully-integrated tannins. Its power and structure will give it a long life. Lagarde is one of several leading bodegas in Chacras de Coria, a leafy village half an hour’s drive south of central Mendoza.

Lynch-Bages 1949 (Pauillac, Bordeaux). Thanks must go to the Pfurtscheller family in Austria for a special vertical tasting of Lynch-Bages (1945 to 1995) at their Hotel Jagdhof near Innsbruck. It is impossibly difficult to pick out one of so many venerable wines from that memorable evening but I have gone for my favourite of three great vintages in the 1940s (the other two being 1945 and 1947). What marked 1949 out was the brightness of its fruit, which had barely begun to fade. A glorious wine with talcum powder-like tannins, it had everything: vivacity, freshness, complexity, concentration and pronounced length.

Michael Baum & Emmanuel Sala

Château de Pommard, Clos Marey-Monge Monopole 2017 (Burgundy). Mention the name Salah in England, and 99% of respondents will think of Liverpool’s champion goalscorer. In France, amongst wine professionals at least, Emmanuel Sala is the highly respected cellar master at Chateau de Pommard, which has seen massive investment from new American owner, Michael Baum. The pair have combined to produce a seductive wine from Clos Marey‑Monge,  which is a composition of seven different terroirs of limestone, iron-rich clay, alluvium and other minerals that combine to produce classic Pinot Noir. Firm but beautifully integrated tannins, real intensity of flavour and a very long finish are hallmarks of this top Burgundy.

Springfield Estate, Methode Ancienne Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 (Robertson, South Africa). Jeanette Bruwer, whose family have been making wine on the estate since 1930, tells a good story of how ‘miracle’ Cabernet fruit eventually grew in the remote site from which this terrific wine is produced. In 1984, her family cleared a seven-acre plot of land always considered not “good” enough for viticulture. “Rocky and steep, and infested with thorns, it was our thirst for Cabernet Sauvignon that drove us to this forsaken place,” she said. “Our vines did grow, although they struggled at first as there was virtually no soil, and roots had to creep past rocks. The vines took much longer to bear than others, but eventually did. The miracle was in the fruit – tiny berries that were intense in colour and flavour.” The result is a fabulous Cabernet with elegance, high quality tannins and delightfully concentrated fruit. Seeing 100% new French oak, it has the structure to age for 15 years or more.

Viña Vik 2013 (Cachapoal Valley, Chile). This top-class Bordeaux blend (67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 14% Carmenere, 2% Merlot) underlines just how good Chile can be. Founded by the wealthy Norwegian Vik family, this estate was planted up in 2006-7 in the Cachapoal Valley to a density of 8,100 plants per hectare (60% higher than Chile’s average), benefiting from a cooling afternoon sea breeze that blows in from 40 miles away. This is crucial for the freshness of the Cabernet Sauvignon, which effortlessly absorbs 100% new French oak. Cristian Vallejo, with Vik since the very start, is a winemaker to watch, crafting as he does eye-catching wines of poise, structure and balance like this one. This flagship label of Vik’s, first released with the 2011 vintage, took 10 years of research to develop, including more than 4,000 deep-soil studies to find the right terroir. Velvety tannins and pronounced freshness with linear acidity combine with glorious fruit to produce a complex yet elegant and structured wine with a long ageing potential.

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McGuigans Semillon & Riesling vertical tasting

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

By Geoffrey Dean

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

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