Australia’s first wine families
Jan 8 2010 by Helen Savage, The Journal
For many years, Semillon was not marketed under its own name in the Hunter Valley, but was wrongly and confusingly called Riesling. True Riesling was brought to Australia by German settlers of South Australia’s Barossa Valley and then spread to other sites in the state. The first Henschke arrived in Australia in 1842, but the success of the family wine business is largely due to the hard work of Cyril Henschke in the 1950s. In the hands of his son, Stephen, the Riesling Cyril planted in the Eden Valley, a side valley of the Barossa, is one of the finest white wines from the southern hemisphere.
Stephen trained in Germany as well as in Australia and the 2006 vintage of this glorious wine, Henschke Julius Riesling, has more than a hint of the racy elegance of a top dry Riesling from the Rhine. With an intense lime and lemon aroma, it’s possible to see how after a very cursory sniff it might be confused for Semillon, but the petrol-like minerality and piercingly crisp, citrus flavour is unmistakably Riesling.
The great red grape of the Rhône Valley Syrah, better-known Down Under as Shiraz, was widely planted in the nineteenth century. Bruce Tyrrell believes that the cuttings on his oldest blocks came from the great hill of Hermitage itself. White wine grapes from the Rhône were much less popular – except at Château Tahbilk in Victoria, where Marsanne was first planted in 1860.
It was replanted in 1927 and is still in production – the oldest plot of Marsanne in the world according to Alister Purbeck (pictured), who has inherited the estate.
Like Semillon and Riesling, Marsanne develops greater complexity as it matures in the bottle, but Château Tahbilk Marsanne 2007 shows all the beguiling honeysuckle and spicy peach character of the grape. It’s bone dry, quite crisp and at 12.5% in no way overpowered by alcohol. It costs just under £10 from Sainsbury or the Wine Society.
The other eight family firms are Brown Brothers, De Bertoli, Wakefield, Howard Park, Yalumba, d’Ahrenberg Jim Barry and Campbells. They all have stories to tell and great wines to enjoy (see my website www.helensavage.com for more information).
WINE OF THE WEEK
M’HUDI Merlot, 2007 Marks & Spencer (£4.99 special half-price offer)
A deep, ruby red from Stellenbosch, South Africa, with an invitingly ripe, bramble and plum smell and a juicy brambly taste backed by just enough tannin. A genuine and irresistible bargain. Try it with a rich, meaty stew.
BARGAIN BUYS AT MARKS & SPENCER
MARKS & Spencer's wine sale continues until the end of the month and includes some hot bargains (such as my wine of the week).
Amongst the biggest reductions and best buys are Tupungato Chardonnay 2008 from Argentina (£4.99), which smells of ripe pineapple with a kiss of oak but tastes more of peach and apple and has a fine, lingering, mineral aftertaste.
Silver Tree Chardonnay from South Africa, also half price at £5.99, is richer, with peachy fruit, and is complex, balanced and toasty.
Gérard Bertrand's Cuvée Extrème, Côtes de Roussillon Villages 2006 is outstanding value at just £5.99. It has layers of ripe black fruit, especially blackcurrant and black cherry with a hint of Mediterranean herbs and a big, chewy texture with black olives and licorice.
His bottlings for M&S of Minervois and Corbières are also superb value at the sale price of £4.99.
