Cellaring Aussie Wine?

I met Robin Tedder MW this week. The amiable Aussie, who doesn’t mince words, was showing me his range of wines and he said something that really shocked me. It wasn’t when he commented that a fellow Aussie was only in the business for the money, nor was it that he was saying he doesn’t want to make the big Aussie wines that everyone else is. What made me surprised was that he was promoting the cellaring of his wine.

Now you know as well as I do that nearly all wine benefits from some time in the cellar, and that some wines from down under can mature to be outstanding wines, but we also are all too well aware that Australia has made it’s name on the international scene by saying “you don’t need to cellar this bottle, you can open and pour”. I’ve spoken to numerous other new world winemakers who, when asked if their wines age well, have told me that they can spend time maturing but it is better to drink them now. Of course they would! They want to sell their latest vintage as soon as possible to make their bank manager a happy chap and if people are hoarding older vintages they won’t manage to do that. But I didn’t even have to ask the question to Tedder, he offered the information to me before I could open my mouth, advising me that “this wine needs time” or “this will outlive me”. I didn’t think that these words were in an Australian’s vocabulary!

I tried eight of his Glenguin wines with him. The 2007 Old Broke Block Semillon (£9.99) was light, with a hint of smoke, some lemon aromas and a super clean palate with spice and bucket loads of lime. The finish had great acidity and was long. 8/10

Moving on to the Protos Chardonnay, 2007. Only 300 cases of this wine is made, which has a bit of mango, some burnt toast and a little butter. The palate has more mango, some cedar, a little smoke and a little alcohol heat. A long clean finish. I scored it 8/10, only because it is £18. It really isn’t an eighteen pound bottle of wine, however, and this is a big however, it is a very good wine. If you are looking for a chardonnay, you can save yourself some money and buy something else. If you are looking for a very interesting wine experience, this is worth the money you are paying and then some.

The 2003 Stonybroke Shiraz Tannat is very good. It is rich, round, stewed fruit with a bit of eucalyptus and tobacco. There I s a dry, full bodied palate, some bramble and dried herbs There is then some tobacco on the finish, with cocoa powder and a lot of dark chocolate. At £13 it is an alright value for money wine but it would be better if it was cheaper. 8.5/10

The 2005 of this wine goes up another £2 per bottle, and I’d be happy to spend that amount on this. Despite it being too young and closed, there is dark fruit with a lot of tobacco hiding the cassis fruit. There is a vegetal element, some dark woody bramble leaf flavours, then dark stewed fruit comes in. It has got some spice on the finish which is super clean and with a bitter element at the end. 9/10.

Onwards and upwards with the 2004 School House Block Shiraz. Stewed bramble galore, a little blueberry pie too, then a dark, dried oak leaf aroma. The palate has firm tannin, a lot of berry fruit and a small dash of spice There is aniseed and liquorice on the finish. A solid wine, but not brilliant. It also retails at around the £17 mark, so I’d give it a bit of a miss, particularly die to the fact that the ’05 Shiraz Tannat is so much better. 8/10.

But the wine I’d have over all of them is the 2005 School House Block Shiraz. With 4% viognier in the mix, this vegetal wine, with a lot of green peppers and vanilla rice pudding coming through the bramble, is a stonking good wine. A sweet start once you have taken a mouthful, but then dark chocolate and Bertie Basset smoking a Bolivar – all liquorice and tobacco. The finish has more of these dark flavours with a lot of cassis and, surprisingly, redcurrant. This is a very good wine and I’d expect it to be around £20. 9/10.

The 2003 Aristea Shiraz has a very rich, round, dark fruit aroma. It is a bit like Granny’s fruitcake, laced with all sorts of alcohol. The palate is more of the same, with gentle tannin. It is a very good, and very drinkable, wine with a hint of tobacco on the finish. 8/10, but at £30 it is a little steep.

Similarly priced, the 2005 Aristea Shiraz is a different beast altogether Dark, haunting aromas. Some bramble, liquorice, dusty concrete and a lot of very dark chocolate There is some tobacco on the palate, which is mingling with dried fruit and an earthy element. There is a sweet, dry spice on the finish that just lingers with you for what feels like hours. This is very very good and is very Rhonesque, but with a little extra oomph. 9.5/10

Finally, one of my favourites. The 2006 Glenguin Botrytised Semillon. Lots of grapefruit, a little lemon pith and lots of light honey. The palate has some caramelised grapefruit, more of the honey and just a touch of the dirty botrytis flavour. Not too sweet either, which is fantastic. 9/10.

My conclusions are simple, and threefold. Firstly, these are all good wines. Secondly, in lesser years you would not be disappointed with the wines but would have a small niggle in your head as to whether the wine was worth the money, yet in good years, you have a different type of niggle as you wonder how you got that wine so cheap! And finally, the third is that I’d like to have a beer with Robin Tedder. He’s a chap who is very nice company, but has a wonderful attitude to wine that is a marked difference from a lot of people in his position. He appears to love wine itself, not just his own products and that, from a new world producer, is a rare thing.

And please note that not once, unlike every other article I’ve ever read about Tedder, did I mention that his grandfather was Air Chief Marshall Arthur Tedder…. Oh crap, I just did. Damn!