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Matt Kramer -
The Power of "Begat" B AROSSA VALLEY, Australia—The Bible emphasized the importance of “begat” (“Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob” and so on). Indeed, this business of begatting is the key to dynastic greatness. Take restaurants, for example. The stellar collective quality of California’s Bay area restaurants may be traced to Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant in the 1970s.Chez Panisse begat chef Jeremiah Tower (who started the now-defunct but influential Stars restaurant) and Paul Bertolli (who created Oakland’s Oliveto restaurant), who begat Michael Tusk (who is the chef-owner of San Francisco’s Quince restaurant), and so on. Small beginnings—call it the “Abraham effect”—can have an exponential result. It’s occurring in Barossa Valley. Barossa is the keeper of the flame and the epicenter of Australia’s 160-year-old wine culture. It’s home to some of Australia’s biggest old-line wine companies, such as Penfolds (founded 1844), Yalumba (1849), Orlando Wines (1850) and Seppelt (1851), among others. Although each of these now-massive wineries issues one or more top-quality wines, their ambitions have long been mostly about ever-larger scale. That led to something more Darwinian than biblical: The already-large Penfolds and Seppelt wineries were swallowed by an even more massive entity (Southcorp), which was in turn ingested by the gargantuan Foster’s Group in 2005. I mention all this by way of context. Barossa Valley today can seem like a wine version of a Potemkin village, all show about quality and tradition up front while behind the century-old stone-and-brick facades of the old wineries, corporate suits dream of yet more mega-selling brands. Yet the force of “begat” is slowly making itself felt. A new Barossa Valley, one dedicated to creating the best possible wines rather than just best-selling ones, is now coming into view. A progenitor of this renaissance is Robert O’Callaghan, the founder of Rockford Wines. From his small winery, which produces 25,000 cases a year, O’Callaghan begat a new generation of like-minded winegrowers who follow his example. It was O’Callaghan who sought to celebrate Barossa’s century-old Shiraz vines back in 1984 when he founded Rockford Wines on a shoestring. Not only did O’Callaghan create his now-famous Basket Press Shiraz from old-vine Shiraz grapes(using a 1940s-era wooden basket press, which is still employed), but he was simultaneously the founding chairman of the Barossa Regional Residents Association. From that platform, he campaigned in the 1980s against the South Australia state government’s program to “modernize” Barossa’s vineyards by offering financial incentives for growers to uproot their old vines. O’Callaghan paid triple the going rate for old-vine Shiraz to induce his suppliers to retain their old vines. Today, Barossa crows about its remaining old-vine heritage. Rockford Wines begat Chris Ringland, who is Rockford’s long time winemaker and an apostle of O’Callaghan’s purist, hands-off style of winemaking. Ringland, in turn, started his own small vineyard, and today creates one of Barossa’s greatest wines, the $300 Chris Ringland Shiraz (formerly Three Rivers) from a tiny vineyard planted in 1910. Now, Ringland is begatting his own descendants. For example, you can find superb Barossa Valley Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon from tiny Lunar Wines, whose owner-winemaker Corey Chaplin worked under Ringland at Rockford for five years before setting out on his own. His wines are unmistakably Rockford inspired both in their almost-oak-free style and commitment to what might be called a “taste transparency.” Then there’s Radford Dale, a winery creating superb dry Riesling from 40- to 75-year-old vines grown on a small estate in Eden Valley. Rockford has long made stunning dry Riesling, and Ben Radford is now Rockford’s winemaker. This is how greatness emerges: one visionary begatting another who in turn begats yet others. It’s slow at first, but the snowball quality gives it real power. So don’t be surprised if you start hearing about a new Barossa Valley wine renaissance. When more tasters get the chance to taste Barossa sourced from designated single-vineyard sites with something to say, made with an emphasis on transparency and nuance rather than shock-and-awe jammy fruit and vanilla-laden oakiness, the effect can be disproportionate. Think David and Goliath. Matt Kramer has contributed regularly to Wine Spectator since 1985.
Marananga Wine Show Results 2008
2004 Shiraz- Bronze medal
Source: The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) exhibits a dense ruby/purple color along with a big, rich bouquet of black currants, cedar, wood smoke, and loamy soil. Deep, rich, and full-bodied with stunning intensity, sweet but noticeable tannin, and decent acidity, it is a brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon from an area better known for its old vine Shiraz and Grenache. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283 —Robert Parker 2004 Lunar Shiraz Rating: 91 points Source: Wine Advocate #167 (Oct 2006) Although big, backstrapping, and mouthstaining, the 2004 Shiraz keeps everything in balance. Its dense purple color is accompanied by supple tannin, low acidity, and beautifully pure blackberry and cassis fruit. It should drink well for 7-8 years. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283 —Robert Parker 2005 Lunar Cabernet Sauvignon A Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Red Table wine from Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, Review by The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 24 months in a mix of new (30%) and used French and American oak. Yields for this wine were a tiny 1.0 to 1.5 tons per acre. Purple-colored, it exhibits a stylish bouquet of vanilla, spice box, mulberry, cassis and blackberry. This leads to a full-bodied, plush Cabernet with enough depth and structure to evolve for 4-6 years. Drink this savory wine through 2020. Lunar’s owner/winemaker is Corey Chaplin. He worked at Rockford under Chris Ringland and is currently producing his wines at Rusden. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (805) 278-9095 2005 Lunar Shiraz A Syrah Dry Red Table wine from Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, Review by The 2005 Shiraz is
a saturated purple with a perfume of smoke,
bacon, violets, and blueberry pie. Despite its
full-bodied size (15.9% alcohol), it has a sense
of elegance, with a velvety texture, layers of
spicy fruit, and excellent length. The nicely
concealed tannins will carry this wine through
6-8 years of development in the bottle. Drink it
through 2025. Lunar’s owner/winemaker is Corey
Chaplin. He worked at Rockford under Chris
Ringland and is currently producing his wines at
Rusden. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful
Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (805) 278-9095 |
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Corey Chaplin Artisan Winemaker/Director Phone: 0427 186 295 Email: lunar@lunarwines.com.au |
