Like many people of my generation my relationship with Australian wine has been one of extremes. It started in my 20s with heady first love for sunshine-filled bottles that were, compared with their thin, mean European equivalents, startlingly fruity, generous and easy (and cheap) to drink.
Then, in my 30s, came the break-up. What was easy began to seem facile, fruity turned syrupy and generous became overbearing. I’d grown up, I thought, and all those identikit critter-labelled brands seemed to confirm the French idea that the Australians were not making wine so much as alcoholic fruit juice.
Now, after a few years of ambivalence, I’m finding myself with an embarrassing middle-aged crush on the latest wave of Australian wine. I’m not alone, it seems. British imports of Australian wine were up by 10% in the year to December 2018, according to Wine Australia, putting them at their highest since 2013 – an impressive rise even if you concede, as Wine Australia does, that some of it is down to pre-Brexit stockpiling.
What’s changed? Well, Australian wine, like me, has grown up. That’s not to say there haven’t always been interesting, serious wines made in the country. It’s just that now there is a greater number and variety, with a sweep of styles that takes in pretty much everything from the almost liquorice-salty power-jam reds of Barossa shiraz to properly racy, multifaceted, champagne-like fizz from Tasmania.
Today’s Australia is particularly catholic about grape varieties: in the past year or two I’ve tasted impressive versions of the lemony-tangy Greek white grape assyrtiko (Jim Barry), the lush and perfumed Portuguese red variety touriga nacional (Vinteloper), and Spain’s savoury tempranillo (SC Pannell). I’ve also had skilfully made wines from Italian varieties, such as fiano (Fox Gordon) and the best nebbiolo I’ve found outside Piedmont (Jasper Hill in Heathcote, Victoria). Meanwhile, pinot noir, in Victoria’s cool-climate hotspots of the Yarra Valley, Geelong and the Mornington Peninsula, has a seductive charm that makes it a genuine challenger to Burgundy. And that’s before you even add in the traditional (and increasingly varied) strengths of chardonnay and shiraz, Hunter Valley semillon, Coonawarra or Margaret River cabernet … the list goes on.
There’s nothing haphazard about this varietal plenitude: thought has gone into where to plant the new – or what Australians call “alternative” – varieties, matching them to climates and soil conditions that are similar to their origins.
And this focus on site is part of another shift in Australia. Time was when rigidly rational, scientifically minded Aussie winemakers talked about terroir as a kind of pretentious French con. No more. Now it’s not unusual to hear talk about the “spirit of a place”. But then this is an older, wiser Australian wine industry, more inclusive, more relaxed, and not afraid to embrace different ideas and philosophies. It’s irresistible.
Six of the best Australian wines
Jamsheed Harem Ma Petite Francine Cabernet Franc, Adelaide Hills, Australia 2017 (from £19.75, standrewswinecompany.com; theaustraliancellar.co.uk; connollyswine.co.uk; honestgrapes.co.uk)
So many of Australia’s most interesting small producers have found a home in the Adelaide Hills: Jamsheed is very much part of that club, this rare 100% version of cabernet franc overflowing with fresh, cool succulent red berry and currant fruit.
Free Run Juice Samurai Shiraz, South Australia 2017 (from £8.95, Vinvm.co.uk; thewhiskyexchange.com; buonvino.co.uk)
A classic youthful Aussie shiraz to remind you of why you fell in love with Australia in the first place – and at an old-fashioned price too – but with a really winning freshness to the easeful ripe black fruit and plenty of seasoning spice.
Mac Forbes Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia 2017 (from £27, shop.vinoteca.co.uk; tanners-wines.co.uk; philglas-swiggott.com)
Mac Forbes’s pinot noirs – not to mention his gorgeous rieslings – are the epitome of elegant freshness, with this equivalent of a Burgundy village all about purity and clarity of red fruit and subtle savouriness.
Bellwether Ant Series Tempranillo, Wrattonbully, Australia 2016 (from £23.95, thewhiskyexchange.com; redsquirrelwine.com)
The red grape that forms the heart of great Rioja – tempranillo – is starting to catch on in Australia, and this, from Wrattonbully in South Australia, is a beautiful example: complex, layered and satisfyingly savoury with pristine black fruit. )
Robert Oatley Signature Series Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2016 (£11, coop.co.uk)
From the eponymous late founder of one of Aussie’s biggest brands of the 1990s and 2000s, the Robert Oatley Series offers some of the most reliably enjoyable, well-made wines around, with this chardonnay luminous, crisp and layered.
Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling, Western Australia 2018 (£9, tesco.com)
Vintage in, vintage out, this superb (and superb value) riesling from Western Australia’s Howard Park never disappoints: so zesty and zippy and limey, it’s just a perfect partner for all your seafood needs.
