24 August 2009

A Pair of Aussie Reds

Recently in a Facebook post, blogger and wine retailer Michael Hughes wondered aloud if the curse of Sideways had been lifted from Merlot. That was a bizarre and frustrating time for many wine fans, and a bunch of the folks parroting the lines from the movie at restaurants and wine tastings were missing the point entirely.

The Sideways phenomenon was interesting because it was sparked by a one-time crossover between erratic pop culture and staid wine appreciation. It took a relatively minor issue (one dimensional, overly fruity California Merlot) and thrust it in the face of wine sellers and waiters all over the country. Likewise, this was met with a huge burst of enthusiasm for Pinot Noir, though I'm sure things have settled back down to their earlier positions.

I wondered what might be the next object of wine hatred. To quote Tower of Power, "What's hip today, might become passé." There have been a lot of articles about negative trends in Australian wine after a decade of explosive growth. Have they pushed too hard too fast? Labels got ridiculous? Too much fruit? Too much alcohol? I'm overjoyed with the democratizing effects Australian wines had on the US market--there's nothing scary or threatening about an $8 bottle with a kangaroo on it, and it brought people into stores--but I understand what those writers mean about some of the things coming out of the land down under.

I sincerely hope that Australian wines don't suffer the same impact that Sideways had on legitimately good Merlot. Do these occasional flareups of anger at a certain wine steer the industry back on course, or does it hurt the good wine while sparing the original and deserving targets of criticism? I'd love to hear opinions of those readers and fellow bloggers who are directly impacted by things like this.

Here are two brief reviews of good Australian wines I've had recently that, aside from their size as giant wineries, seem to buck the trends mentioned above. Classy labels, interesting complexity, good balance, and while they're edging up on the alcohol scale they're not hot or too strong.

2002 Rosemount Hill of Gold Mudgee Shiraz. $20, 14.5% abv. Looks like the first great vintage after three rough years in the Mudgee region. Leather, tobacco, dried cherries, cassis, touch of licorice. It's often a gamble with these slightly older bottles but this one just got more and more interesting as it went along.

2007 Penfolds Bin 2 Shiraz Mourvèdre from South Australia. $17, 14.5% abv. 77% Shiraz, 23% Mourvèdre. Perhaps the smoothest Penfolds I've ever tried. Creamy with lots of black cherry and leather notes, little touches of cinnamon and plum as it warms up. I picked it up purely for the novelty of a GSM - G, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

I really hope that wines like these are able to thrive and survive out there in the marketplace, but as this is part of a longer trend than the flash-in-the-pan Sideways effect, it may be a decade before we see how things turn out.

Update 1: Interesting rebuttal to the anti-Australian wine news from The Jug Shop in San Francisco.

Note: The top photo is of an unnamed winery in the Barossa Valley of South Australia. It was taken by my paternal grandmother on one of her recent adventures. Aussie wine country isn't quite as exotic as Antarctica or Russia just after the fall of the Soviet Union (to name but two of her previous trips), but she had a great time.

12 comments:

Samantha Dugan said...

Benito,
I can tell you from The Wine Country sales, both Merlot and Aussie wines...in da crapper. High end Merlot still sells, (not a ton but those who bought Duckhorn are still buying Duckhorn) but the lower end...no pulse.
As for Australia, they are dead across the board. One store in our area that was known for their Aussie section, they moved mountains of the stuff and were one of the first stores around here to really get on baord with Aussie wines...they had to cancel their first Aussie tasting....ever, in the history of their store. Pretty telling no?

Benito said...

Sam,

I hate to hear about the Merlot sales--I thought I'd read that they'd rebounded somewhat, and I haven't heard nearly as much "I HATE MERLOT!!!" crap in the past couple of years. But those are anecdotes, and I appreciate the real-world perspective.

I'm trying to think of other examples from the past ten years, when I've been roughly paying attention to the wine industry. Maybe the anti-French backlash of 2003? But I don't know that anyone who felt obliged to use the term "Freedom Fries" was buying that much French wine in the first place.

And I'm desperately trying not to force my own tastes on the debate. You know me, I stick up for Greek grapes and Pinotage and Turkish blends.

Cheers,
Benito

Samantha Dugan said...

Benito,
As a retailer...I adore you for that! As a wine lover, I respect you for it.

The Wine Commonsewer (TWC) said...

I think the merlot thing had it's roots all the way back to the 80's and 90's when people gave up white zin for insipid merlot. They didn't mean anything by it they just thought it sounded sophisticated, espc when compared to Boone's Farm. That was what Miles was railing against. The mediocre, bland, house merlots that were tolerable enough to show up in dinner houses across the country. Unfortunately, the movie spawned a rash of pinots that were ever so much more insipid than the merlots that lost market share.

Personally, I like a good merlot and it seems easier to find a good merlot at a decent price than it is to find a good pinot at any price.

TWC said...

mmmm Duckhorn.......

Benito said...

TWC,

It was sad to watch someone buy an $8 Pinot Noir thinking it would be better than a $20 Merlot, just based on a catchphrase. That person ends up with a bad wine and a bad attitude towards the entire subject

This is again what concerns me about the Australia thing--critique individual producers if they deserve it, but blasting the entire nation harms a lot of good producers.

Cheers,
Benito

Michael Hughes said...

I think we need to steer the conversation away from Sideways because it perpetuates the strange but hollow power it had over some wine drinkers choices. Good wine is good wine, regardless of varietal or region. Personally, I love some more than others but that won't be the same for the next person who walks through the store's doors. I am curious to see how Australia, as a whole, combats this negative backlash. The importer Old Bridge Cellars is amassing a traveling band of wine family "Ambassadors" to hold tastings across the globe in order to showcase the quality they see in their wines. I think it is a step in the right direction but it won't change what's most important: climate. Australia's scorching desert climate (save for Margaret River) produces superripe grapes that will lead to high alcohol, high octane fruit & heavy viscosity. There is a market for that but maybe not enough to sustain an entire industry.

Big Mike said...

What great comments. As a wholesaler I see Merlot coming back a bit and for the reason that TWC notes. It is much easier to find a drinkable Merlot than a drinkable Pinot at a decent price these days. All of the pinots I have shown the market over the past 3 months have all been in excess of $32. And as Sam and Michael can tell you there are not a lot of fish in that pond.

So we end up at Michaels point, let's just drink wine becasue it is good! I can promise there is alot of great wine in the pipeline headed our way for OND. At prices we all will be proud to pay.

Great job as always Ben hope to see you soon.

And sorry for the OND thing in case you don't know thats October, November and December.

Benito said...

Michael,

Re: Australia's hot climate

Could Tasmania be the savior of the Australian wine industry? ;)

Mike,

Thanks for the distributor perspective. Can't wait to see the winter lineup!

Cheers,
Benito

Michael Hughes said...

Tasmania, hmmm. Maybe? I'd bet on Margaret River area due to the cool climate. Well cooler relative to Southeastern Australia. I've only had one wine from Tas so I can't really comment on that. I'm enjoying this conversation, though.

Benito said...

Michael,

Mostly joking about Tasmania, as it's too small to have any real impact on the oil tankers full of Australian wine that sail to China and the US. But the island is further south, and is colder, wetter, and closer to the climates of New Zealand and France/Germany than mainland Oz. Supposedly there are pretty decent Pinot Noirs, Rieslings, and even sparkling wines coming out of Tasmania, but very little of it makes its way to Tennessee.

Thanks for the inspiration on the topic, fun way to get the week started!

Cheers,
Benito

Michael Hughes said...

By the way, I forgot to say thanks for the shout out!