Still the Sometime State for quality

WINE
With David Bray

There is some very ordinary wine out there and some of it is made in Queensland. Okay, to be basic, this state’s grape growers and winemakers are still putting more than their fair share of bad bottles out into the market. Usually the stuff is grown and made here, sometimes it comes up from southern places and has a local label stuck on it.
This is no pleasure to write. Regular readers will probably know that your reporter has tried his hardest over quite a long time to promote Queensland wine. Has an award from the RNA for his efforts. And put a modest sum of money and work into a vineyard project and another winery project. One didn’t do so well, the other is going nicely.
This little rant is prompted by the recent arrival of samples sent in by three southeast Queensland operations, none of them particularly well-known. I will not name them, though it could be argued that to do so would be doing both the wineries and potential customers a favour.
The first two parcels contained wine that, to my palate, didn’t reflect the grape variety (varieties) on the label. Given the wide geographical range of this country’s vineyards, that is not necessarily a bad thing. But then they had very little in their favour, or indeed flavour.
The third batch, the most recent arrival, was under a label not previously encountered. Research revealed excellent credentials for both growers and winemaker. First bottle opened had an unusual and unattractive smell. Tasted worse. Undrinkable. Screw top, too, so couldn’t blame cork-influenced spoilage. Shame.
There is plenty of good quality Queensland wine around, and some that is excellent. Some time soon I will tell you about the goodies. When I get to taste them.

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In the meantime, here are two interesting recent arrivals from other parts of Australia.

Climbing 2009 sauvignon blanc is from the Orange region, high and cool, and is delicious. The person in charge, Debbie Lauritz, says in the blurb that “the winemaking team aimed to capture considerable complexity from several months of vigorous lees stirring and the inclusion of a small percentage of wine fermented in subtle French oak".
She points out that sauvignon blanc “can have a range of flavours depending on ripeness. At one end there are the less ripe green herbaceous flavours through to the more ripe tropical fruit flavours. This wine sits squarely in the middle of the fruit spectrum, dominated by citrus and lemon notes". Around $22.

Jim Barry 2006 Clare Red shiraz cab, which Peter Barry believes is and will continue to be “the quintessential Australian dry red”.
He gives us a nice little bit of wine history, as follows: “My late father Jim wasn’t the first Australian winemaker to blend shiraz and cabernet sauvignon and I’m sure he wasn’t the only one to create the blend out of pragmatism.
“Jim knew about the inherent qualities of cabernet sauvignon from his days at Roseworthy College immediately after World War 11, especially through his contact with Samuel Wynn, of Wynns Coonawarra fame.
“Sammy entertained the six students in their final-year tour and encouraged them to use their skills and knowledge to produce the sort of dry table wines he required for the Melbourne market. He quite rightly believed that the influx of European migrants after the war would lead to much stronger demand for dry table wines and that sales of fortified wines would diminish."
There was not a lot of cabernet net sauvignon in this country in the 1950s and 60s but there was plenty of shiraz.
“The two varieties provided a natural marriage. On the bouquet the dark berries and spice of shiraz mixed well with cabernet’s leafy, cassis-like notes, while on the palate the full, soft, richness of shiraz was the perfect foil for the leaner, more elegant cabernet sauvignon."
Good stuff, great red. Around $15.