WINE ... with David Bray
Well, the Ashes tests are upon us and they are welcome as an antidote to the horribly disappointing events that have recently happened in international cricket. Cricket has for many years been a passion with more than a few winemakers. Some boast what amount to boutique cricket grounds, beautiful ovals on which past and present stars and never-likely-to-be-much good enthusiasts are invited to pleasantly civilised matches.
The South Australia seems to have more such places than other states. Ch. Tanunda has a superb set-up in the Barossa. Some wear their enthusiasm on their labels. Brokenwood in the Hunter has its Cricket Pitch label. And at least one, Jim Barry Wines, goes for cricket-themed labels.
We know the Barry business to be strongly Clare oriented, but the story here moves considerably eastwards, to Coonawarra, on the southern boundary of which is to be found the old Penola cricket ground. The first match was played on this ground in 1950. And the last in 1996.
When the 30-acre property came on the market Peter Barry bought it. He, in common with most vintners, had an affection for Coonawarra and particularly the region’s cabernet sauvignon fruit, so he planted a cabernet sauvignon vineyard.
The original cricket pavilion was retained and the vines planted around the cricket pitch. The blurb tells s us that “over thousands of years erosion and air-borne dust have laid down the famous Coonawarra 'terra rossa' soil. The limestone that underlies the area is porous and has an excellent water-holding capacity, providing a very good source of supplementary water during dry periods. Coonawarra lies well south of latitude 37° and it has a cooler climate than many of the other Australian grape-growing regions. This cooler climate results in a much longer ripening season, which in turn produces excellent fruit flavours and unique tannin structure”.
So here are two fine wines with cricketing labels:
• The Cover Drive cabernet sauvignon 2006 is 51 per cent Clare Valley and 49 Coonawarra and is nicely rich, soft and as the makers claim, “approachable”. $19.
• Silly Mid Off sauvignon blanc semillon 2009, made from Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills fruit, is the product of some testing vintage times but turns out to be pleasantly drinkable with “riper fruit flavours at lower sugar levels coupled with high natural acidity the standout qualities’. $19
Also from Jim Barry, here is a riesling of distinction. The Florita vineyard at Watervale is one of the area’s oldest. This is the vineyard where legendary winemaker John Vickery, sourced the grapes for his great Leo Buring Rieslings of the 1960s and 1970s.
At a time (in the mid-1980s) when the South Australian Government was paying farmers to pull up their wine grape vines to counter an oversupply of grapes and the industry was in a state of turmoil, Mark, Peter and John Barry went against conventional wisdom and bought the Florita vineyard in 1986.
Despite fruit being in oversupply and riesling being somewhat out of favour, overshadowed by the chardonnay boom , they knew that Florita was one of the best vineyards in the country and was crucial in their plans to produce premium rieslings.
“Traditionally, vines from Florita are hand-pruned to a level of 40 buds per vine to maintain the intensity of flavour. The grapes are harvested in the cool of the night at their optimum preserve the delicate riesling flavours and to retain natural acidity.” $40.
What I want to know next is why there’s no Maiden Over label?
