The Evolution of the Australian Claret

Cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, said some, need to be blended. But not to each other. Perhaps half correct, this was a popular opinion in the early 1980s, just as merlot was beginning to reveal its potential in Australia. While I would suggest that anyone really convinced that shiraz needs blending needs a trip to the clinic – and the Penfolds Clinics would do nicely – I am firmly on the side of Dr John Middleton of Mount Mary, who looks sadly at many of the straight cabernet sauvignon varietals made by his Yarra Valley contemporaries and says they’re missing the point.

The contemporary Australian claret, by which I mean those cabernet-influenced wines made in the dry astringent style we identify with Bordeaux, is a far cry from those made twenty, even ten years ago. The issue has as much to do with the fundamental deficiencies to which the variety of cabernet sauvignon is susceptible as its many unquestioned virtues, and especially concerns the techniques Australian winemakers have chosen to overcome them.

Once you’ve awoken to the contribution that merlot – and to a lesser extent, shiraz – can make to our principal quality red grape, then there can be no more frustrating experience than to open a thin, green and under-ripened straight cabernet, lacking almost entirely in the satisfying richness that only the middle palate can offer. Although most frequently the product of cool and even some normal seasons in cooler-climate regions, these wines are only released to the market because their makers have no other commercial alternative or else don’t understand the fickle nature of the variety in marginal climates and vintages.

This problem has plagued the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley in Victoria, much of Tasmania and certainly the cooler of South Australia’s regions like the Adelaide Hills. Even Coonawarra, considerably warmer, has difficulty ripening cabernet sauvignon fully from time to time, as many wines from the 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1989 vintages amply demonstrate. As a wine region, Coonawarra is a perfect study of the evolution of the Australian claret, so I will largely use its wines to illustrate these impressions.

Prior to the emergence of sophisticated viticultural concepts to improve the exposure and ripeness of grapes, winemakers had little choice but to resort to shiraz to correct the deficiency of cabernet’s middle palate. The other option was to extract more tannins and phenolics than desirable from the grape to cover up the potentially gaping hole.

In many cases shiraz worked, and in many of the greatly reduced number of blends between the two varieties around today, it continues to do so. The inherent richness and sweetness of berry flavour that shiraz can bring can slot neatly between cabernet’s impact of fruit at the front of the mouth and its long, tannic finish.

But merlot, cabernet’s natural partner, is replacing shiraz in more of these blends year after year, a phenomenon largely concealed by the law that enables wines to be labelled as a certain variety even if only 80 of that grape. Wolf Blass’ Black Label is now a Cabernet Merlot, in the same way that Brand’s Laira blend now comprises the same varieties. More commonly, though, is the straight conversion of a 100 varietal cabernet to a blend with merlot, either mentioned or not on the label. Merlot is represented in most new vineyards developed for claret styles.

Merlot’s sweet fruit flavours of red and black berries; its gamey, earthy, sometimes tobaccoey qualities are a natural complement to cabernet sauvignon. In addition, its ability to lend richness without excessive weight are persuading winemakers to opt for it ahead of shiraz, whose spicy and peppery characters can and indeed frequently do compete with the dark berry fruits, olive and cedar flavour profile of cabernet sauvignon, regardless of how good they regularly appear on their own.

In the late ’70s some of merlot’s unsung pioneers in Australia were the classic reds of Cullens, Mount Mary and Diamond Valley. The Cullens wine almost flaunts its merlot content, with a brilliant richness, backbone and harmony of flavours. The Mount Mary Cabernets is a superlative wine which gives Australians a taste of the elegance and complexity found in the world’s greatest clarets. Quite different again is the Diamond Valley Cabernet, a more fruit-driven wine with intensely attractive berry flavours, lovely suppleness and a careful use of supportive oak.

Merlot’s ability to ripen earlier is another major advantage. At least in cooler years some grapes can be harvested near their optimum. Where merlot is widely available, wines can be based around it, allowing cabernet to play a lesser, supportive role. The chateaux of Bordeaux have taken advantage of this to release wines regardless of the season. While no-one outside of Bordeaux would pretend that their quality remains consistent year after year, a sound, drinkable and worthwhile wine, reflective of its season, can nevertheless be assembled together.

Which brings me to merlot’s other great advantage, perhaps the main reason why its plantings are increasing so quickly. It matures quicker than cabernet, enabling its blends to soften more quickly and to lose the jammy intensity and obvious lack of integration displayed by many young red wines. Since current red vintages are largely only a year or two old, the cellar is largely and sadly a thing of the past, and most wine is opened within a week after its purchase, big dollars are made by companies who can put immediately drinkable wines onto retail shelves and restaurant lists.

Cabernet franc, which shares some of merlot’s early-maturing qualities together with other berry, leafy flavours compatible with its cousin cabernet sauvignon, is also having an impact, although the unfortunate misidentification of much of what was supposed to be Australia’s early plantings of merlot has led to its incidence being greater than its accepted worth as a blending component.

The other major evolutionary path taken by the Australian claret concerns what happens in the winery itself, which involved firstly the discarding, then the re-acceptance of traditional red winemaking techniques. Prior to the 1980s reds were fermented warm, some still in concrete tanks. Wines were pressed hard, usually before the fermentation finished, extracting big, hard tannins, which helped to keep the wines for years, but which also discouraged those who couldn’t wait. Small, new oak was being recognised more as a necessity and less as a luxury.

Although some were happy to continue to refine what they were already doing, many winemakers were infected by the concept of taking total control of the winemaking process. Fruit would sometimes be put under a CO2 blanket immediately after harvesting. Crushed and removed of all stalks, it would be transferred to stainless steel fermenters where absolute control of temperature would endeavour to retain the volatiles otherwise lost during fermentation. Pressing would be light, for the key to longevity was to be found in the way that acids would alcohol balance with fruit and oak influence.

One of the most important wines of this period was the Jimmy Watson winning 1980 Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon, a straight varietal to my knowledge. Unspeakably perfect in its youth – and I enjoyed it many times before and after bottling – it has never reached the same heights since. Having undergone a truly shocking dip from which it only emerged about three years ago, it shows manifestly that wines made this way were simply not intended for the long haul.

Another of the “name” wines of 1980 was the first release of Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine which undoubtedly helped to define this winery’s style. Although Katnook’s premier wine has evolved considerably since, this vintage was always remarkable for its exuberance of mulberry and blackcurrant berry fruit, almost jammy and Ribena-like in its infancy. Try it today and little has really happened. It is still as attractive as ever, but the style is obviously dated.

The inaugural winner of The Tucker Seabrook Caon Trophy 1988 given at the Royal Sydney Wine Show for the most successful show wine of the year was Orlando’s Jacaranda Ridge Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1982, an restrained red of tightness and elegance. It won at least seven other important trophies, generally for the best red of the show. Last time I tasted it, around three years ago, it was already showing signs of senility. The leading wines of today are simply going to have to last for longer to be afforded “classic” status. Such have been the improvements in winemaking and in the understanding of classic styles in just ten short years.

Traditions died harder at places like Taltarni and Cape Mentelle. Their powerfully-built Cabernet Sauvignons of 1982 are just now beginning to peak, while the 1983s are as young as ever. Both these Cape Mentelle wines won the Jimmy Watson. Given that the Lindemans had done so just two years previously, you can forgive other winemakers for thinking they were receiving mixed messages. The early ’80s were just like that; an adolescent time.

It is also worth looking at what was going on at Petaluma. It’s not difficult to imagine the sound of Len Evans opining for more more body, more richness and more guts when discussing with Brian Croser the make-up of the Petaluma Coonawarra reds of the early ’80s. While the inaugural Petaluma red of 1979 was, and still is a marvellous reflection of what traditional winemaking ideas can achieve with good Coonawarra fruit, Croser now agrees that his wines made between 1980 and 1985 there was no 1983, the fruit not being of sufficient standard were too squeaky clean Evans’ words and deficient in depth and richness.

As he is now, Croser was then a much-emulated individual, so many wineries followed suit. Penfolds didn’t, as Bin 707 continued to enhance its re-emerging reputation it was scrapped between 1970 and 1975 providing the wine industry with yet another model to follow.

By 1986 much of the wine industry, Petaluma included, was firmly back on track. Moving to the opposite pole, Croser made a rich, extractive but carefully balanced 1986 Coonawarra which is still year away from its peak. His evolution has continued, each subsequent vintage gaining in elegance and tightness of extract, merlot even being introduced, but the wine’s structure and integrity is simply not open to question.

Speaking with the obvious benefit of hindsight, that period of the early ’80s was less productive in terms of classic red wines, but the lessons learned by the industry have been invaluable.

Meanwhile, the early 1980s also saw more Australian winemakers toying with the traditional French concept of extended maceration after fermentation, whereby pressing was retarded until the cap of skins had fully sunk to the bottom of the red fermenter and had been left there for some days. The nature of the wine is irrevocably altered, as rich, gamey flavours emerge and the composition of the wine’s tannins soften and integrate more tightly.

In 1982 Saltram released two startlingly different Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon red wines under its Pinnacle label. One was made with the innovations of the early ’80s, the other without them, left on skins for several days and given a naive-looking ‘Traditionale’ tag on its label. The ‘Traditionale’ has all been long sold but I expect it to live on for many a year, while the 1982 wine, currently being re-released, has reached the height of its powers.

The best contemporary Australian clarets are taken seriously everywhere. Our winemakers and viticulturalists are more innovative than ever in their combination of techniques old and new, and are delivering where it counts: in the provision of strong varietal flavours able to become more complex in time harnessed with a careful use of oak, in a complete and reliable palate structure that will facilitate the ageing process

Wines like the Oakridge Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon confirm that low-yielding straight cabernet sauvignon can make wines of the highest standard in warmer seasons from cooler vineyard sites. Coonawarra’s flagging image has been revitalised with the emergence of a new breed of super cabernet, under labels like Hollick Ravenswood, John Riddoch, Parker and Rymill.

Merlot continues to be used more widely, even performing solo in exceptional wines like the Katnook Estate Merlot 1988, Rosemount Kirri Billi Merlot 1986 and Petaluma Merlot 1990.

Shiraz and cabernet continue to work together where their track record is proven and unquestioned. Yalumba’s Signature blend, Penfolds Bin 389 and St Henri Claret, Saltram’s Mamre Brook red blend and Mildara’s Jamieson’s Run attest strongly enough to that.

Of course there are several factors I haven’t room to discuss in this article, such as the influence of mechanical and minimal pruning in finished wine, the many other variations of fermentation involving stalks and whole berries. There is also the increasingly prevalent practise of discarding juice to concentrate the ratio of skins to juice, to facilitate a greater concentration of tannins and extract in the finished wine. Other ideas are just edging onto the Australian scene, such as the Italian amarone technique being employed so brilliantly by Joe Grilli at Primo Estate.

Whatever your preference in style of claret, Australia is clearly making more top-quality wine than ever to suit your own taste. That’s what I call progress.

A Rough Key to Modern Australian Clarets:

1. Concentrated and Extractive

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon, Cyril Hensche Cabernet Sauvignon, Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon

2. Firm

Petaluma Coonawarra, Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosemount Kirri Billi Cabernet Sauvignon, Parker Terra Rossa First Growth, Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon


3. Elegant

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Mary Cabernets, Giaconda Cabernet Sauvignon, Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon, Yeringberg Yeringberg, Cape Clairault Cabernet Sauvignon

4. Soft

Lindemans Coonawarra Pyrus, Diamond Valley Cabernet, Moorilla Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rouge Homme Cabernet Sauvignon, Orlando Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon



Insertion to edited copy:

Australians have called their wine by the name ‘Claret’ for over a hundred years, although today it is used more as a description of style than a term of nomenclature. The word itself suggests the firm, full-bodied red style of Bordeaux, whose finish is as astringent as it is long, and in a perfect world whose destiny would be to be opened only after careful cellaring. Oddly, ‘claret’ is an English derivation of ‘clairette’, the word given the lighter, clear red wines previously made in Bordeaux.

Since the earliest days of Australian wine, our makers have rightly chosen to use the Bordeaux reds as a role model; to understand and to inspire, but not necessarily to duplicate. Hence the importance of claret styles today, for to me at least, more than any other wine, they reflect the standing of the winemaking art in Australia. A country can be judged by its cabernet blends, for cabernet transplants its qualities well, making wines with identifiably similar characteristics the world over. Today we are unquestionably entering a period of new sophistication and style in the Australian claret. Please login to post comment