What’s old is new again

Texture and Australian white wine
Efforts to describe a wine normally focus on aromas and flavours, but great white wines are in some way ‘textural’ as well. And if it is challenging to describe the aromas and flavours in a wine, it can be even more difficult to describe its texture or mouthfeel – that tactile sense of wine on the palate. For instance, Chardonnay commonly displays a creamy texture; Viognier and Pinot Gris an oily character. Astringency, heat, viscosity and bitterness are also important textural characters. Whatever the makeup, texture in a wine is an important, though often undervalued, component. It can be almost insinuating in the mouth: texture calls for another sip because it feels so good. So why do some winemakers seek it while others spurn it?

What we about know about texture is that phenolic compounds play a role in producing it. Phenolics, or polyphenols, are a very large group of compounds found in grape juice, stems, skins and seeds. They are vital because they provide colour, tannins and many of the flavours. Winemakers who try to reduce phenolic concentrations with techniques such as fining believe they undermine varietal expression and create ‘coarseness’ or ‘graininess’. But bitterness and astringency for one person is another’s minerality and savouriness. Sometimes it is a just matter of palate calibration. Other winemakers, especially proponents of Italian varieties, are much more disposed to phenolics, believing they create complex, savoury wines that complement cuisine. Palate texture can also be used to define style. For example, Italians mostly approach Pinot Grigio by harvesting early to retain acidity with a light body. Alsatian producers of the same grape (where it is Pinot Gris) use riper grapes, permit skin contact with the juice and then ferment with solids to produce a wine that is more aromatic, characterised by higher alcohol, richer flavours and an oily texture.

While most of the phenolics are contained in the skins, seeds and stalks, a small percentage is in the juice itself. In fact, winemaker Brian Freeman (Freeman Vineyards in Hilltops, NSW) believes there is a higher phenolic volume in the juice of Italian white varieties and this explains their quintessential textural character. Phenolics in white wine is an issue with which he has acquired more than passing familiarity. Before it was named one of the world’s most exciting new wine finds by esteemed British wine writer Tom Stevenson, Freeman was told the first vintage of his ‘Fortuna Pinot Gris Plus’ blend from Hilltops was faulty. Too phenolic, it was said, presumably meaning too astringent or bitter and extracted. A former professor of Wine Science at Charles Sturt University, Freeman knew perfectly well what he was doing in making a wine outside of the usual parameters of Australian white winemaking. Not only was his ‘Pinot Gris Plus’ an unheard of blend of four different varieties – Pinot Gris for pear flavours, Riesling for acidity, Chardonnay for body and creamy texture with a splash of the red variety Aleatico for tannin – he insists it must be in bottle for at least 18 months before release. The nature of the blend references the traditional fine white wine blends of Friuli and Alto Adige in Northern Italy that rely on texture and minerality rather than overt fruit sweetness for palate fullness. As in Northern Italy, Freeman’s ‘Pinot Gris Plus’ is framed by high acidity which enhances the wine’s mineral character and pithy phenolic texture. The finished wine displays delicacy, restraint and complexity.

The style of Brian Freeman’s white blend is but one instance of the novel steps some Australian winemakers are taking by employing less ‘technically-correct’ methods of production. No doubt it is this ‘sameness’ in Australian wine that has contributed to some of the consumer ennui being experienced by Australian wine in export markets, and even locally. But the fat, oaky, yellow, alcoholic, manipulated chardonnays of yesteryear are giving way to restrained and finely-textured styles. Just how complex and elegant Australian Chardonnay has become is seen in the wines of Moorooduc Estate (Mornington), Cullen (Margaret River), Geoff Weaver (Adelaide Hills), Dawson & James (Tasmania) and By Farr (Geelong), among many others.

Rose Kentish from Ulithorne in McLaren Vale is another innovative winemaker. Her wines are even more reliant on texture for appeal, as befits the varieties she champions. An artisanal Vermentino (‘Corsus Vermentinu’) from Corsican fruit derives its textural character from 12 hours of skin contact that purposely increases phenolics. A Provençal Rosé (‘Epoch’) from Grenache and Cinsaut that also reveals a lovely textural quality as well as its Salmon-pink hue from skin contact from red grapes. And Kerri Thompson’s range of Clare Valley Rieslings (wines by KT) offers insight into differently textured wines. Made from small, lovingly cared for vineyards, these wines are made with minimal intervention with some fermented in stainless steel and some in barrique. Rieslings from the ‘Churinga’ and ‘Peglidis’ vineyards are both finely textured, linear and very expressive of Watervale: ‘Peglitis ‘shows delicate florals and citrus fruit while the ‘Churinga’ has a rich, ample palate with stone-fruit flavour. The ‘Pazza’ bottling is quite different again: made from dry-grown ‘Peglitis’ fruit, is a wild fermented, unfiltered wine that is texturally soft and round. Unusual for Australian Riesling, it is oxidatively handled and fermented in a blend of stainless steel and ten year old French oak barriques for three months where it sits on its lees (dead yeast cells and other solids). This savoury styled wine has a nutty character from the barrels with a softness and roundness in the mouth. It shows that Riesling can come in different shapes and sizes.

The importance of texture to the structural makeup of all these very fine wines hints at the opportunities open to winemakers as they wrestle with the inevitable shift in the marketplace and evolution of consumer taste.

These wines can all be purchased online, by mail order or in select retail outlets.

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