August Wines of the Month: Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2009 & Lucy M Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010, naturally.

Did I mention I’d been to Australia recently?!?!?  My August Wines of the Month both made a deep impression on me and, excitingly, represent elements of Australia’s wine “industry” that you don’t hear so much about.  Cullen are certified biodynamic and Von Klopper is a natural winemaker, who also tends his vineyard bidoynamically.

Click here and here for my video interviews with each producer.  And here are my notes on the wines:

Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2009

When I visited Cullen during the 2008 vintage, they’d just taken delivery of a new vibrating sorting table and basket press.  I tasted an experimental batch of Chardonnay that’d gone through the basket press.  It looked wonderful – seemingly more muscular and mineral, less fruity, than the pneumatic press component.  Back then, Vanya Cullen reckoned that the lower juice return from the infamously measly, miserly yielding Gin Gin clone meant it wasn’t economically viable to use the basket press for the Chardonnay.  But clearly Vanya was just as mesmerised by the basket press component as me because, in 2009 and 2010, the Chardonnay has been 100% basket pressed.  Inevitably the price has gone up, but let me tell you, from an already vertigo-inducing high base, Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay has just got even better.  The 2009 shows spicy cinnamon oak hints on the nose with perfumed, slinky pear on a lithe palate with zesty, lemon citrus acidity.  It finishes long and limpid and, though possessed of a cool restraint, it has tremendous underlying fruit intensity – that muscularity – well supported by oak, used for structure not seasoning.  An utterly compelling Chardonnay with a long life ahead – at least 10 years based on the vertical I enjoyed at last month’s 40th birthday celebrations.  Not sure if this has yet landed in the UK.  Contact Liberty Wines for details of stockists.

Lucy M Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

I tasted four beautiful singing, single vineyard Pinot Noirs with Anton von Klopper, this one from his own biodynamically farmed vineyard (named after his daughter).  Planted in 2003 (own roots) and never sprayed, it’s located high in the hills at 500m, in the Basket Range region on red clay soils over sandstone and slate. A firmer, seemingly drier, more skeletal and savoury Pinot than the others, I loved its layered, taffeta tannins and tight knit red fruits, dusted with sweet cinnamon and coltsfoot/anise.  Lots of potential; a gloriously individual voice.  This wine is on the seas en route to UK distributor Les Caves de Pyrene.