Tasmania: of Apogee & investment

Despite the pocket-sized nature of its wine industry, Tasmania has been extremely successful at attracting substantial mainland investment.  Accolade Wines own Bay of Fires and House of Arras, Tasmanian Estates (owned by Brown Bros) scooped up several leading brands in 2010 (click here for details), Jansz’s and Darymple’s owner Hill-Smith Family Vineyards substantially expanded their hectarage last year, while Shaw & Smith bought the Tolpuddle Vineyard in 2011.

How so?  Intensely beautiful though it may be, this unspoiled island’s lure goes well beyond skin deep.  Its USPs include being Australia’s only 100% cool climate state.  Wines are naturally endowed with a great (natural) acid structure.  Its cool climate is also an attractive hedge against climate change, as is its abundant natural water supply (which is being boosted by investment in large-scale irrigation projects).  And the bean counters can relax because grape prices are buoyant where Tasmania is the only Australian state that currently has a market for its total wine grape output.  An enviable statistic given Australia’s lingering wine surplus.

All these points and more have been highlighted by the Tasmanian Government in a guide which it has produced to encourage investment in the island’s wine industry – not just from the mainland, but from further afield.  Indeed this month, Mark Kelleher (Secretary of Tasmania’s Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts) is in Europe to bang the drum with wine industry representatives Dr Andrew Pirie and Sue Henderson.  Following the press tasting I attended in London last week, the delegation’s next stop was France, specifically Champagne & Burgundy.

With its focus on sparkling wines and Pinot Noir in particular, one might reasonably ask is Tasmania not taking coals to Newcastle?  However, Tasmania has form.  Champagne house Roederer, an early investor in acclaimed sparkling wine specialist Jansz (now owned by South Australia based Hill-Smith Family Vineyards), helped craft Tasmania’s first sparkling wine made according to the traditional (Champagne) method.  Moet et Chandon owned Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley even has a Tasmanian cuvee in its sparkling range now.

But there can be no better endorsement than putting your money where your mouth is, which is what Pirie (pictured) has done –six times, no less!  Saying that producers have become much better at predicting what will work where, the industry veteran of leading brands Pipers Brook, Ninth Island, Tamar Ridge and Pirie Estate has recently launched a new brand, Apogee.  Unusually for a sparkling wine (most are widely sourced blends), it comes exclusively from a young two hectare vineyard which Pirie acquired and planted with sparkling wines in mind in 2007 (a Pinot Gris table wine is also made).

Located in Lebrina, the Apogee vineyard is in the Pipers Brook region in North East Tasmania.  Pirie explains that, because the north east is cool and has better humidity than the island’s south, vines are less stressed, which means that Pipers River’s has “innate delicacy, so its best style is sparkling wines because you’re looking for low tannins and high acidity.”  He believes that producers looking to the south for sparkling grapes are “shopping in areas too warm for sparkling.”

He admits that, with deep soils and higher rainfall, lack of stress (productivity) and disease pressure can be an issue in the north east (although high yields are not so much an issue for sparkling wines).  Pirie’s answer has been to install a hand-tended 2.2 metre high Scott Henry trellis (vines are trained downwards as well as upwards to reduce vigour) which he has “hybridised” with Burgundy’s classical Guyot pruning system to create a unique unilateral version. Trimmed early in January, its advantage is good exposure, which reduces disease pressure and facilitates good flavour development.

The Apogee vineyard has already attracted acclaim, this year winning the Royal Agricultural Society Vineyard of the Year Award, which recognises quality-focused vineyard management practices that are essential to fine winemaking.  As for the wines themselves (RRP AUS$50), a blend of the Champagne triumvirate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, Pirie showed two vintages of sparkling – the 2010 and 2011, the latter from the first mature crop which seemed racier and purer, with lovely crisp grapefruit and apple intensity.  As for the 2010, a first cropper (which Pirie explained meant it was necessary to expose the fruit more), it was less fine/focused; with lower acidity, Pirie agreed that it has developed relatively quickly. That said, it says a good deal about the fruit quality that the young vine fruit has been handled oxidatively and part fermented (c 40%) in barrel (“for underlying tannin/texture”), before being aged for 18-19 months on lees (hence the term “Deluxe.”)  It sees 100% malo too (so high is the natural acidity).

As for the Tasmanian wine industry’s apogee, where Pirie reckons that Tasmania has “Grand Cru sites just sitting there with a few sheep on them,” the drive for investment makes sense if it is to realise its full potential.  He cites the Huon Valley in the south and Devonport in the hitherto relatively unexplored north west as future wine areas to watch. According to Henderson, investment capital is also required to develop the island’s winemaking infrastructure (production is currently dominated by a handful of producers and many of the island’s boutique producers use contract winemaking facilities).

Meantime, the number of high performing wines increases steadily. At tomorrow’s Landmark Australian Tour free pour tasting of 100 wines selected by alumni of recent trips down under both my inspirational wines were from Tasmania – Derwent Estate Chardonnay 2010 and Clover Hill Cuvee Exceptionelle Blancs de Blancs 2006. And below I’ve highlighted my personal top ten from a score or more Australian wine show trophy and gold medal winners presented by last week’s delegation; I found the character and breadth of style of the sparkling wines particularly exciting.

Sparkling

Jansz Late Disgorged 2003 (Pipers Brook)

Jansz Vintage 2007 (Pipers Brook)

Jansz Vintage Rosé 2007 (Pipers Brook)

Apogee Deluxe Vintage 2011 (Lebrina, Pipers Brook)

Arras Grand Vintage Late Disgorged 2001 (Tasmania)

Arras Blanc de Blancs 2001 (Tasmania)

Freycinet Radenti Late Disgorged 2001 (East Coast)

Riesling

Pirie Estate Riesling 2007 (Tamar Valley)

Pooley Riesling 2012 (Coal River)

Derwent Estate Riesling 2011 (Derwent Valley)

Chardonnay

Dawson and James Chardonnay 2011 (Derwent Valley)

Bay of Fires Chardonnay 2010 (Tasmania)

Dawson and James Chardonnay 2010 (Derwent Valley)

Pinot Noir

Bay of Fires Pinot Noir 2011 (Tasmania)

Home Hill Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2011 (Ranelagh Huon)

Tamar Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 (Tamar Valley)

Pooley Pinot Noir 2011 (Coal River)

Home Hill Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2010 (Ranelagh Huon)

Coal Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 (Coal River)

Dessert

Tamar Ridge Botrytis Riesling 2006 (Tamar Valley)