Much of the coverage on the impact of Australia’s horrific bushfires has all too understandably focused on the loss of wildlife and the effect on the landscape and communities, but the wine industry has been badly affected, too.
The Adelaide Hills area of South Australia has been particularly severely hit, with an estimated third of all producers affected to a greater or lesser extent – one winemaker, David Bowley of Vinteloper, lost his entire home, vineyards and winery. There has been a bit of a run on Bowley’s wine recently, thanks to sympathy buying, but The Whisky Exchange has one of his much-acclaimed pinots, the PN16, for £32.95. Iconic producer Henschke also suffered severe damage to its Lenswood vineyard, which produces the elegant Abbotts Prayer.
The other notably badly affected region is New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, where they make a unique and long-lived style of semillon and some fine shiraz, which I wrote about after visiting the region a couple of years ago. Vintages have changed since then, but the producer recommendations still hold good, and the prices, particularly of the Mangan wines, have held up remarkably well.
It’s not only burnt-out vines that are the problem. Smoke taint, a result of the persistent pall of smoke the vineyards have been under, is a taste that can emerge in wines as they age, and as a result, one of the best known Hunter Valley producers, Tyrell’s, recently announced that it would make 80% less wine in 2020.
There is, of course, a great deal of Australian wine that has not been affected. It’s worth remembering, too, if you get the chance to visit the country, that there is a raft of small producers whose wines never make it to the UK but which are available locally by the glass. I was recently in Sydney, where wine lists are full of excitingly unfamiliar wines such as Simla’s deliciously fresh Field Blend Rouge from Tasmania, Thick As Thieves’ arneis, an impressive Yarra Valley take on a delicate Piedmontese white, or Rylstone Estate’s lush Bluebird Botrytis Viognier, a gorgeous dessert wine from New South Wales.
If you hunt diligently – and may I add that it can pay to do so – you’ll find some gems on specialist sites in the UK, too. I spotted a bin end of 2015 Tahbilk Marsanne on a site called Hard to Find Wines. Marsanne, like semillon has a real capacity to age, developing delicious, deep, grilled pineapple flavours.
Four Australian wines to be thankful for
Tyrrell’s Hunter Valley Semillon 2017
£15.50 Fareham Wine Cellar, 11%.
Fresh, crisp, citrussy and fashionably low in alcohol. Sadly, Tyrrell’s says it won’t be making much semillon this year.
Bird in Hand Sparkling Pinot Noir
£15 Booths £15.50 Tanners, £15.99 Waitrose, 12.5%.
Charming, pale pink, sparkling fizz from one of the Adelaide Hills wineries affected – though thankfully not too badly – by the fires. Perfect for Valentines Day, too.
Exquisite Clare Valley Riesling
£6.99 Aldi, 11.5%.
Joyously limey, consistently delicious, this is one of the best wines in the Aldi range – try it with Thai noodle salad.
Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield Shiraz 2018
£14 Marks & Spencer, 15%.
Lush, old-school Barossa shiraz that’s really worth tucking away for a good few years (say, five to six). It’s a cliché, yes, but this is perfect with barbecue fare.
• For more by Fiona Beckett, go to matchingfoodandwine.com
