It Ain’t Over Till The Fat Lady Sings

It Ain’t Over Till The Fat Lady Sings (20 November)

Earlier this year I wrote a Snippet called Corporate Bastardy Lives On which exposed the ratbag practices of Australian Vintage Limited (previously known as McGuigan Simeon). In short, McGuigan Wines had released a Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills in the UK and called it Schubert Estate. The issue here is that Schubert Estate is the name of the winery in the Barossa, and in essence, the McGuigan company had "stolen" the name. Hence the term corporate bastardry.

The Snippet had some positive effect. Firstly, the wine was withdrawn from sale by one of the major merchants carrying the wine. Secondly, the description and text on the main websites that described the wine was changed. Sounds like good news? Unfortunately, it's not.

The new description reads, "This is a cutting-edge Australian Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills. The relatively cool climate is ideal for producing wines that, while they retain the classic Aussie exuberance, are backed by a crisp acidity and understated oak. Harvey Steiman of Wine Spectator wrote, in a recent article, "Increasingly, the best Chardonnays are homing in on a less oak-driven, more minerally style. Look for bottlings from Margaret River and Adelaide Hills."

This wine was made by the McGuigan brothers, Brian and Neil, who are among Australia's most prominent winemakers. They made their name working for some of the country's top estates, and now have their own winery in the Adelaide Hills. Brian cut his teeth working at Penfolds, home to the legendary Grange Shiraz, and chose to name this wine after his first boss (and the creator of Grange) Max Schubert.

Schubert Estate is made from the pick of the Chardonnay grapes in the Adelaide Hills, a third of which were fermented in French oak, then matured for seven months on its lees in the same barrels. This portion of the wine was then blended back with the remainder, which had been fermented in stainless steel. This creates a wine with a rich, buttery texture and a fabulously rich yet subtle oaky character - much like Grand Cru Chablis.”

I have read some marketing bovine manure in my time, but whoever came up with this rubbish deserves a Trophy for the manufacture of pure, unadulterated bullshit.

With due respect to Harvey Steiman, he may know a hell of a lot about wines from other countries, but he is certainly not the world's greatest expert on Australian wines, but I digress.

The second paragraph is the one that I love most. It says “this wine was made by McGuigan Brothers, Brian and Neil…. and now have their own winery in the Adelaide Hills.”

I can just see it now. Brian and Neil walking around their own few acres wearing Blundstone boots an Dry-As-A-Bone oilskin coats and making decisions on cropping etc, and later directing the pickers, watching the grapes going into the crusher, cranking the basket press by hand, tasting the wine on a continual basis as it develops, and deciding which barrels will go into the final blend.

The reality of course is so far removed from this it is laughable. For a start, I have grave doubts about Brian and Neil McGuigan actually owning a winery in the Adelaide Hills at that time.. The company, and remember Brian is only a minority shareholder of Australian Vintage Limited, does own a winery in the Adelaide Hills, but it is not called Schubert Estate, it is actually called Nepenthe. What makes this even more interesting is that this Reserve Chardonnay is from the 2006 vintage, and Australian Vintage Wines did not purchase the Nepenthe winery in the Adelaide Hills until 2007, by which time the wine was already bottled. Brian is now an executive director of Australian Vintage Limited, a publicly listed company, but in 2006 he was the managing director of the organisation, and as such, he probably had as much to do with the making of this wine as Mickey Mouse.

As far as Neil’s involvement, in 2006 as I understand it, he was actually in charge of production in the Hunter Valley, so it's unlikely that he had much to do with making this wine either.

All wine lovers are aware of the romance surrounding wine, and they are also equally aware that marketing plays a role in selling wine, but when organisations have to resort to is using somebody else's name, which may or may not be legal in these circumstances, but is certainly completely unethical, and then using a gigantic pile of pure, hot excrement, to sell the wine, it goes above and beyond the bounds of normalcy, and completely lacks credibility.

There is an old saying, it ain't over until the fat lady sings, and in this case, I know from the fact that she is just starting to warm up.

Feel free to submit your comments!

From Murray Almond: Thursday 20 November

You latest snippet is timely; particularly Harvey’s mention that “They made their name working for some of the country's top estates, and now have their own winery in the Adelaide Hills.”

From today’s Wine Newsfeed: Nepenthe relocates premium winemaking facilities

Australian Vintage Limited (AVL) yesterday announced that as part of its ongoing strategy to grow branded business whilst maintaining efficient production, it plans to relocate the Nepenthe wine production from Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills to the AVL premium Barossa Valley winery.

In making this announcement, Australian Vintage chief executive, Dane Hudson has reiterated the company’s commitment to driving and developing the premium Nepenthe brand but stated “The current economic conditions dictate our need to minimise operational expenditure while maximising quality”.

... And I would presume the McGuigans are relocating too.

From Graeme Gee: Thursday 20 November

There's something for everyone on the label, then. I loved this:
"a wine with a rich, buttery texture and a fabulously rich yet subtle oaky character - much like Grand Cru Chablis.”

That would be Grand Cru Chablis from minerally Kimmeridgian soils, famed for its dry, flinty character, and rarely seeing any oak influence at all?
Right......

From Barossa Grower: Friday 21 November

Regarding Australian Vintage Limited announcements, one could ask if McGuigan moves to the Barossa then what? Will he add “Barossa Valley" to his label and sell Schubert Estate Barossa Valley Shiraz? Why not just call it Max Schubert’s Shiraz? Furthermore the announcement states, “.....Adelaide Hills to the AVL premium Barossa Valley winery.” Premium? Really? Surely the Barossans know better than that?

	Snippet
Sydney Time Copyright © Ric Einstein 2009	It Ain’t Over Till The Fat Lady Sings (20 November) Earlier this year I wrote a Snippet called Corporate Bastardy Lives On which exposed the ratbag practices of Australian Vintage Limited (previously known as McGuigan Simeon). In short, McGuigan Wines had released a Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills in the UK and called it Schubert Estate. The issue here is that Schubert Estate is the name of the winery in the Barossa, and in essence, the McGuigan company had "stolen" the name. Hence the term corporate bastardry. The Snippet had some positive effect. Firstly, the wine was withdrawn from sale by one of the major merchants carrying the wine. Secondly, the description and text on the main websites that described the wine was changed. Sounds like good news? Unfortunately, it's not. The new description reads, "This is a cutting-edge Australian Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills. The relatively cool climate is ideal for producing wines that, while they retain the classic Aussie exuberance, are backed by a crisp acidity and understated oak. Harvey Steiman of Wine Spectator wrote, in a recent article, "Increasingly, the best Chardonnays are homing in on a less oak-driven, more minerally style. Look for bottlings from Margaret River and Adelaide Hills." This wine was made by the McGuigan brothers, Brian and Neil, who are among Australia's most prominent winemakers. They made their name working for some of the country's top estates, and now have their own winery in the Adelaide Hills. Brian cut his teeth working at Penfolds, home to the legendary Grange Shiraz, and chose to name this wine after his first boss (and the creator of Grange) Max Schubert. Schubert Estate is made from the pick of the Chardonnay grapes in the Adelaide Hills, a third of which were fermented in French oak, then matured for seven months on its lees in the same barrels. This portion of the wine was then blended back with the remainder, which had been fermented in stainless steel. This creates a wine with a rich, buttery texture and a fabulously rich yet subtle oaky character - much like Grand Cru Chablis.” I have read some marketing bovine manure in my time, but whoever came up with this rubbish deserves a Trophy for the manufacture of pure, unadulterated bullshit. With due respect to Harvey Steiman, he may know a hell of a lot about wines from other countries, but he is certainly not the world's greatest expert on Australian wines, but I digress. The second paragraph is the one that I love most. It says “this wine was made by McGuigan Brothers, Brian and Neil…. and now have their own winery in the Adelaide Hills.” I can just see it now. Brian and Neil walking around their own few acres wearing Blundstone boots an Dry-As-A-Bone oilskin coats and making decisions on cropping etc, and later directing the pickers, watching the grapes going into the crusher, cranking the basket press by hand, tasting the wine on a continual basis as it develops, and deciding which barrels will go into the final blend. The reality of course is so far removed from this it is laughable. For a start, I have grave doubts about Brian and Neil McGuigan actually owning a winery in the Adelaide Hills at that time.. The company, and remember Brian is only a minority shareholder of Australian Vintage Limited, does own a winery in the Adelaide Hills, but it is not called Schubert Estate, it is actually called Nepenthe. What makes this even more interesting is that this Reserve Chardonnay is from the 2006 vintage, and Australian Vintage Wines did not purchase the Nepenthe winery in the Adelaide Hills until 2007, by which time the wine was already bottled. Brian is now an executive director of Australian Vintage Limited, a publicly listed company, but in 2006 he was the managing director of the organisation, and as such, he probably had as much to do with the making of this wine as Mickey Mouse. As far as Neil’s involvement, in 2006 as I understand it, he was actually in charge of production in the Hunter Valley, so it's unlikely that he had much to do with making this wine either. All wine lovers are aware of the romance surrounding wine, and they are also equally aware that marketing plays a role in selling wine, but when organisations have to resort to is using somebody else's name, which may or may not be legal in these circumstances, but is certainly completely unethical, and then using a gigantic pile of pure, hot excrement, to sell the wine, it goes above and beyond the bounds of normalcy, and completely lacks credibility. There is an old saying, it ain't over until the fat lady sings, and in this case, I know from the fact that she is just starting to warm up. Feel free to submit your comments! From Murray Almond: Thursday 20 November You latest snippet is timely; particularly Harvey’s mention that “They made their name working for some of the country's top estates, and now have their own winery in the Adelaide Hills.” From today’s Wine Newsfeed: Nepenthe relocates premium winemaking facilities Australian Vintage Limited (AVL) yesterday announced that as part of its ongoing strategy to grow branded business whilst maintaining efficient production, it plans to relocate the Nepenthe wine production from Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills to the AVL premium Barossa Valley winery. In making this announcement, Australian Vintage chief executive, Dane Hudson has reiterated the company’s commitment to driving and developing the premium Nepenthe brand but stated “The current economic conditions dictate our need to minimise operational expenditure while maximising quality”. ... And I would presume the McGuigans are relocating too. From Graeme Gee: Thursday 20 November There's something for everyone on the label, then. I loved this: "a wine with a rich, buttery texture and a fabulously rich yet subtle oaky character - much like Grand Cru Chablis.” That would be Grand Cru Chablis from minerally Kimmeridgian soils, famed for its dry, flinty character, and rarely seeing any oak influence at all? Right...... From Barossa Grower: Friday 21 November Regarding Australian Vintage Limited announcements, one could ask if McGuigan moves to the Barossa then what? Will he add “Barossa Valley" to his label and sell Schubert Estate Barossa Valley Shiraz? Why not just call it Max Schubert’s Shiraz? Furthermore the announcement states, “.....Adelaide Hills to the AVL premium Barossa Valley winery.” Premium? Really? Surely the Barossans know better than that? Copyright © Ric Einstein 2008