Book Review: The Australian Wine Annual 2006
 
Given the scope of this story, it is quite apt that I start it with a recent quote from Jeremy Oliver's web site, where he was writing about other wine writers; in closing he said “And remember that wine writers are not magistrates. We always start more arguments than we finish!”
 
Jeremy Oliver tends to polarise wine lovers into two groups; people tend to either love his work, or hate it. I can't think of any other professional wine writer who has such a profoundly polarising effect, and although I originally had had no intention of exploring this aspect when I started up to review this book, the reasons behind the polarisation became an integral part of the review.
 
JO does not set out to be “all things to all men” and doesn't pretend to review and write up every single winery, in say the manner in which Halliday's Wine Companion is put together. The Annual is more focused and concentrates on a small number of selected wineries; it provides scores and drinking windows for many previous vintages of each wine, as well as a tasting note on the current release. Purchasers who are expecting an all-encompassing “tome” will be disappointed, but considering all you have to do is pick up the book to see the scope and coverage, that should not be an issue.
 
One of the major criticisms I hear around the traps is that Oliver does not go out looking for the new and emerging wineries, but after consideration I'm not sure that the claim is either fair or accurate. If I have a look back at the 2001 edition: it is 320 pages and I guess it's no coincidence that the current edition is the same length. I must be getting old; the print appears to be a lot smaller in the current edition than it was five years ago. The reality is a lot more has been jammed into the same space. Five years ago tasting notes were not provided and now they have been cleverly crammed in.
 
A quick look through the two editions show that quite a number of wineries that were in the earlier one have been dropped and there are a loads of new names in the 2006 edition that were not there five years ago. A quick scan of the book shows that every single wine reviewed has a rating and drinking window for a minimum of three vintages. As this looks to be a criteria for publication, by definition it means that there will be some time lag before new and emerging wineries make the book. Based on this criterion, it is unfair to criticise Oliver for not covering the new emerging wineries because he is doing it, but within his own scope and guidelines. In some ways, this makes a lot of sense as “one shot wonders and the flash–in-the-pan merchants” will not be coming and going with every edition.
 
There are approximately 10,000 wines rated and by my calculation, tasting notes on approximately 1250 wines. To put this in perspective, the highly acclaimed 1998 edition of James Halliday's Wine Companion boasted “tasting notes for over a thousand Australian and New Zealand wines” and I bet not too many people criticised that book for being short on tasting notes. If my memory serves me correctly, even the optional CDs that came with that edition, containing all of Halliday's previously catalogued tasting notes, only contained 3,000 tasting notes; (something which I found immensely useful at the time.) The next edition contained an increase of about 1000 tasting notes.
 
On page 8 of the Oliver book, there is a heading “Why I don't print meaningless wine prices” and the next paragraph justifies his position by not stating a recommended retail price and finishes up with the comment, "I see little value providing worthless information.” In the book, each wine is given a price range, and despite the fact that Jeremy feels that providing worthless information is pointless, that's exactly what his price range achieves; it's worthless. Just one of numerous examples, the Balnaves Cabernet Merlot is listed as having a range of $30-$49; I am sure Doug would love to be able to get more than the $24 a bottle they are charging for this wine at cellar door. In theory, the price range is meant to cover the older wines as well, but all that does is to confuse the issue. It would make much more sense if Jeremy printed the wineries recommended retail for the current release or the current release street price range.
 
One section of the book that is bound to get a lot of attention is the “Best Australian Wines under $20” page. All the wines listed are 90 points or above. As you would expect, there are more whites than reds in this segment; nevertheless, there are three Cabernet Sauvignons, twelve Shiraz and six other reds listed.
 
The next few pages are devoted to future trends in Australian wine. It covers the increasing popularity of Sauvignon Blanc and blends as well as the "tiny tremors" that may indicate a revival of Cabernet Sauvignons’ popularity. One of the most important parts of this book occupies the next three quarters of the page and deals with “stressed grape” syndrome. Amongst other things, it details the issues that result with Australian viticulturalists who are not doing their job properly; specifically highlighted are those leaving grapes on the vine until they start to shrivel.
 
Jeremy states, "of more concern is the apparent widespread adoption amongst Australian viticulturalists of an American grape growing philosophy: the grapes need to be left out on the vines past normal harvest time to develop some shrivelled characteristics, which relate to the development in the fruit of flavours resembling prune currants and raisins.” He then later goes on to say "… when sugar levels are too low, the only hope for growers is that sugars will gradually accumulate through the shrivelling of the grapes…. Furthermore, when this happens the berries still retain green, under-ripe flavours as well as green seeds, which typically impart herbaceous, celery seed flavours to wines."
 
The next section will also cause some controversy; it is Jeremy's list of sixteen wines that rate as "Australia's perfect 1s1s.” Nine out of the sixteen wines listed have not changed since the 2001 edition. Petaluma Coonawarra has been dropped from last year's list and it has been replaced by Seppelt St Peters Shiraz. Jeremy's wine of the year was the Leeuwin Estate 2002 Arts Series Chardonnay at 97 points. The Penfold 2004 Bin 60 A Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz received 98 points, as did the Seppelt's 2002 St Peters Shiraz. (To qualify as a Wine of the Year, it must be commercially available at or around the time of publication so whilst the Bin 60 A is not available yet, the St Peter's had been released and sold out at retail.)
 
Critiquing wine can be a controversial and at times, almost explosive business. Jeremy was roundly criticised and given a “right bagging” by many wine lovers when he rated the 1998 Mt Edelstone at 88 points. “It can’t be so,” they all screamed! As it turned out, he was on the money and called it before anybody else. Likewise, Jeremy reviewed the Mount Langi 2002 Shiraz prior to its withdrawal and was spot-on with his pronouncement of Brett. At the other end of the scale, most wine lovers I know loved the Wirra Wirra 2002 RSW Shiraz yet Jeremy rated at 87 points and thought it showed “staleness and flatness.” Is he dead wrong about this one (and a number of other examples that any serious wine lover could mention when they disagree with a critic)? The answer is simple; I did not try the same bottle of wine that he tried, and unfortunately bottle variation is a fact of life. A wine critic or wine judge can only comment on the wine that is in front of them. As long as bottle variation remains an issue, these variations in opinions from respected critics will continue.
 
Whilst on the subject of points, one of the criticisms that you frequently hear about Oliver is that he has an elegant palate and doesn't like big wines. You hear the reverse about Parker with his supposed love for in-your-face fruit-bombs. Take a look at the following table and make up your own mind.
 
 

 
The next section, which I found absolutely fascinating reading, was the 2005 Vintage Report. Once again, Jeremy pulls no punches and tells it like it is, but in reality, he goes a lot further. Besides talking about the weather during vintage, Jeremy patiently and in detail explains the effect of these conditions, not only on the grapes, but the effect right through the process from picking to finished product. The $25.95 flag fall for the book is just about covered by the value gained from his comments on ”Stressed Grapes” and the “Vintage Report.” That might sound like a big statement to make, but in many ways it illustrates what Jeremy is all about, and is a perfect example of the technical understanding that underpins his knowledge as a wine critic.
 
For example, he states, "While some of the later fruit will ultimately have accumulated enough sugar, it is likely to be deficient in flavour and excessive in acid.” Prior to reading this and knowing the reason, I had noted that some of the wines that I have tried from the last few vintages seemed to have noticeably excessive acidity.
 
One criticism I have of a number of wine critics is "bracket creep” in relation to their scores. Some wine writers seem to be far too generous with their point allocations. The same thing cannot be said for Oliver. A very healthy proportion of the wines rated are in the 80s, and there are even some ratings as low as 77.
 
Upon reading the tasting notes, one word that is used very frequently is “herbal.” The use of this word so frequently is no accident, nor is it laziness on behalf of the author. It gets back to problems with viticulture, something which Jeremy outlines in a couple of sections in the introduction to the book. When you read a lot of wine writers tasting notes, a number of them are big on the bouquet descriptors; have excellent word-smithing abilities and make their prose seem like a work of art. Oliver's tasting notes are very different. As a wine critic, although each person has their own unique and personal tastes, a competent judge should be able to put personal preferences aside and judge against a perceived standard. It should not be about “I like this wine because I like the style” it should be “this wine is good because it is (technically)….”
 
After looking at thousands of Oliver's tasting notes over the years, one thing is becoming blindingly apparent. The guy has a phenomenal palate and the ability to judge wine from a technical perspective that few other wine writers in Australia can match.
 
It is also probably apt that in closing I also use a quote from Jeremy, this one from a recent e-mail exchange with him were he said “The great lesson for me is how large numbers of the experienced wine-drinking public have absolutely no concept of what is and what is not a technically sound wine.”  And therein lies much of the reason for the controversy; there is a world of difference between the reasons why you may like or dislike a wine and its technical soundness; Oliver is critiquing from a highly technical perspective, something that many people don’t or can’t understand. That’s not a criticism or either Oliver or the people that don’t like his work, it’s just a fact of life, in the same way as we all have different tastes. Love his work or hate it; the guy is technically bloody good.