TORB’s Trek - The 2004 Victorian Tour Diary Chapter Six Chapter Five can be found here

Day Seven: Wednesday Rutherglen

Yesterday I finished off with a wonderful experience at All Saints trying all their fortified wines so what better way to continue my quest on all things fortified than to start the day than a 9.00 am appointment with Andrew Buller at the R.L Buller and Son Winery. In its own unique way, this visit turned out to be just as special with barrel sample tasting of much of the aged material - what a way to go!

This is a family property that has been around for decades and I have always enjoyed both their big reds and their fortified wines so I was looking forward to the visit. The1991 Calliope Shiraz for example came in at 16 percent, was not hot, and was still drinking well a year ago when I had my last bottle. The 1996 is a similar beast and drinking superbly now. Their Rare Tokay and Muscat are both a virtual trip to heaven and very reasonably priced. If I ever feel like a bottle of sheer indulgence, after a good dinner with family or friends, it’s the Rare Tokay.

Although I had met Andrew briefly at Wine Australia in 2002, he appeared to be shy when I first arrived. First off, he wanted to head off into the vines which didn’t seem like a good plan as once you have seen a few vines you have seem them all but naturally I followed my host. As we got to the vines, Andrew was prattling on and then he said something interesting and I asked if I could tape the conversation. His face lit up as he realised this was not going to be a waste of his time and that I valued what he had to say. It was like watching a rose bud open in front of my eyes as his speech blossomed forth and continued to do so for the next four hours. What an incredible experience it turned out to be and it is my pleasure to present a picture of the experience.

I asked Andrew what was the secret to the success of Buller’s fortified wines.

Andrew under the vines ……………..

“Some companies like ours have the historical good fortune of having wines from a previous era that have been made by our fathers and grandfathers. More often than not, in these situations, there is a philosophy that flows through the generations, and each generation has a keenness or a love of fortified wines.

You have to be practical too, wine is a financial institution, you make wine, you sell wine, you have to make a profit, and that allows you to do the things you want to do. Every now and again you see a particular vintage that you think is worthy of hanging onto, but its like land or shares, you have to ask yourself how is it going to repay you in the future. With fortified wine, it transcends actually making profit; it allows you to do something in the future that you cannot do in the present. Your parents and grandparents have set aside stock that they perceive can be used in the future for a better purpose than they can at the time, and that’s where the strength lies.

However, at the end of the day the bank manager is the one that tells you how to run your business. If your business is short on cash flow but strong on stock, the bank manager will tell you that the days of holding stock are over, and you need to turn your stock into cash. Most small wineries face that problem every day of the week. We make the fortified wines because its something we love to do but the rest of business has to support it.”

We then proceeded to have a long conversation about viticulture and, like most good winemakers, Andrew believes you can’t make great wines from high yield vineyards. He also understands the need for the vineyard to return a profit on the investment but believes that many companies have it the wrong way round.

“Profit should never come in the way of trying to make quality. You make your quality and based on the success of that quality, you can sell it for a price that pays you for your investment. If small crops are a part of that quality then so be it.”  

“I am tired of hearing the word elegant. I am tired of hearing words that mean you have lighter structured wines. Some are saying ‘it’s the new style’; it’s not being driven by the wine judges, it’s not being driven by people’s popular choice in drinking. It is being driven by trying to find some refinement in the production process so that smaller wineries can compete with the bigger companies.

Five companies run over 90% of the business and those companies have the ‘ins’ with the major retail chains. The rest of us are just a bit of garnish on the side, like a bit of parsley. Some of the ‘garnish’ or side players are doing incredibly well and we have won high acclaim overseas. It’s a see-saw thing, if you don’t have the larger companies you don’t have the critical mass to win recognition overseas. You desperately need the large companies to bring about change, to pay for research and all the things the smaller players can’t look at. The big guys are necessary and we are like the birds that go along the backs of buffalos and take off their ticks. They do the work, we provide a service and if we can live in harmony we are both happy.”

Andrew then went on to talk about the history of the winery and of the region. His comments were fascinating.

“The vineyard we were standing in was planed in 1921 and it’s a time capsule of the wines that were popular in that era. The Muscats and Sherries of that era were the Chardonnays and Shiraz of today. The varieties in that vineyard remain the same today as they were in 1921.

Before the turn of the 19th century, Rutherglen was the major viticultural area of Australia. After phylloxera went through Australia in 1890’s it was in Rutherglen that a research station was established. A prominent Frenchman was intimately involved in the process and at one stage; he went back to France and the US to do further research. When he returned to Australia as he had recognised Rutherglen as a warm region, he introduced Rhone varieties (other than Shiraz, which was already here). When the Durif variety arrived, it was supposed to be a straight clonal selection but it included Mondeuse and Plusuer (spelling?) and that’s one of the reasons we have Mondeuse in this vineyard. It’s all dry grown because we just don’t have any water although those closer to the Murray River were pumping, like All Saints for example. Normal rainfall is 23 -24 inches and the last two years (2002 and 2003 were very harsh ones) but this vineyard has never had a drop of water put on it. Having said that, in this new block of three-year-old Tokay, we have put in dripper lines for those vines. The water comes from our dams but as soon as the vines are established, the dripper lines will be ripped out and they will be left to their own resources.

             .The Grapes from Old Vines

These bunches of Muscadel grapes will be left here until very late in the hope that through natural ripening, and then a little dehydration, the wonderful sweet nectar that we call Tokay will be produced. In normal years if the juice is half way reasonable, once it goes through fortification it goes into bulk storage. Depending on its quality, it can be used as young Tokay in a blend or if its got more staying power, it will go into barrels for five or six years and come out as a Fine Old Tokay. If it’s wonderful it will stay in small barrels and we can use it later to pep up the Fine Old. Otherwise, as the years go by, they slowly moulder and turn into the lovely old rancio wines we have come to expect from Rutherglen.

The soils here are very heavy clay. Its sticks to your boots in winter and hangs onto water like there is no tomorrow so its pretty good soil for our climatic conditions as far as the grapes are concerned.“

As we went for a walk around the property I asked Andrew about the age of the material in the four classified Rutherglen wines and he had this to say.

“There is not much that goes back before the 1940’s. During the war, there was not so much prohibition as wine could be bought and sold, but it was very difficult to do. You needed approvals to sell alcohol during the Second World War and a lot of the original stock came from these years. Prior to 1963, Bullers did not sell a single bottle of wine under their own label. We used to sell the wine to merchants like Seabrooks. They would come and buy bulk wine from individual wineries, make their own blends and then sell it. They owned the sales end of things. We would go out and tend our vines, harvest the grapes and make the bulk wine. A couple of months after vintage our winery would be empty. It was only in the mid 60’s that we started bottling under own label and there were only two reasons we would have wine left over. Either it was a very poor year or something would happen that would the increase of stocks. During the war years, there was a five-year period when we were making wine but had an inability to do anything with it because of the rules and regulations during that period.

It also needs to be understood, at that time, there were only about thirty wineries in Victoria. It also needs to be remembered, that in the war years, fortified wines represented the majority of wine produced. In the 1960’s there were only about ten wineries in the Rutherglen area. Even in 1978, there were only about seventy in Victoria, which is a far cry from the many hundreds there are today. It now amuses me that every man and his dog have four or five generations of winemakers in their families.”

Ye ole winery – the rest of the area is mainly used as fortified storage..

At that point, we met the matriarch of the Buller family. Mrs Buller was out for her morning stroll around the vineyards with her trusty Miniature Dachshund. What a bright and spritely lady she turned out to be, bubbly, full of zest, energy and life. I am also willing to bet she is nobody’s fool and probably doesn’t tolerate fools easily. She asked Andrew about watering her garden, a subject which is close to her heart and which apparently is causing problems in the old winery. The watering of the garden has caused the water level to rise under the old winery where all the fortified barrels of wine are stored. (The new winery is in their other location, Bedford.)

Part of the estate is dedicated as a wildlife reserve for injured native animals. Andrew explained how this came about.

“In 1920 when mum was a young lass they were miles from a small town and it was big deal to go shopping. You either grew your own food or rode a horse into town to get it. The farm had to be self-sufficient. There were mulberry trees, plum trees, indeed a veritable orchard as well as cows for milk, chickens for eggs and other assorted animals.

……….. The Below Ground Cellar under the CD

In the 1970’s mum and dad built the first cellar door in the district dedicated to wine sales. They built a below ground cellar and put a retail outlet on the top. People used to come and buy their bulk wine. From there it went to single bottle sales and they had the first single bottle license in the district. Prior to that, everyone had a flagon license. There was no real tourism in the area as such in those days but mums and dads would come in and try the wine. They often had children with them and the kids would kick a ball in the street, the semi trailer drivers would try to run them over, the kids would throw stones on the roof and they would be into all sorts of mischief because they were bored. Mum hit on the idea of putting in a small bird park to create a diversion for the children. The visiting mums and dads could have ten minutes of peace and harmony to try the wine and the kids would have something to do.    

In the 70’s around the time the birds were introduced, there was a restaurant in town called the Shamrock that was looking for game birds for the menu. Mum decided that we could provide them so we had quail, guinea fowl, pheasant and others, but when it came time to dress them for the table mum decided she couldn’t do it so they became pets.”

Over the decades, much of the orchard gave way as the aviary space increased and now we have a large holding of exotic native pet birds as well a home for the injured animals that WIRES and the local rangers bring in for care. It really is worth seeing. There are Brush Turkeys, Superbs, Electus, Regents, King Parrots, Neophemas, Raptors, Kangaroos and all sorts of other critters.

In many wineries you see strange things, so when you come across the unusual during a winery tour it’s to be expected, but I must admit, I have never seen a landlocked cement mixer sans truck in a winery, until now. In 1975, in a scrap yard they found a junked cement mixer drum that was very dirty but in otherwise good nick. It was transported back to the winery, cleaned up and it is now their rotary fermenter, which is powered by a rotating head forklift. Another new winery experience was the guided tour of the inside! Sheesh, what one gets up to on these winery tours!

Speaking of which, can you imagine walking into a huge old winery building that is now nothing more than a barrel room that is completely filled, right up to the rafters, in this case literally, with barrels of all shapes and sizes that are filled with liquid nectar, the fruit of the gods; fortified liqueur Muscat and Tokay. Wine of all ages, from the youngest wine that was made last year to stuff that is almost 100 years old. Some of it blended solero product and much of it still as single wines that are still to be blended. The characteristic of each unblended barrel is unique and as individual as each persons fingerprint. The quality of the blended material ranges from damn good to sublime.

It was my task to taste my way through countless samples of these wine as Andrew played mountain goat and monkey, scurrying up ladders and climbing all over the tops of barrels. As a side issue, having employees working in these situations in Victoria is now very problematical from an occupational heath and safety aspect. If an employee is two metres above the ground they have to wear a harness, something that’s virtually impossible to set up in an old winery like this one so Andrew has to do it all himself.

It’s amazing how each of the different unblended barrels have its own unique character and how vastly different they can be. The spectrum of flavours can go from intense coffee essence through liquorice and even into citrus flavours. Some of the old stock can be one dimensional and uninteresting but its strength is its unique flavour and rancio characters. Once blended, the sum of the whole is indeed much greater than that of the individual parts. Once a year a batch of wine is drawn off and bottled. To take its place, additional stock is selected and is added to the solero system. There they will age further and await their turn to be bottled and so the system goes on.

There are some interesting little tricks used. For example, some stock is intentionally held below the rafters where it pretty warm in summer, not something that you would do with normal wine.

A 1972 single unblended Muscat – wonderful colour and flavour ….

Each barrel is labelled in chalk but Andrew knows the characteristics of each wine as well as any parent know the traits of their children. He knows exactly what we are likely to taste before the bung comes out the hole. Its an amazing experience, some of the wines are good enough to drink unblended but some of them simply will never be much and will go into the lesser blends. Then we tried the Rare wines that have already been blended but not bottled. Even here, it’s possible to see the unique characters of the wines. How the winemakers maintain the consistency of flavour year in and year out defies understanding. Its more complex (bad pun intended) than a Rubik Cube.

Now onto some tasting notes of the Buller reds.

Buller 1999 Limited Blend sells for $22 at CD and is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Sweet fresh strawberry and rose perfume on the nose translates to a palate of sweet and savoury red berry profile fruit. The wine is almost lean in weight with a soft, fleshy consistency, almost seamless structure and agreeable complexity. A well made clean wine that will appeal to non-red wine drinkers. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

Buller 2000 Limited Rutherglen Shiraz sells for $19 at CD. An interesting flavour profile with a very sweet base layer of strawberry fruit with a reasonable level of savoury fruit on top but it finishes short. Ample in weight, the consistency is supple with and the complexity agreeable. It’s a well made, clean wine which is easy drinking now but boring. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Buller 2002 Mondeuse sells for $25 at CD but it’s sold out; I am not surprised! The 16% alcohol lifts the nose. The deep obvious fruit delivers strawberry and milk chocolate, the mid palate is creamy, it’s just great. Copious drying dusty tannins provided a firm consistency and solid structure for the ample weight body that has a diverse complexity of flavour. An unusual wine, its rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value and the rating should improve as the wine matures around 2008+.

Buller 2002 Calliope Shiraz sells for $29 at CD and will be released in April. Almost black in colour, this is full-bodied wine, in fact huge, but retains some elegance. The abundant, dusty, drying tannins are almost creamy and considering there is less than one third new oak they are mainly from the fruit. The fruit is pure, deep and strong delivering rich, ripe liquorice, chocolate and raisin like characters, which finish with good length, a pleasant mouth feel and great persistence. A clean, well-made wine, with a big solid structure there is no denying there is some alcohol heat but it’s not over the top. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, the rating may improve as the wine matures around 2009, this one will go into my cellar; it is reminiscent of the 91 and 96 vintages. 

Buller 2002 Calliope Durif sells for $29 at CD and will be released in April. Also black in colour the nose of this wine is totally nosed. Pure, strong, concentrated, persistent fruit delivers liquorice, dark chocolate, tar and meaty flavours. The copious drying dusty tannins have an almost creamy mouth feel and once again, this huge wine is tight but shows some elegance and a well-developed complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, the rating may improve as the wine matures around 2010.

Buller 1996 Calliope Shiraz was opened for comparison purposes but it is a wine that I am familiar with as I bought a dozen on release. Interestingly enough, they came in two six-pack boxes with different labels. The wine still has loads of drying, smooth tannins and the concentrated fruit is strong and pure which delivers ripe chocolate mouse, raspberry, and chewy liquorice that finishes with grand persistence. No surprise to find it’s a full-bodied wine with a well developed complexity and generally yummo!  Rated as Excellent with **** for value. 

Buller 2002 Indigo Valley Pinot sells for $20 at CD. Sweet raspberry, milk chocolate, some gamey characters (but not feral) that finishes with acceptable length. Medium in weight, the wine is a bit bigger than most Pinots but a little clumsy. Complexity is agreeable and its OK for the price but not to my taste. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value, others will probably rate it higher.    

Buller Museum Calliope Tokay sells for $60 at CD for a 375 ml bottle. I could smell this wines bouquet as it was poured from about four metres away! This wine is has a syrupy and luscious sweetness, the fruit is intense and unctuous; there is nothing sedate about it. It’s full-bodied and has a viscous motor oil consistency. The elaborate flavour complexity of rancio characters, butterscotch, honey and marmalade finishes with a powerful lingering finish. Rated as the Ultimate with **** for value, this wine has real wow factor, it’s so good I’m surprised its still legal. 

Is that a cheque on the barrel? ………………

During our conversations, Andrew mentioned the bank manager on more occasions than I could possibly count. It’s obvious that things are tough for all players in the industry at the moment. During the good times, the banks came and asked how much money people wanted to borrow so they could expand. Now things are not as good, the dreaded bank manger comes in, revalues the stock and assets downwards and then wants to know how and when the overdraft will be reduced. Andrew tells a lovely story. “The bank manger came in and we said we needed “x” dollars. The bank manager asked to go for a walk in the winery. He pointed to a particular large barrel of fortified wine and asked how much it was worth, and we told him. The bank manager told us to write out a cheque for that amount and stick it on the barrel. He then said, when the wine was sold, you could cash it!”

Clearly, the dictates of the market conditions are being made much tougher by the banks and taking their toll on the wineries.

We also talked about the number of wineries in the region that have been going for generations that have made one bad investment decision, which has brought about their downfall. In some cases, when the wineries have changed hands, from a wine lovers perspective they results have not been positive. Then of course, there is the continuing trend of consolidation and takeovers which in many cases, results in the loss of winemaking talent. So what does this all mean?

… The Oldest Single Unblended Wine – over 80 years old

At the start of the previous chapter, there is a section headed Rutherglen Fortified Wines in which I say, “The amount of commitment that a winery must have to make these rare wines is massive. The capital cost tied up in inventory is huge and the amount of time involved in making the wine is substantial. In most cases, the return is also not great and in many ways, this money could be utilised much more efficiently and profitably in other parts of the business. However, there are a few dedicated individuals who realise the importance of the heritage, which has been entrusted to them, this wine, truly is a piece of history and one that cannot be replicated over night.”

When you take into account the pressure on all wineries in todays economic climate, the dedication to continue making these old fortified wines is most impressive. Lovers of these fine old wines should be eternally grateful and realise the incredible commitment by the wineries every time they raise a glass of the nectar to their lips.

Well over three hours were spent at Buller with Andrew and it was a real education and most pleasurable experience. Another great highlight of the trip.

On to a fairly new winery (established in 1991) that has received much positive press on the wine forums with their value for money offerings, Warrabilla Wines is located 18 kilometres west of Rutherglen. Andrew Sutherland Smith is a 5^th generation winemaker and his family owned All Saints until 1988. They have a range of wines priced on three levels, the entry level Brimin Series, the Reserve Range and the top of the line Parola. They have two vineyards but also source fruit from all over northeastern Victoria. The wines are reputed to be huge, unfiltered and made in the traditional manner with some of them coming in at 17 percent.

Warrabilla 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $22 at CD. Copious quantities of drying, dusty tannins need time to settle and allow the savoury fruit to emerge. Some of the tannins are obviously oak derived and it’s hard to tell what is going on with this wine at the moment. The fruit may be light for the structure but only time will tell. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Warrabilla 2002 Reserve Shiraz/Durif sells for $22 at CD and is a 60/40% blend. A lovely, perfumed, fruity nose leads to a palate of spice, black pepper, wild berry and plum flavours. Ample in weight, the abundant, dusty tannins provide a firm backbone, the fresh acid is well judged, and the obvious medium intensity fruit has a well-developed complexity. The wine need a few years for the tannins to settle and the fruit to surface; rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Warrabilla 2002 Reserve Shiraz sells for $22 at CD. A clean and inviting perfumed plummy bouquet leads to intensely savoury red plum and red cherry flavours that finish with reasonable power. Like all the rest of these wines, the tannins are dusty and drying, and the distinct persistent fruit should be up to the task. Muscular in weight, the structure is rock solid with an agreeable level of complexity. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, it’s a good honest big wine.

Warrabilla 2002 Parola’s Shiraz sells for $30 at CD. No heat despite the 16.5% alcohol. A well balanced and well made, clean wine, with truck loads of drying tannin and deep pure persistent fruit that delivers blackberry/plum spectrum fruit, red berry, blackcurrant and chocolate. Full-bodied, it’s still very tight and needs about six years for the fruit to emerge from under the tannin. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.

Warrabilla 2002 Reserve Durif sells for $22 at CD. Bright dark purple in colour, it has an impenetrable hue. The bouquet is scented with an attractive floral soap, spice, black fruit and liquorice. Despite its 17% alcohol there is no heat to the wine. The drying tannins slams the tongue with numbing force but the strong, deep, pure fruit that delivers black cherry, loads of chocolate, liquorice and pepper that finishes with persistence is up to the task. A full-bodied wine with loads of everything, it’s a knock out in more ways than one! Give it till 2009+, it’s currently rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, the rating should improve as the wine matures. 

The next winery on the list was Campbells. The Liquid Gold Classic Tokay has long been a favourite of mine, and this winery is another of those that has an excellent reputation for high quality fortified wines. One of the original wineries in the district, it had its first vintage in 1870 and today, the fifth generation is working in the business and it is still owned by the same family. Grapes come from the 160 acres of their own vineyards. The style of red wines produced is certainly more in the “elegant” or lighter range than many other Rutherglen makers.

From my cellar – one wine, same vintage different labels! …

Campbells 2000 Malbec sells for $19 at CD. An intense, floral, strawberry bouquet comes across the palate as savoury red fruit and milk chocolate. Tannins are minimal but there, the acid fresh and the fruit delicate but pure. A lean wine, the structure is elegant and the complexity simple. Well made but very light, not much more than a Rose and not worth a second glance by those that like them big. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

Campbells 2001 Limited Release Cabernets sells for $20.80 and is unique to CD. A Ruby Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Lots of chewy drying tannins and delicate fruit produce a medium-bodied wine with a firm consistency and agreeable complexity. Flavours of blackberry, spice, chocolate and liquorice combine to form a wine that is not typical of a Cabernet Sauvignon. It will need till about 2007 for the tannins to integrate and the wine has not been rated, as I know nothing about Ruby Cabernet except that if this is typical I won’t go out of my way to try it again. ** for value.

Campbells 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $15.80 at CD. A lighter style of wine with a floral nose; it shows ripe very savoury pure fruit and spice, which finishes with reasonable persistence. Tannins are unobtrusive and the acid fresh; it is a very clean, elegant, lean wine. OK for those that like light reds, it’s rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Campbells 2001 Bobbie Burns Shiraz sells for $18.80 at CD. With enough tannin to hold the wine together, the acid is crisp and lively whilst the delicate fruit delivers coffee essence, blackberry and aniseed which finishes with reasonable persistence. Just medium in weight, the complexity is agreeable and this is a lighter style of wine that would be OK with food. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, it will be best over the next few years.

Campbells 2001 The Barkly Durif sells for $39 at CD. Violet in colour, this looks like its going to be a lighter style of wine but there is a fair wack of vanilla oak on the bouquet. Acid is lively, the tannins are noticeable, chewy and drying; the fruit is pure deep and delivers persistent chocolate, blackberry, pepper and liquorice flavours. Despite its ample weight (from the tannins), it is still a lighter style of wine. Well made in an ultra clean style, the complexity is harmonious; the structure is rock solid and the wine will need about 5+ years to peak. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value.

Campbells 1990 Rutherglen Shiraz is available as a museum release and sells for $33.90 at CD. Coffee oak and stewed plums on the nose come across the palate as earthy aged characters, plum, blackberry, chocolate and liquorice, which finishes very respectably. In fact, the wine is more-ish and begs to be swallowed! Muscular in weight, it has a well-developed complexity with chewy fine tannins and distinct, deep fruit that is persistent. A nice drinking wine, it shows how well these wines develop and this one should last another five years. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.  

All the red wines were very consistent in style and those that appreciate lighter weight reds will enjoy them. The quality is also there but after 130 years, they can’t get that right, there would be a real problem. Now it was time to get into the good stuff! There was little point in trying the Liquid Gold Classic Tokay and Muscat, as I know those wines well but the CD staffer offered to let me try three wines that are ranked above the Gold Tops; another real treat! The Gold Tops were poured for comparison purposes but I did not make TN’s on them.

The first wine has not been released, has no name, is still to be priced, but it is anticipated it will be around the $70 mark for a 375ml bottle. For the purposes of this TN, it has been called Campbell Grand Muscat. The bouquet has lovely rancio characters, toffee and Christmas pudding characters. The sweetness is luscious and ripe, the fruit rich and the acid refreshing, which goes up to make up a muscular weight wine with a long fresh finish. Palate flavours are well developed with raisin, Christmas pudding, rancio and burnt caramel. Rated as Excellent with ** for value. 

Campbell Merchant Prince Muscat sells for $94 at CD for a 375 ml bottle. Dark brown in colour, if only all Muscat smelt this good; loads of rancio characters, coffee, apricot and dusty, like an old library book. Deep, strong fruit is luscious and syrupy and the acid refreshing so it is no surprise that the finish is clean, deep, intense and very long. Palate flavours are elaborate with wonderful sweet raisins, fruitcake and best off all abundant rancio. A wonderful wine, the sort you just want to sip all night and I must admit, I didn’t spit it all! Rated as Outstanding with *** for value.

Campbell Isabella Tokay sells for $94 at CD for a 375 ml bottle and has components that average 60-70 years of age. Excellent rancio characters and coffee makes this the sort of wine I want to sniff all day. Forget about the other wineries I need to visit, I want to stay here! Strong, concentrated, fruit that is ripe and luscious with just enough acid combine to form a full-bodied wine with great length and persistence. It has a concentrated intensity with an elaborate complexity of rancio, coffee, honey and liquorice characters. Another wonderful wine, rated as Outstanding with *** for value, its getting close to an Ultimate rating.

Admittedly, I have not tried a huge number of Stanton and Killeen wines because basically I have never had any that impressed me very much but I walked into their cellar door with a completely open mind. The visit started well with an affectionate greeting from a very well behaved, resident pussycat that has its own and exalted spot on the counter.

Stanton and Killeen 2000 Moodemere Shiraz sells for $20 at CD. Sweet perfumed red fruit with savoury aspects below and coffee are replicated on the palate but the finish is sappy. Smooth tannins are sufficient to provide enough backbone to age the wine for a while, the acid is lively and the fruit obvious but medium. Complexity is agreeable but the wine does not hold much interest. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Stanton and Killeen 2002 Shiraz Durif sells for $17 at CD. White pepper, red cherry and milk chocolate finish with reasonable persistence. Tannins are smooth, the acid is sharp, almost tart and the fruit medium weight. Time is needed for the acid to soften, it’s rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

Stanton and Killeen Classic Tokay sells for $25 for a 500 ml bottle at CD. Light gold in colour, the aroma shows some rancio characters, apricot, a little fruitcake and a lot of honey. The palate shows some complexity with apricot and coffee. It’s a very sweet wine with crisp acid and made in a lighter style. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.  

At this point I started to leave and the CD manager suggested that I try the blend as “it was the best red wine they available for tasting” so I acquiesced and tried a glass and yes it was the best red I tasted there but that in many ways that was damning praise.

Stanton and Killeen 2002 Blend sells for $22 at CD and is a blend of Cabernet Franc (40%), Merlot (40%) and Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose was closed, the fruit buried but there was signs of dusty, coffee essence oak. The wine has an interesting savoury profile of red and blue spectrum fruit that finishes with good persistence and intensity. It should also get better with age. Smooth drying tannins, lively acid and distinct fruit combine to form an ample weight wine with a firm consistency, solid structure and well-developed complexity. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

I was then talked into trying the Vintage Port and that turned out to be the best wine of the lot.

Stanton and Killeen 1998 Vintage Port sells for $22 for a 375 ml bottle at CD, the full bottles are sold out. The wine uses the usual Spanish varieties as its grape source, something that is unusual in Australian VP. The wine has very savoury characters with blackcurrant, chocolate and tar that finishes long. Built for the long haul, it is a refined style, ample in weight (for a VP) and not at all heavy or cloying. Rated as Excellent with *** for value, the rating should improve as the wine matures.

James Halliday on Winepros has this to say about the winery. “Chris Killeen has skilfully expanded the portfolio of Stanton & Killeen but without in any way compromising its reputation as a traditional maker of smooth, rich reds, some of Australia's best Vintage Ports, and attractive, fruity Muscats and Tokays. All in all, deserves far greater recognition.”

This winery has a big reputation but based on what I tried, I cannot see why. Even the one sticky was just average in comparison to much of the competition. It takes more than a great Vintage Port to make a great winery. Maybe I struck a bad days showing, it has happened before. Summerfield was an example so I will try them again in the future.

The final winery of the day was another long time winery from this region. St Leonards had grapes planted in 1860. In 1919 St Leonards sold for the second time. The new owners were a syndicate of local vignerons, including Will Chambers.  The winery remained busy, processing all of the grapes from Seppelts Rutherglen Vineyards between 1924 and 1928, while Seppelts rebuilt their Clydesdale Cellars.  This tremendous activity declined with the onset of the depression of the 1930’s and World War II. Things got even worse after the war and in 1964 after 90 years of continuous winemaking, St Leonards stopped production. All bar 10ha of vines were pulled out as the rest of the property was used for grazing.  In 1973 it changed hands again and the replanting of vines began. At the advice of Mick Morris, who had experimented with Orange Muscat to gauge the potential for the area, some of this obscure variety was planted. Today this is one of St Leonard’s most popular wines.

All wine bottled under the St Leonards label are 100% estate grown.  Today Peter Brown, who now owns All Saints, also owns St Leonards. Like All Saints, St Leonards also has a wine club and selling most of its production through the club. Club members get 20% off the prices I have quoted and the value rating is based on the reduced price. Richard, the very helpful cellar door manager looked after me.

The one problem with this winery is basically it’s a tin shed and it was hot with no air conditioning. They are both serving and selling wine from storage that is inadequate in summer. Another winery that should know better!

St Leonards 2001 Cabernet Franc sells for $24 at CD and has 10% Merlot in the blend. The bouquet shows loads of dusty oak with light sweet and spicy fruit below that flows through to the palate as expected. Smooth drying tannins and pure fruit combine to form a wine that is just medium weight with a layered structure. A well built lighter style of red that has good power and holds some interest. It would be a good pasta wine and is rated as Recommended with *** for value. It should be at its best in year or so.

St Leonards 2001 Cabernet Shiraz sells for $22 at CD. The wine has a sweet and sour flavour profile with blackberry fruit and chocolate. There are sufficient dusty tannins to hold it together and the fruit is medium in all respects. The consistency is fleshy and a soft, the structure solid and layered. Add to that, an agreeable complexity and you have an easy drinking drop. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

St Leonards 2002 Shiraz sells for $24.50 at CD. The bouquet shows nice fruit with rich pepper and plum. The pure, obvious fruit delivers ripe, intense plum, chocolate and blackberry fruit with enough acid and savoury pepper to cut through the sweetness. Ample in weight, the dusty powdery tannins back a solid structure and the wine finishes harmoniously with good persistence. Approachable now, the wine will improve in the short term and is rated as Recommended with *** for value. Worth buying at 20% off if you are a club member. 

St Leonards 1997 Wahgunyah Shiraz sells for $56 at CD. This wine is their flagship and has been produced mainly from vines that are about 80 years old. The open wine had oxidised in the heat so a fresh bottle was opened. There was a fair amount of bottle stink. It took a lot of swirling and shaking to get it to blow off quickly and then the wine showed some good pure fruit, char, blackberry, raspberry and coffee which reproduced itself faithfully on the palate. The fruit is pure, the abundant tannins powdery and the acid amazingly fresh; in fact the wine seemed like it was still years from its peak but that may have been because it was freshly opened. The structure is solid, the weight ample, the complexity has some refinement and the structure shows elegance. It’s a good wine and rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value. At that price even with 20% off, it is little wonder they still have the 97 in stock.

It was closing time and I had let another CD hit me in the backside as I walked out so it was back to the motel and then on to my last dinner in Rutherglen. I had three possible alternatives for dinner. As I walked past the Shamrock the menu in the window looked good and they had a bottle of wine I would have been happy to order at a reasonable mark. To be safe, I went and checked out the window menus of the other two alternatives and went back to the Shamrock. Sat down and ordered said bottle of wine to be informed it was out of stock. There was nothing else that greatly appealed, so I left my book on the table and headed to the IGA supermarket which has the best range of wine in town. It was not going to be problem as I had seen a bottle of wine the previous night I was quite happy to buy and at the right price too. Got there but the bloody door wouldn’t budge, five minutes past closing. “Damn” and other four letter words are muttered under my breath.  

Across the road is a pub with a bottle shop so in I go and damn near choke on the smoke as I look at the wine list. The bottle I was going to get from the IGA supermarket is listed, but at $38 dollars its $10 more than the supermarket. “Double damn” but I order it and the bar person goes down into the cellar to get the bottle. Finally get back to the Shamrock and have the bottle opened. The wine is hot! Whilst the owner of the restaurant provides me with an ice bucket, he informs me that the pub has all its machinery in the cellar and that it is always hot in there. “Triple damn!” But at least the corkage is only $5 a bottle.

The Shamrock is owned by a husband and wife team and both are very friendly and helpful. One of things that gets up my nose, so to speak is bread, or lack there of. I like wholemeal bread, a brown roll or if that’s not possible a plain white dinner roll and don’t necessarily want one of the exotic (wanky) breads that many restaurants insist on serving. The charge for a bread roll was $2.50 a serve and it came with tiny home grown olives, a nice touch but they were completely tasteless. The bread roll was very sweet white bread and must have been made by the brother of the person who makes the bread rolls for McDonalds.

For a starter I had quail with caramelised onion and split peas ($15.50). It was certainly very tasty but unfortunately the quail was tough and the caramelized onions could have done with less grease/oil. For the main course I selected a “fillet” steak with veggies that were done with an Asian influence ($26.50). The bok choy, capsicum, etc was cooked to perfection and the meat sauce was rich and inviting. The steak was cooked perfectly as ordered, but I would be willing to bet that it was scotch fillet, and not (eye of) fillet that was served. The trio of peach, lemon and raspberry sorbet for desert was excellent.

Overall, an enjoyable meal but nothing to write home about. After a short walk back to the motel it was off to bed.

The exit sign as you leave Rutherglen ...

Up bright and early and I had two choices, leave immediately for the long drive home or stick around and visit the last two wineries I wanted to try. Decided on the latter so had a leisurely start to the day, packed the car and went for a light breakfast. After the caffeine revival I arrived at Jones Winery which I had been unable to visit as they only open from Thursday to Sunday. Sat outside well past nine o’clock waiting for the winery to open when the light went on in my head and I checked the brochure, another winery with bankers’ hours that opens at 10.00. More four letter words are mumbled. But there is no matter, I still want to try Fairfield Wines and figure I can come back to Jones later. Up the highway and at about 9.20 I am outside Fairfield to find they are one of the few in the district to also work bankers’ hours. No more four letter words required, I get the message, this trip is over! So it’s back onto the highway and just after lunch I am finally home.

         …The dogs are very happy to have their dog mobile (and dad)

…………………………. back even if it’s dusty and dirty

As I drive into the driveway the dog-mobile’s trip meter clicks over to 2577 kilometres, that’s spooky as it’s my postcode. During the last eight days, over two hundred wine were tasted; lots of interesting people have been met, a large amount of knowledge has been gained and my waist line has increased again. Most wine lovers would love to have experienced just some of the highlights on this trip and I have been truly blessed to have been able to experience so many special tastings. That is something I never take for granted and the hospitality of all the wineries visited is truly appreciated.

Summary

There is some very good wine made in Victoria and a number of very talented winemakers. The Rutherglen Durif is good stuff and perfect for red bigots. The stickies are unique and simply fantastic.

Unlike SA, there are very few extreme wines or wines that push the ripeness envelope. Also the use of oak seems to be well controlled although the coffee essence flavour from the toasted French Oak can become a bit monotonous after tasting a couple of hundred bottles.

Like SA, there are some wines that are very good value but a number of wineries have silly ideas about their prices. A good example is St Leonards that is charging in excess of $50 for a wine that is worth about $35 (on a good day) so wonder the 1997 is still available as their current release.

The amount of wines available as cleanskins direct from the wines seems to be increasing at an exponential rate. One could argue that is because the wineries are producing better quality wines and declassifying fruit that does not make the grade. However, I think it goes a lot deeper than that; it appears that many wineries are having trouble shifting the required volume and its better to produce a wine and get less for it than ditch the product and get no return. Many of these cleanskins are pretty good buys, and at around $80 a case, it makes them not much more than cask wine and the quality should be substantially better. However, with cleanskins be careful. Some of them are rotgut and not worth buying. Either taste first or only buy where you either trust the retailer totally or can return the wine if it is unsatisfactory. 

Last year at the same time, I visited the wine regions of WA and was horrified by the internal temperature of many cellar doors there, especially in the Swan Valley and areas close to Perth. Many of the days during this trip were close to 40 degrees and not one of them was less than 30 degrees. Only a few of wineries were too hot to manage tasting conditions adequately and that is a good thing.

Corks continue to be a major problem. I encountered many tasting bottles that were mildly to moderately corked that had been checked by the staff. In only one instance when I thought a wine “was not right”, I was proved to be wrong. Most of the time I simply said “can you please check the wine” and in many instances they said “it seems all right to me but I will open another bottle.” In all other instances when a second bottle was opened and the two compared side by side the staff agreed with my assessment as the comparison made the cork taint obvious. It seems like many of the wineries in Victoria need to train their staff on how to spot mid to low levels of cork taint. Some winery staff admitted they had not been in the trade long and had received virtually no training. 

There was also a lot of oxidised wine but in many ways that has to be expected due to the hot condition and low customer numbers during the week.

One thing I did notice about many of the wineries on this trip was their ability to recognise someone who is serious about wine. As soon as they saw my tasting note sheet, many asked what I wanted to try and opened a fresh bottle realising that I was on a mission. This was done skilfully prior to asking me what I was doing so it didn’t come across as aggressive questioning. All Saints did this best of all. There is also healthy respect for the internet and its influence by most of the Victorian wineries, unlike many of those I visited in WA.

Overall, it was a great week with many memorable moments and a few very special tastings. I enjoyed this trip so much; I hope to do another Victorian trip in two years.

Next up, in May is another trip to South Australia where no doubt there will be more adventures for TORB and his sidekick, the Meat Pie King of South Oz. So stay tuned to this station for the next soap opera. Finally, a special thanks to my good friend Lynne.  She gets an Ultimate Rating with ***** for value for her efforts in looking after both my business and family whilst I was away.

Copyright © Ric Einstein 2004

The previous chapter can be found here