AUSTRALIA YARRA VALLEY: Cool customers

09 January 2007 By db staff writer

“standfirst”>John Downes MW reports from the ‘weather-beaten’ Yarra Valley, were it’s cooler than Bordeaux but warmer than Burgundy

In 1985 James Halliday planted his beloved Pinot Noir in the famous cool-climate amphitheatre at Coldstream Hills to put himself and the Yarra Valley on the international map. Halliday shines on but since those heady days the Yarra has lost some of its lustre as Australian success has become welded to big, in-yer-face fruity wines. But that’s about to change. “Australia has moved to a cool-climate doctrine over the last few years and the Yarra Valley with its classical, more restrained style of wine is perfectly placed to benefit,” says Giant Steps’ owner, Phil Sexton.

Driving inland from Melbourne the countryside gets browner as you climb the Christmas Hills, but once over the top all becomes green thanks to a southwesterly weather pattern, which dumps its rain into the valley. Cooler than Bordeaux but warmer than Burgundy and with elevations between 50 and 400 metres, it’s the valley’s cool continental climate that ended Moët & Chandon’s worldwide search for the ideal vineyards to make its New World sparklers back in the early ‘80s. “It’s now also proving perfect for our fast-developing still wine portfolio,” says Chandon’s winemaker, John Harris.

The region’s main grape varieties are classical with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc heading the whites, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz the reds, with each linked to the myriad microclimates in the gently rolling hills. Winemakers have been discovering the valley’s complexity since their first plantings in 1838. “Unusually, the slopes are warmer and our Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot ripen very well there. It’s crazy but the cooler sites are on the valley floor and it’s there where Pinot Noir prospers,” says Sexton.

Yields are low and with vineyard prices in the order of A$20,000 per acre (comparable to Coonawarra and Margaret River), the Yarra Valley is an expensive place to make wine. “At A$3,000 to A$3,500 per ton and with two tons per acre you need a high bottle price to survive. Last year, some winemakers left Pinot on the vine as it just wasn’t viable,” says Sexton, who sold Devil’s Lair in Margaret River to take up the Yarra challenge.

The image of warm Australian vineyards being an easy place to make wine was crushed at a stroke during the third week of October 2006 when frost hit the vineyards for the first time in 25 years. “It was very serious at Chandon as we
lost about 60% of our fruit,” frowns Harris.

Following the frost, Chandon sprayed to remove leaves to give the chance of 20% growth this season while others, Chandon’s viticulturalist, Bernie Wood, explains, “have cut weaker, older cordons of frost-affected vines to ensure good vine structure in 2008; but, in the meantime, they will lose their 2007 production.” To make things even worse, hail hit a swathe of vines immediately following the frost to get the accountants chewing their pencils even harder.

The worst drought in living memory is the talk in all the Australian vineyards but Yarra’s drip-irrigation systems appear to have fared better than most thanks to the local rain pattern and snowmelt from the Great Australian Divide, which overlooks the north of the valley. Nevertheless, some wine growers are concerned. “It is affecting us and to reduce evaporation we have put four dams into one,” notes Coldstream Hills’ winemaker, Andrew Fleming. On the other hand, at Yering Station it appears to be all smiles: “Our dams are full. It’s not yet a problem to us,” says Agar.

With most wines under screwcap, the cork versus screwcap debate is a non-starter in the Yarra Valley. “Screwcap equals consistency,” says Fleming on behalf of Team Yarra. But, with most citing cork’s TCA problems, William Downie, winemaker at De Bortoli, takes an alternative tack: “Our biggest problem with cork is not TCA but oxidation. Screwcap gives low oxidation and our tastings have shown that the best bottles under cork are those that taste closest to screwcapped wines because the best cork gives you the least oxidation,” he explains. 

Exports have increased impressively from 620,000 litres in 2000-01 to 2,174,000 litres in 2005-06 with reds accounting for 1,240,000 litres (57%), white for 790,000 (36%) and sparkling 145,000 litres (7%). In 2005-06 the European Union countries were the leading destination (918,000 litres, 42%), followed by North America (674,000, 31%), Northeast Asia (360,000, 17%), and Southeast Asia (130,000, 6%).

Yering Station exports 35% of production with the UK accounting for about a third. “Canada is also good but has lots more potential, as does Korea where big companies are entertaining with wine to impress their clients,” says Agar. Chandon exports 20% of its total sparkling and still wines. “Japan is very strong with good growth while the UK remains traditional and steady,” explains Harris. De Bortoli exports about 25%. “Exports are growing rapidly and we have opened our own office in London,” reveals Downie.

The weather has taken its toll this year but nobody’s downhearted, and with production and exports growing there’s a real air of confidence. At last, the Yarra Valley looks set to join Halliday in Australia’s Hall of Fame.

© db January 2007