Top 10 wineries in New South Wales

			Top wineries in New South Wales

Eminent Australian wine critic Peter Scudamore-Smith reviews the past, present and future of winemaking in New South Wales, Australia, and identifies 10 of the finest wineries in the region today...

LONE teenage sailor Jessica Watson completed her round the world voyage in Sydney harbour near the Sydney Opera House on May 15 this year. Nearby in the Sydney Botanic gardens, adventurer James Busby had planted Australia’s first grapevines in 1820.

The great wine estates of New South Wales continue to fan away from the State’s capital these days; towards the cooler vineyard sites as global warming seeks to spread its summer influence.

Traditional wine country sites are found a short drive away in the Lower Hunter Valley around Pokolbin where George Wyndam established his famous Dalwood winery in 1828. That famous event is kept alive today by vignerons of the Hunter Valley through their maintenance of century or more-old grapevines, mainly the red shiraz. 

In 2007 the Hunter Valley wine industry preserved some history by naming six living Hunter Legends: Max Drayton (OAM), Dr Max Lake (since deceased), Karl Stockhausen (Lindemans winemaker for 35 years), Perc McGuigan (who re-planted Dalwood), John Tulloch and Brian Walsh (30 consecutive vintages at Mount Pleasant including originator’s Maurice O’Shea’s last in 1952).

Hunter Valley winemaker of the year was Andrew Spinaze from Tyrrells (maker of seminal aged semillons), Hunter Valley vineyard of the year was McWilliams Mount Pleasant Lovedale (a single semillon site), Rising Star of the year was Christina Tulloch and Cellar Door of the year was Tulloch Wines.

Since then the Hunter Valley winemakers have continued to honour their legends and the younger innovators around them.

And after the centenarians the Hunter names Drayton, McGuigan and Tulloch live on as wine brands.

Further up the Hunter Valley the red wine boom of the '70s saw massive expansion of grape plantings and many new brands established. When Bob Oatley’s hugely successful Rosemount Estate folded into the Southcorp organisation 10 years ago, a lull came across the Upper Hunter Valley despite the large expanses of vineyards under contracts.

Rosemount Estate is set to receive a breath of life as Bright Foods appear to supply the increasing Chinese red wine thirst by appearing to soon purchase this large winery.

Further west around the town of Mudgee, large vineyards exist with many single vineyard estates which are undergoing rejuvenation, particularly by the planting of many Mediterranean grape varieties. These modern grapes are supplementing the original Italian winemaker Carlo Corino’s '70s inspiration to plant barbera, sangiovese and nebbiolo at the Montrose property.

Other Hunter makers explored the Cowra region, particularly Rothbury Estate who planted chardonnay along the Lachlan River - using the plentiful supply of water.

Recently this large Mudgee brand was been re-born as Robert Oatley Vineyards as Rosemount’s founder and his sons take the reins in the region. There is a current air of quiet prosperity after testing times in the local wine industry.

Global warming has forced New South Wales producers to seek cooler growing sites during the past two decades. This means seeking higher altitude sites above the 50-400 metres currently occupied around the Hunters and Mudgee.

The result has been Orange (as part of the Central Ranges), Canberra (ACT), Tumbarumba, Young (Hilltops), New England (northern New South Wales) and Gundagai in search of prime and pristine fruit production sites to 1,000 metres elevation.

This relocation has been hugely successful for the production of ultra-premium sparkling wine, minerally pinot gris, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay as well as outstanding pinot noir.

The New South Wales wine engine room is the Riverina in the central west, now the epi-centre of Number Four in the World Wine-brand Yellowtail, family-owned and family-run by the Casellas (vineyard pictured below).

As the current over-supply of grapes in this State began, it was the Casella family who kept breathing life into the pockets of grape growers all over this state, as the company soaked up surplus grapes early this century. Now Yellowtail sales rise to 13 million cartons annually.

The McWilliam family had founded the Riverina region in 1877 and continue a grand business there to this day.

To profile the greatness of family businesses in this industry, and their control over regional wine destiny as well as their wonderful and great vineyards, is a role for the Australia’s First Families of Wine.

The three NSW First Family participants are Tyrrells (recently celebrating 150 years of winemaking in the Hunter), De Bortoli (Hunter and Riverina) and McWilliams.

De Bortoli are innovative regional winemakers, and recently recanted 25 years of production of Noble One (first year 1982), a selectively late-harvested, botrytis-affected semillon which has established the Riverina as a world region of renown for this style.

The other present-day Riverina success story to be told is the rise of Westend Estate Wines in Griffith as a major prize-winner across many Australian shows in the past five years; often with multiple awards and with wines from humble beginnings. Their achievement in the NSW Top 40 this year is highly reportable.

Read on for a review of New South Wales' top 10 wineries:

PRINTHIE WINES

Established high up on the slopes of Mount Canobolas near Orange, this winery has turned heads with its success in sauvignon blanc, that variety dominated by Marlborough NZ winegrowers who think they grow the best. Interestingly, Printhie have outpointed the Kiwis in similar shows. This just plants the cool Orange climate as suitable for premium sauvignon and other choice grapes when grown there. That includes the Mount Canobolas Collection Reserve Chardonnay 2008, a natural addition to the wines of this region with its high natural acidity. Winemaker Drew Tuckwell is excelling with the new hero red wine of the area, shiraz, particularly with his Mountain Range Shiraz 2008 and similar heady wines blended with viognier in ultra-modern style. The range has moved up a notch with individual parcels qualifying for the Mount Canobolas Collection Shiraz Viognier 2008 making wines of greater detail and complexity and with individuality.

CLONAKILLA

 Tim Kirk of Clonakilla from Murrumbateman has emerged as the great maker of Shiraz Viognier in Australia, a reputation established by making a long line of these plush and aromatic red blends since the '90s. Kirk puts this down to his vineyard site which grows fully ripe cool climate ACT shiraz. The current vintage is 2008. Also introduced the same year is O’Riada Shiraz 2008, a four- vineyard ACT shiraz blend, again co-fermented with six percent viognier. When not making shiraz, Kirk produces a fine and age worthy Canberra District Riesling 2009 for which the ACT has become famous after establishing it’s now annual International Riesling Challenge. That puts the focus on the region for quality riesling making. Whereas viognier is essential in Kirk’s shiraz, he also makes super and complex barrel matured Canberra District Viognier 2009, hailed as the company flagship white (no chardonnay here).

BROKENWOOD

 Thinking about this hallmark brand from the Lower Hunter conjures images of a very famous wine-Graveyard Shiraz, grown just out the back of the winery but producing wines of massive flavour from this part of the world. With the vineyard now covering 9 hectares, the company is celebrating 40 years since planting that year, 1970 with the release of Graveyard 2008. The Hunter means semillon which comes two ways at Brokenwood: current vintage Varietal range 2010 which is flinty and steely, or the more reputation-gathering ILR Reserve 2004. Then there are single vineyard examples such as Maxwell 2005, Oakey Creek 2004 and Brycefield/Belford 2005 which are reaching wide acclaim now in wine shows. The company also reaches further afield with outstanding chardonnay from Mount Panorama near Bathurst as well as Orange.

TAMBURLAINE

Under chief winemaker Mark Davidson Tamburlaine has undergone a makeover from a small Hunter wine producer to a significant organic producer with vineyards in three NSW regions; their traditional home at Pokolbin, as well as being an early developer in Orange and more recently Mudgee (2008). A major source of semillon wine comes from their Broke, Hunter Valley vineyard while other traditional varieties are grown on the winery’s 13-hectare estate. Stake out Members Reserve Hunter Verdelho 2009 which is a natural fit for the Hunter with its unwooded and fruit-induced appeal or try Reserve Hunter Chardonnay 2008 which has lighter oak and modest alcohol in today’s trend. I like the outstanding Reserve Orange Syrah 2007 which keeps taking accolades or the more traditional home-style Reserve Hunter Valley Syrah 2007 with its earthy, savoury and undergrowth nuances.

TYRRELLS

Bruce Tyrrell heads a family dynasty celebrating 150 years of production in the Hunter. Now that’s an achievement, and Tyrrells recently joined Australia’s First Families of Wine as pioneering but successful family businesses. The company has focused long on the Hunter Valley but also owns vineyards in Heathcote (Victoria-shiraz only) and McLaren Vale (SA). The ancient shiraz vines on the family property “Ashmans” however are still strong contributors to the flagship Winemaker’s Selection Vat 9 Shiraz 2006. Named Winery of the Year-James Halliday’s Wine Companion 2010; the reason being for its wonderful selection of classically-aged semillons. Drinkers can buy Winemaker’s Selection Vat 1 soon after production each year or buy it as a mature wine-currently Vat 1 2003. Or there are single vineyard Belford 2004, Stevens 2006 or HVD (Hunter Valley Distillery Vineyard) 2004 semillons showing off the richness of the area blessed with old semillon vines making wines capable of maturing to this depth.

TULLOCH

Some time ago the Tulloch family purchased back the farm (established 1895)-after having sold to a conglomerate in the heart of the 70s red wine boom in the Hunter Valley. This great property has been carefully managed by the next generation headed by Christina Tulloch who has restored traditional Tulloch shiraz as well as contemporary, innovative styles with verdelho, marsanne and verscato (sparkling verdelho and shiraz), pinot gris and viognier. Try the restored tradition of Tulloch Dry Red 2007 (the old name for the shiraz when generic labelling had its heyday). You need to visit their cellar door in Pokolbin to buy the two special shiraz: Private Bin 2007 and Hector Tulloch Limited Release 2006 as well as Julia Limited Release Semillon 2007 which re-invents Tulloch’s greatness. However in the wider wine community Tulloch is known for its Verdelho 2010 and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2010 for informal drinking.

DE BORTOLI

Here is the home at Bilbul of Australia’s most celebrated dessert wine-Noble One. Whilst the Riverina region makes oceans of dry white wine from semillon, Darren DeBortoli raised the bar with his first commercial release of dessert wine made from the same grape in 1982. The difference was he convinced the local growers to allow their normal early-harvested grapes to hang into autumn when the “noble rot”, otherwise called botrytis slowly, descends on each berry to produce the golden juice. Now the current wine to try is Noble One 2008, after the much heralded 2007 was flown around the world during 2009 as part of 25^th vintage celebrations. The style is green-golden wine colour, heady smells of nougat, marshmallow and mandarin peel which make you feel in a confectionery shop. Botrytis produces such wild and exotic flavours too, so expect an initial sweetness from the sugar hit, flavours of crème brulee and honey-followed by dryness from oak aging.

WINDOWRIE

The O’Dea family’s vineyard at Cowra is home to an exciting range of grape varieties planted in this region during the '90s, and since then the vineyards have matured to the extent of producing magnificent wines. The region was initially known as a site for white wine production, essentially chardonnay during the '90s, and also with verdelho. The O’Deas also fluttered with the Italian grape sangiovese. Jason O’Dea now heads the company which has now turned heads with red wines from shiraz and cabernet sauvignon. Try Family Reserve Shiraz 2008 and Family Reserve Cabernet 2008 as testament to the easily accessible and full-fruit styles from these grapes. And if you wish to try more wines stroll into their Mill Restaurant in the heart of Cowra town.

WESTEND

Bill Calabria from Westend in Griffith is an affable chap. He takes it on the chin that he is allergic to alcohol and therefore his own wines, yet he tastes them regularly without ingestion. Established in 1945, the family business continues to reach for grapes widely around the region. Their success in a few years has been nothing short of meteoric as an endless number of show medals arise. For example, in the recent NSW Wine Awards 2009 the company held five positions in the Top 40 with 3 Bridges, Richland and Varietal range wines. In the Family Business Awards area Westend has won the top spot back to back; 2009 and 2010. The company’s top wines come under the 3 Bridges range; an affable Durif 2008, then Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 which are highly prized. As well try the Botrytis Semillon 2008, another regional standard. Westend have recently ventured to milder climates to make their Cool Climate Series Riesling 2009 and Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from the ACT and Tempranillo 2008 from the Hilltops region near Young.

ROBERT OATLEY

Mudgee has been the beneficiary of the emergence of a recent flotilla of wine styles from the Robert Oatley Vineyard fold (also now the owner of Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays-Queensland’s tropical playground). The recent rejuvenation of the Montrose winery and surrounding vineyards has been mercurial with many of the old Rosemount team members assembling to mount a new ideal for Mudgee and for contemporary winemaking. Chief winemaker is James Manners who served his time previously in the same property under the name Orlando Wyndham/Craigmoor. Many of the great regional wines have been maintained under the Montrose label: Black Label Shiraz 2007, the quaintly named Omaggio Barbera 2007, Pietra Sangiovese 2007, Stony Creek Chardonnay 2007 with the addition of a new Rose-Rose of Barbera 2009.

Peter Scudamore-Smith is founder and director of the consulting firm Uncorked and Cultivated in Eastern Australia. He is a wine professional writing Masterclass for Grapegrowers and Vignerons and Smart Farmer. He has held posts writing weekly for the Brisbane Sunday Mail, monthly and bi-monthly for Winestate and Vogue, and in the 1980s, Wine Spectator. He is Australia's second Master of Wine - Institute of Masters of Wine (UK), 1991.  He is also, of course, AsianCorrespondent.com's resident wine critic. You can read more of his writings here.