These days when I’m looking at that price point (and I do, regularly) I’ll probably go for the consistent, high-value-for-money Tahbilk everyday drinking range rather than scouring the bottle shop for whatever’s on special this week.
The recent launch of Australia's First Families of Wine brought a lot of those issues into focus and, predictably, among the dozen producers on the list are three names you’ll find discussed in these parts - Brown Brothers, Tahbilk and Jim Barry.
Each of the dozen producers on the list have their own take on the road ahead, but most are in the process of exploring the possibilities raised by new varieties and vineyard sites.
Brown Brothers have a particularly strong record in that regard, and opening a bottle of the 2006 Tempranillo gave me a chance to reflect on some of the issues raised above.
For a start, issues associated with climate change mean that wineries are going to have a serious look at the varieties they’re growing and the optimum locations for the vineyards where they grow them.
Brown Brothers have been doing that for a while and have evolved a fairly efficient way of introducing and evaluating new varieties. The 2006 Tempranillo is their third release of the variety and I was looking for something to go with a chilli con carne when I reached into the wine rack and selected the bottle.
You won’t find the wine on the shelves at your local bottle shop at the moment. It’s at the Cellar Door Only stage, though I don’t expect that’ll be the case for too much longer.
Having selected the wine I was a little lighter than usual on the chilli content of the con carne, opting for mildly spicy rather than out-and-out hot. Heavy on the garlic, enough chilli to make it interesting, savoury rather than incendiary.
Actually, I suspect that approach would also work with quite a few of the new red varietals that are turning up, because the trend seems to be towards softer more savoury styles rather than the hearty monsters that were all the go a while back. On reflection I could just as easily have tried the chilli with a Grenache, a Mourvedre or a GSM.
Tempranillo is an early-ripening variety with a short growing season, and this version is mainly sourced from their vineyard at Heathcote, which is their premium red grape source, with some fruit from Banksdale in the King Valley.
The wine’s a bright ruby red, with a mixture of berry notes, fruit and oak on the nose, medium-bodied with fine savoury tannins that went down a treat with the chilli. Cool climate Tempranillo can be spicy, and Heathcote is definitely temperate so there are some of those elements in there as well.
Overall, a pleasantly elegant medium-bodied style that I’ll be happy to reorder. Drink now, or in the not-too-distant future rather than a long-term cellaring prospect.
