The Phoenix of the Fleurieu

Australian Wine Selector - Budburst 2003

Winemaking on the Fleurieu Peninsula is a little over 150 years old. But a vital part of the region’s history was very nearly lost when Normans Wines went belly-up a few years ago. However, the phoenix is now rising from the ashes. With talented young winemaker Natasha Mooney at the helm and the backing of rapidly expanding Western Australian company, Xanadu Wines, the Normans wine history lives on in South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula. Xanadu had every reason to celebrate when it marked Normans 150th anniversary in April this year. It had just put the Normans’ sign back up on the Clarendon winery, the name having been persona non grata for a while as many growers had had their fingers burnt by the company’s collapse. Andrew Moore says Normans “had baggage associated with it” when Xanadu bought it in 2001 for $3.7 million, but “we knew we had a good historical name and we knew we had something to build on.”

It took things slowly at first, and Moore says, with pride, that some of the growers have now come back. “We looked at the brands and that’s what we thought was the way forward. When we bought Normans, we bought 30 to 40 brands. We’ve cut that down to four core brands.” Because Xanadu did not buy the company, only the winery and the brands, it missed out on a lot of the intellectual property that went with it. But, with the trimming down of the portfolio to a more manageable Lone Gum, Encounter Bay, Old Vine and Chais Clarendon, there is a renewed focus on quality. Winemaker, Natasha Mooney, is aiming for cooler ferments than were previously used in the Chais Clarendon reds. The result is a fresher, attractive style. The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon, released in May, retains a grace and elegance despite being a big wine. The Chais Clarendon wines, which also include a Shiraz, were developed in the 1980s and are keenly sought.

The Clarendon winery, which sits on the boundary of McLaren Vale but is in the Adelaide Hills geographic region, is now undergoing a $1 million facelift to take advantage of its spectacular views. The expansion by the publicly-listed Xanadu into South Australia is real vote of confidence. As managing director, Andrew Moore says: “We believe McLaren Vale is a great region.” Early explorers thought so too. When they were assessing it for future farming, they noted that the “wide valley … gave promise of much beauty and fertility.” They were right on both scores, for the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide, would have to be one of Australia’s prettiest grapegrowing areas, with its rolling hills and ocean backdrop. The region has a Mediterranean-like climate of cool winters and hot, dry summers which are tempered by cooling breezes from St Vincent’ Gulf. The conditions favour avocados, olives, almonds, stone fruits, berries and, of course, wine grapes.

Among the pioneering settlers were John Reynell and Thomas Hardy. Devonshire-born Reynell arrived in Adelaide in 1838, bringing vine cuttings from the Cape of Good Hope which he planted the same year at what is now Reynella. Hardy, also from Devon, arrived in 1850 and developed a winery on the banks of the Torrens in Adelaide before moving to McLaren Vale. The region’s early agricultural history centred around cereal crops – evidence of its prosperity was the number of flour mills in the region. The only remaining one now forms part of Hardy’s Tintara Winery. Thomas Hardy bought the Tintara vineyard from a Dr Kelly in 1876 and two years later a flour mill was converted into a winery that is still used today.

Earlier this year, an 1867 bottle of Tintara claret was bought by Hardy’s and unveiled by fifth generation winemaker, Bill Hardy, to coincide with the company’s 150th anniversary. It was thought to be a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mataro. It was produced several years before the property was acquired by Thomas Hardy, founder of Thomas Hardy and Sons Limited, which merged with Berri Renmano Limited in 1992 to form BRL Hardy Limited (and in turn with US company, Constellation Brands, in March this year.) In the early 1870s, the wine was one of several selected by the then Governor of South Australia, Sir James Fergusson, to be taken to the United Kingdom to showcase South Australian wine. Its whereabouts remained a mystery until 1977 when it was bought by an Australian collector at a London auction.

Three years ago, another Fleurieu winery, Bleasdale, celebrated its 150th anniversary. The second oldest family-owned winery in Australia, it was pipped at the post by Yalumba Wines, which celebrated its 150th the previous year. Bleasdale was founded eight months after Yalumba, when Frank Potts planted a 12ha vineyard at Langhorne Creek. Potts, a carpenter, had been on the Murray River en-route to a new job as ferry master, when he was attracted by the Langhorne Creek area with its towering red gums and alluvial soils. He used the gums to build a winery, casks, trellis posts, winepress, bridge and floodgates for irrigation. Langhorne Creek is best suited to reds because of its rich fertile flood plain, but Verdelho also does well. The only whites Bleasdale produces are Chardonnay and an unwooded Verdelho.

Fifth-generation winemaker Michael Potts describes Langhorne Shiraz as “really spicy and plummy, with a hint of pepper”. “With ageing, they tend to go chocolatey and earthy. Traditionally the area was known for its Cabernet, but in the last few years Shiraz has been outperforming Cabernet, largely because of improved viticultural techniques.” Bleasdale’s flagship wine is Frank Potts, a blend of five Bordeaux reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Its “bread and butter” wine is the Mulberry Tree Cabernet Sauvignon, while a sparkling Shiraz introduced in 1996 has also been a great success. It is one of the few companies producing Malbec as a straight varietal. In the last few years, the company has undergone an expansion, including the building of a new cellar door. Surprisingly, the money borrowed for it was the company’s first loan. The National Trust-classified winery houses the massive redgum lever press used from 1892 to 1962, and still occasionally used for crushing special parcels of fruit.

Also building a new cellar door is Wirra Wirra, bought in 1969 by cousins Greg and Roger Trott. Using salvaged timbers and quarried ironstone, they transformed the then derelict winery into a welcoming cellar door but it has now outgrown this space. Wirra Wirra was founded in 1893 by Robert Strangways Wigley, who had one of Australia’s first export licences. After he died in 1924, the winery fell into disuse until the Trotts bought it. Their flagship Shiraz is named RSW after him. Output has increased dramatically over the years, due in large part to the success of Church Block, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. Its most popular white wine is Scrubby Rise, a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

One McLaren Valley winery that retains its old-fashioned appeal is Pirramimma, founded by Alexander Campbell Johnston in 1892 and still owned by the Johnston family. Winemaker Geoff Johnston, grandson of Alexander, became interested in the Bordeaux grape variety, Petit Verdot, while studying in France. He released the first vintage of it in 1994, forging such a reputation that plantings have since been expanded to more than 10ha. When d’Arry Osborn assumed control of d’Arenberg Wines after his father died in 1957, he set about replanting the family’s McLaren Vale vineyard. But he found that many of the original 1890s vines could be revitalized, so he decided to leave them, a decision that proved to be incredibly far-sighted.

Today, they are backbone of some of the finest d’Arenberg wines, including the flagship Dead Arm Shiraz and Custodian Grenache. D’Arry launched the d’Arenberg label in 1957, and its distinctive livery, a diagonal red strip, still features on the labels today. D’Arry’s wines of the 1960s and 1970s gained cult status, especially when his 1968 Cabernet Sauvignon won a Jimmy Watson trophy. After son Chester took over as winemaker in 1984, he set about rejuvenating the old cellars and vineyards, investing in new oak refrigeration and small stainless steel tanks, resulting in immediate dividends for their white wines. In 1996, the d’Arenberg homestead was extended to include a hilltop restaurant, named d’Arry’s Verandah which is renowned for its fine food.

Unlike most McLaren Vale wineries, Coriole Wines has pinned its fortunes not on red wine but on Chenin Blanc. Coriole has been producing this white variety since the mid-1970s, after its owners, the Lloyd family, were impressed by a Hardy’s Chenin Blanc they tasted at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Coriole was also a pioneer in Australia of the Italian Sangiovese. With its quaint 1860s cellar door and pretty cottage garden, Coriole is a delightful spot to visit. It also produces olives, olive oils and vinegars, and in 1999 bought Woodside Cheesewrights. The products are sold at the cellar door, making it an all-round gourmet experience. In fact, the region, with its quality local produce and excellent restaurants, offers a wonderful destination for the discerning wine traveller – with some fascinating history as a tantalizing aperitif.

© Christine Salins

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