with the beginning of a new golden age of exports. This was helped with a visit to Australia in 1985 by a group of Masters of Wine (MW) organised by Hazel Murphy. Winemaker Pam Dunsford recalled, “there was a function held at Reynell’s homestead for the MWs. Wirra Wirra’s Greg Trott organised it. And I thought that I was going to a free lunch, but of course, there’s nothing free in the wine industry. UK wine journalist Jancis Robinson had a film crew, saying, ‘Okay, what’s Australia, and why is it different?’ That went straight back to the UK and was broadcast everywhere. Australian wine was a revelation to the visiting Masters of Wine, including many key buyers or opinion leaders in the UK market. In Pam Dunsford’s opinion, the MW visit in 1985 was the beginning of the export boom of Australian wine. According to wine writer Max Allen “the MW trip was a crucial factor in the export renaissance in the mid-1980s”, an opinion that is shared with many others. Australian wine export success was also aided by the weak dollar and fears of contamination caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Europe. The quality of the 1986 vintage across Australia combined with technology and imaginative winemaking resulted in a remarkable year for ultra-fine wine. Despite the problems of dwindling prices, oversupply and a vine pull scheme (legislated in 1987), McLaren Vale was inching its way forward and building a reputation for well-made red wines based primarily on Shiraz, Cabernet and Grenache. The region was also earning a reputation of producing Shiraz with middle palate. This idea was not new because the Burgundy wines of a previous era were prized for their plushness and ferruginous vigour. Penfolds Grange reached a new zenith in quality with component material coming from McLaren Vale. Growers including Don Oliver at Taranga Vineyards, later Oliver’s Taranga, became an essential part of the Grange story. By the 1986 vintage Grange had an extra sheen and density that gave the wines superb aging potential. This was in part because of the huge leap forward in oenology and part vineyard management. The impressive growing seasons of the late 1980s and 1990s, fruit sourcing and meticulous classification also elevated the reputation of Grange. By 1987 Hardy’s Eileen Hardy Shiraz was once again introduced as a single varietal McLaren Vale Shiraz. The release of Coriole’s 1989 Lloyd Reserve Shiraz, based on 1919 Block plantings (it is now thought that they go back before 1875) heralded a new perspective based on heirloom vineyards. This was followed by the 1993 d’Arenberg
16
The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
Powered by FlippingBook