MATARO REVISITED The mataro grape variety has had a chequered career in Australia since it was first introduced into New South Wales by James Busby in the early 1830s. Early vignerons referred to it as one of the ‘Rousillon Varieties’ (along with grenache and carignan) and by the 1840s, it had a good foothold in many colonial vineyards. The variety was also known as Black Spanish, Lambrusquat and Esparte, reflecting haphazard cataloguing and sourcing of vine cuttings. At London’s 1851 Great Exhibition, Henry Carmichael’s 1849 Porphyry Dry Red, a blend of pineau noir and Black Spanish, impressed judges. Ten years later Dr AC Kelly reflected, ‘The great Exhibition of 1851 showed the triumph of Australian agriculture; and now the prospects of wine growing in Australia is as promising as any of her permanent resources.’ Mataro cuttings were planted at Camden Park, Kirkton and at Sydney Botanical Garden. In all likelihood, the 1852 Irrawang Lambrusquat, which its owner James King thought was one the best wines ever produced by this estate, was derived from Busby-sourced vinestock. Sir William Macarthur, at Camden Park, New South Wales, regularly sent vine cuttings to fledgling vignerons and nurserymen around colonial Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Mataro also reached Western Australia, where it grew successfully in the Swan Valley. The grape variety found its way into the Barossa Valley during the 1840s, where it thrived in the warm-to hot and dry growing conditions. Surviving 1848 and 1853 plantings highlight the early adoption of Roussillon varieties (grenache and mataro) in the region. The development of large-scale winemaking during the 1860s and 1870s saw a transformation of the Barossa landscape from a wheat-growing region to mixed faming, orcharding and grape growing. The extraordinary plantings of shiraz from this period onwards reflect the enormous demand for Australian burgundy. Many mataro vineyards were top grafted or removed during the early 1890s after criticism for South Australia’s bulk wine by importer Peter Bond Burgoyne in 1893. Despite protestations by State Viticulturalist Arthur Perkins, most growers could not see the economic benefit of
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T he V intage J ournal – Regional Focus
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