From the Glass of Tim Burvill

Many articles have been written about the current oversupply issues the Australian Wine Industry is facing at the moment so I contacted RockBare wine maker Tim Burvill to see if he could give us a 'grass roots' perspective on this situation. Tim was kind enough to drag himself away from a poolside McLaren Vale Chardonnay and share his views.

The issues of the AWI have been well documented by the mainstream media over the past 12 months.  So, without going into too much detail, we have a situation where the annual grape harvest (in 2010 it is predicted to be 1.8 million tonnes or 140 million dozen) is about 30% above requirements.  The area of grapevines planted in Australia doubled between 1997 to 2007 to 164,000 hectares, and such a massive increase in plantings has lead to a predictable surplus.  Compounding the problem has been the over-dependence of the AWI on a few large players which got bigger and bigger every few years as mergers and acquisitions took place (and might I add, most at completely over-inflated prices).  Throw in a global financial crisis, an appreciating Australian dollar, huge write-downs on the recent acquisitions,  and coupled with the inability of these large Australian wine corporations to be able to effectively market a sell large and diverse wine brand portfolio's, and we find our self in our present position. 

It will be very interesting to see how all of this plays out.  Grape growers are the ones really bearing the brunt of the industry's problems.  Since the large wineries, which were taking the majority of the crop previously, have opted out of the grape market, most grape growers coming out of contract are struggling to find a home for their fruit.  This in turn is resulting in very low fruit prices being offered by these out-of-contract grower.  How long will these growers be able to sustain growing crops in which they lose money on?  We will undoubtedly see vineyard pulled out, particularly in the newer grape growing regions that lack strong brands competing for their fruit.

The other sector of the industry hurting is the small wineries which were reliant on selling a container or two of wine to the USA and UK every year.  These sales for the most part have ground to a halt, and causing cash-flow and over-stock issues.  This is further exacerbating the low grape prices, as these smaller wineries which for the most part played in the high-priced fruit sector, also opt out of the grape market whilst they concentrate on selling through the stock in their warehouse.

 All sounds pretty grim doesn't it?  Well, it's not all doom and gloom.  In fact, some Australian wine companies have never had it better.  Wineries with strong brands, and solid finances are finding their market share increasing.  Yes, you read correctly, increasing.   We are are seeing a period of strong brands cementing their position in the market, and improving their footprint as they ride above the price-discount melee occurring below them.  Indeed, quality fruit has never been cheaper, nor have growers ever been more inclined to grow and crop their fruit as the wineries wish them to.  A New World Order is being created in the AWI at present.  For the most part, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th generation family owned wine companies are the ones charging ahead.  They have seen all of this before (crashes in the industry) and for the most part are well prepared.  They still offer the consumer a product with integrity- from who owns it, to who makes it, and that their brand cannot be found being trashed in the big supermarkets.   Also on the rise are the wineries who have partnered with importers/distributors on their brand.  These type of relationships give both the winery and the sales partner the confidence to invest additional time, focus and marketing dollars to the brand.  I think it will be very rare moving forward for any new brands to be solely owned from vineyard to the brand.  The capital requirement and risk is simply too high to make it a viable in the ultra competitive world wine market.

 One thing can be certain as we charge into the 2010 harvest.  By the end of this year, we will be operating in a very different market to the one we started the year in.

 Cheers

Tim

If you have an opinion on the subject please feel free to post it here and if you have anything you would like wine makers to answer please feel free to ask.

Dean

Marketing Australian Wines

Oz Clarke is in Australia at the moment and he shared his views on where the wine industry might be going wrong with its marketing approach. (click Here for full story)


I wonder if this applies to other markets around the world?

Would the 'Larakin Aussie' work in China?

I would be interested in your comments.

Dean

Burgundy, Part 1a: Cote de Nuits (The King & Queen with their consort)

Lee Watson is sales manager at Saveurs International  and thought you might like some more information on some of the popular French regions. Here is the first part of three on Burgundy, Cote de Nuits. 


Cote de Nuits is such a small place and has some of the best pinot noir red wines produced in the world. Many will say the best in the world. Here is a brief outline on what to go for when it comes to choosing wines from the Cote de Nuits.

What’s the best commune? What’s the best wine? Well let’s stick with a few communes that you are likely to find in Hong Kong. We will start with the north to south of Cote de Nuits  in the first 3 blogs. Then we will move on to Cote de Beaune.

·         Gevrey-Chambertin:

There are 26 Premier Crus and 9 Grand Cru’s. The wines are sumptuous, full and sturdy, rich and masculine. They can even be more flamboyant than Vosne-Romanee and more substantial than Chambolle Musigny. Choose this wine if you want to have in my mind the King style of Cote de Nuits and even Cote d’ Or. Be careful when buying villages level as the commune to the north is called Brochon and has 50 hectares that can label their wine as Gevrey-Chambertin villages and these wines can be up and down in quality so you need to know the growers, same goes for the east of the main road (RN74 that runs the length of Cote d’Or) in Gevrey-Chambertin these wines can be lighter in style. Look out for the most west of the commune and into the Premier Crus up to the slope, one in particular is called Clos St Jacques which some critics have said it deserves Grand Cru status.

·         Morey-Saint-Denis:

There are 20 Premier Crus and 4 Grand Crus with a little of Chambolle’s Grand Cru to the south called Bonnes Mares. I could easily explain these wines as being a little bit of both the communes to the north and south, it’s generally not as sturdy as the wines from the north (Gevrey-Chambertin) and not as fragrant as the wines from the south (Chambolle-Musigny). The main Grand Cru here to look out for is Clos de Tart, described as full-bodied but feminine, good cherry fruit and robust tannins.

·         Chambolle-Musigny:

If Gevrey-Chambertin in the north is the King then Chambolle-Musigny is the Queen with its delicate wines. It has only 2 Grand Crus with Bonnes Mares having 1 ½ Hectares in Morey-Saint-Denis to the north. There are 24 Premier Crus. This is a large area so if you know where your favourite grower is you can have an idea about the wines. Premier Crus to the north are generally sturdier and to the south they become light and delicate. The best wine is the Grand Cru Musigny; this Grand Cru is in the premier league of the whole of Cote d’Or. Production is small as always is in Burgundy, so if you can afford it and you are lucky to get you hands on some then you can experience the delight of a top Pinot Noir.

Our recommendations:

Masculine:
  Antonin Rodet, Gevrey Chambertin,                2005     $365

  Jacques Prieur, Gevrey Chambertin, 1er Cru 2006     $645

  Jacques Prieur, Chambertin Grand Cru,         2004  $1,845

Feminine:   
  Antonin Rodet, Chambolle Musigny,                2004     $405

  Jacques Prieur, Musigny Grand Cru,               2006  $3,485

2009 Vintage Report Ribera del Duero

I recently asked the hardworking team at Valduero in the Ribera del Duero, Spain, if they could give us some insight into the 2009 vintage for them. This is what they had to say:

Having become accustomed to very stressful and busy vintages, we have to recognize that this has been one of the most relaxing we have had in the last few years.

At the beginning of September we had a very high Baume and feared that the harvest would have to start a lot sooner than usual. Suddenly the Baume stabilized at 13º, while the phenolic ripening (the skin, the seeds, the tannins) continued at a good pace. From then on we didn’t get a drop of rain. Consequently, the grape did not receive any water and the components didn’t dilute.

In the end, it was very dry at harvest, which made the work in the field a lot easier. There is even a chance that this could be one of the best vintages of the past 5 years, closely competing with 2004.

With regard to the white Albillo; due to the lack of rain we had a very healthy grape that allowed us to delay the harvest until the 16th of October, something very unusual. That same night we were lucky enough to see the temperature drop to 0º, so the grape entered the winery at a really low temperature, producing a very good maceration prior to fermentation.

This vintage, we have again been among the last five wineries in Ribera de Duero to finish the harvest, putting phenolic ripening as a priority. This differentiates us from many of the other wineries in the Valladolid area. 

So it all sounds very promising. Export Manager, Roger Matthews, went on to say that the 2009 has recently been released and is already showing the quality they expected. "Bursting with apricot and ripe peach" he says.

Dean.

Wine and Spice and Everything Nice

Everyone was telling me that the best wine for Cajun food is Beer!
So when a good friend asked me to supply the wines for her birthday dinner at Magnolia private kitchen in Sheung Wan, I was a little apprehensive. However, being the fool that I am, I accepted the challenge.


Not having eaten a lot of Cajun I was expecting food that was quite spicy so I headed in the direction of the whites. It was, of course, a celebration so a couple of bottles of Verve sufficed as a starter and soon relaxed the room. The 07 Domaine Marcel Deiss Riesling ($230) was the perfect starter and held up nicely to the Gumbo. We then moved on to soft shell crab and wonderful smokey ribs for mains. I opted to go for another white but this time something a bit bolder with a fresh palate and good acidity. My choice was the 08 Clos La Roquette, Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc ($300) and the combination was excellent.


It turned out that the food was less spicy than I was expecting yet full of wonderful character. The resulting merger meant that the wines were able to contribute handsomely to the flavour combination.


So it was left to the Pecan Pie to wrap up the evening and what better than an Antonin Rodet 2006 Bourgogne Pinot Noir ($145) to finish off.


Everyone was delighted with the meal and I could finally relax, reassured in my decision not to bring beer! Phew!


PS: I'd really like to hear if anyone else has found some great combinations with foods that are a bit harder to match with wine. Leave a comment below.

Not so Chile!

If you're looking for something to warm you up on those cold winter nights I have a great suggestion from Chile.
On Saturday I opened the 2004 Undurraga, Founders Collection Cabernet Sauvignon that I haven't had for about 6 months. It seems that I have been spending too much time with Shiraz and Rhone valley blends of late and, coming from the Coonawarra area, I do need a good Cabernet Sauvignon every now and then.
This is quite a big wine, especially for a Chilean and it has a bold character. If you can stand to leave it I'd decant it for 1/2 an hour just to take the edge off it and to let it settle down. This wine will fill your mouth with velvety black currents and juicy black berries. As it develops on the palate and then lingers you'll start to notice some more delicate tones of cigar box and leather with gentle and smooth tannins.


It will go along very nicely with any game or red meat but my personal indulgence is Dark Chocolate.


Now, I don't mean to do the sales pitch ....  BUT ...... it is only HKD$195 a bottle and you can buy it in a very attractive 6 bottle wooden case or we do have a very nice single bottle gift tube. Very good gift idea for Chinese New Year.


If you're interested send me an email at: deanaslin@saveurs.com.hk


Dean

SPANISH WINES IN A TRADITIONAL STYLE

Nowadays it's easy to pick a wine from Spain with a more approachable style. Luscious forward fruit, nice oak integration, good balance, and tannins that, once aged, sit beautifully on the palate. These are great wines and very affordable, but I have started to see an increase in people trying to find Spanish wines with a taste profile of a more traditional style.

It seems people are looking for something a bit, dare I say it, "rustic". A traditional wine will have thinner fruit concentration, it will have harsher tannins, it will be aged in larger old oak barrels and the grapes will be harvested earlier before full ripeness. A wine of a traditional style will seem dull and thin to the majority of wine lovers. These wines are likely to be medium body with less concentration; a wine that you can even smell and maybe taste the winery as well as the terroir; a more earthy wine, with fruit that is more stewed than juicy; sometimes the wine shows some herbal and tea tones the older they get as the fruit disappears and the earth, wood and tobacco takes over.

Personally, I love these wines, but they can be difficult to understand. Lovers of these wines say they have soul, and new modern wines are boring. I'm a relatively recent wine lover and sometimes I can find them too different for my palate and I crave for more fruit. The majority of my first wines were mostly new world which is a vastly different style.

If you are like me and are looking to experience wines of this style then I suggest looking at the Ribera del Duero region. They're not that easy to find so I recommend starting with our own bodega (winery) Valduero. This bodega delivers wines that are a mix of traditional and more modern styles. One particular wine I tasted recently has both taste profiles; a beautiful experience. The wine has been aged for a total of 6 years consisting of 3 years in new Canadian and French oak and 3 years in the bottle before release. It was the Valduero 1999 6 Anos! The wine shows modern styles with its dark ruby colour, supple fruity palate, black currents and black berries plus a traditional feeling of damp earth tones, tobacco and cedar wood. The flavours even mature in the mouth as you drink and enjoying it with a rack of lamb is truly amazing.

The wines from Valduero range from the modern fruit forward entry levels of Arbucala for drinking young through to the Gran Reserva with a mix of traditional and modern styles, suitable for drinking from 10 years old.

The Valduero 6 Anos and Valduero 12 Anos display the history of Ribera del Duero in a bottle. I highly recommend them for that traditional style made in a modern Bodega.

Once you taste a Valduero wine you can tell they are definitely an honest bodega trying to keep with tradition in viticulture and vinification, but seem to use the modern methods with caution and care, this will show through once you try the wine



Lee Watson.



Lee Watson is Sales Manager with Saveurs International (Asia) Limited.