What is a NZ Pinot Noir grower’s nightmare?
Thoughts that Australians will work out how good Tasmanian Pinot is and start to take it seriously.....
The numbers are there; Tasmania is 45% planted to Pinot Noir and although only 0.5% of Australia’s crush, it is 6.2% of restaurant listings, showing someone is listening. Tamar is approx 70% of Tasmania’s production, about 0.35% of Australia’s production. It is tiny but significant.
I could not help overhearing the flight attendant’s comment “I always love landing here” & prompted by their whisper, I looked out the window at the neat checker board of paddocks bathed in soft sunshine that lacks the brightness of the mainland. Launceston is reassuring too. The city is ordered, old without the depraved attention of property developers breaking its architectural unity and the conformity of the streets spread like a blanket over a neat valley.
Tamar really tried hard that day. Spring was in the air and the grass and vines smelling deliciously of growth and vigour, the sun shone with barely a puff of air - it was a paradise.
The newspapers spoilt it some with talk that Gunns pulp mill, without its joint venture partner, had made a start on their development of their highly expensive and very contentious mill on the Tamar. There was significant concern among the wine fraternity during my visit with one winemaker advising another “getting arrested the second time at one of these demonstrations has a far bigger consequences, you get a police record.” They both looked aghast. I looked at my mild manner hosts and wondered at their quiet determination and the enormous travesty of ruining the Tamar with the blight; physical and ecological, of a huge paper mill.
Subsequent to this announcement, Gunns said the bulk earth works begun on August 29 plus the $200m they had already spent meant they had “substantially commenced” the $2.3b pulp mill project as required to comply under Tasmanian Environmental Protection Authority permits. This is despite its shares being suspended for six weeks and the company being described by the SMH on 20/9/11 as “making a contingency plan plans to sell more assets as a radical reshaping leaves it short of an equity partner.”
Business is a tough career but to sacrifice the Tamar to company that is plainly without funding, an equity partner and is pulling out of business in Tasmania seems a very confused strategy.
My afternoon was spent tasting local wines at the smart Josef Chromy winery in order to select wines for the “Taste of Tamar” public tastings to be held over the weekend. There is nothing like 50 wines tasted blind to give you insight into a region’s styles, growing seasons and varietal development. This is the excitement of wine writing as the region only exports 8%, via approximately 12 active exporters (another 40 sell tiny amounts) so a significant number of local producers are rarely seen on the mainland. They enjoy local loyalty, in part because there is no big box retailer yet, and no doubt from visiting tourists. The top four producers account for 90% of production, among these being Tamar Ridge, Pipers Brook & Josef Chromy.
Pinot Noir ranges from table wine in Tamar to sparkling in Pipers Brook, giving a wide diversity of expressions. Round this out with some interesting pale dry rose styles beginning to emerge . The affordable Tasmanian Pinot price point is $25.00- $30.00 with the likes of Josef Chromy & Ninth Island having the widest availability. 26% of vines planted are Chardonnay, again divided for table and sparkling wine with the same regions dominating. Sauvignon Blanc (a blip due to recent planting by Brown Brothers) at 10% and followed by Riesling at 8%.
Tamar is Northern Burgundy in style to me - like Cote de Nuits with a certain delicacy, elegance and fine tannins within the Tasmanian framework. Fragrant, fine strawberry taunt aromas in style with more finesse and freshness when compared to the bolder sweet fruit structured middle palate of the wines of the South or the lush ripe fruit with black cherry and very silky mouth filling tannins of the East coast.
Subregional differences appear within the relatively narrow range of 50kms of river frontage with closer to Launceston showing fine tannins and strawberry to berry fruit. The wines get more grainy tannin closer to the ocean peaking at Gravely beach in the Exeter region and then tannins soften towards Holm Oak and Tamar Ridge. Inland has more natural acidity from their colder nights which seems to drive finer tannins as well than closer to town.
Most importantly, I think the enormous diversity within the state means there are many regional subtleties to the Pinot web giving Tasmania an enormous opportunity to offer diversity. The Gold Book uses three ‘unofficial subregions” north, east and south to recognise this and some locals think there are 8 regions. The local marketers like the idea of one big state as it is easier, they argue, to build a reputation. Many I think would prefer a star variety to market over the current diversity on offer and some dream of a French styled system where Tasmania means Pinot in the way Burgundy = Pinot.
Vineyard and winery ownership has seen some significant changes with Tamar Ridge the largest producer now owned by Brown Brothers, and Shaw and Smith purchasing the highly regarded Tolpuddle vineyard in the Coal River Valley. They are, no doubt, drawn to the considerable “cool climate” assets including the island’s proximity to Antarctica’s cooling winds and southerly latitude induced mix of day length, humidity, cool air and warm sun which is ideal for viticulture.
TThe diversity of affordable sites within Tamar makes it perhaps the last chance for people aspiring to be small growers to live the dream of having your own vineyard and be near a decent town and transport. Lets hope, for the sake of trans-tasman peace, that overall sales of Pinot grow sufficiently so there is room for all & Tasmania and Tamar do not become a New Zealand Pinot growers nightmare. |
