Articles / NewsWinelines
James Halliday, March 22, 2008Over the past 70 years Yalumba has been the pacemaker in the development of riesling style, several steps in front of the field. In the 1930s it recruited German-trained Rudi Kronberger, who set a new standard for riesling, some from the Eden Valley, then a novelty. In 1952/53 Kronberger ordered the first stainless steel pressure fermenter from Germany, but by a quirk of fate Orlando (second off the mark) got their's one year earlier, in time for the 1953 vintage. The two companies radically changed the style of riesling over the next few years, bring it close to that of today.
In 1961 Yalumba decided to develop Pewsey Vale, high in the Eden Valley, specifically to move production away from the much warmer valley floor. Heggies followed 10 years later, in 1971. It was around this time that Yalumba started trials with Stelvin screwcaps; by the end of the '70s the intention was to bottle all Pewsey Vale under screwcaps. However, the market refused to accept the closure, associating it with poor quality wine.
It developed its own vine nurseries to propagate new varieties (viognier) and new clones (the Professor Bernard selections of chardonnay and pinot noir from Burgundy). It pioneered a radically new system of evaluating the juice of unfermented grapes, and - at the other end of the cycle - began its fabled Museum Tastings every two years, unequalled by another other company before or since.
Against this background, it had hastened slowly (and behind others) in the development of what I loosely call a Mosel style riesling: one with alcohol of less than 10?, and the unfermented sugar balanced by higher than normal acidity.
Amongst others, my database records three superb vintages from Bellarmine in Pemberton, WA; Delatite, two (the '06 Sylvia with 9? and 22 grammes of sugar, quite beautiful); '06 Macforbes (exceptional Strathbogie Ranges, 9? and 16 grammes of sugar); '06 Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Riesling No. 2; '04 Poacher's Ridge Late Harvest Riesling; '06 Frogmore Creek FGR Riesling, and the earlier Wellington FGR Rieslings by Andrew Hood (both Tasmanian), and deliberately didn't trademark the FGR, which doesn't stand for what you might think, but 40 grammes residual (sugar).
To be fair, Yalumba winemaker Louisa Rose has been on the case for some time. She says that in 1997 she tasted a museum selection of the Pewsey Vale Rieslings from the '60s to the '90s, and was fascinated by a 1979 Spatlese Riesling. 'At 10? alcohol and 20g/l of sugar, with 18 years of bottle age (under Stelvin) the wine was still looking fresh and balanced, without obvious sugar but gorgeous fruit intensity,' she observed.
With encouragement from commander-in-chief Robert Hill Smith, a programme was commenced in 2004 to 'make a wine with hallmarks of what we know Pewsey Vale Riesling is, yet with lower alcohol and a fine balance of natural acid and residual fruit sugar.'
Innovation always involves looking outside the square, and is not always successful. Instead of selecting a parcel of grapes, they decided to pick a single row from each of the 25 blocks on the Pewsey Vale vineyard. Instead of complaining, the viticultural crew were delighted to have an accurate measure of the overall yield three to four weeks out from normal harvest. 'Looking for the first hint of citrus flavours in the grapes,' explains Louisa 'we typically picked at around 10? baume.'
Doubtless with German practices - or the ghost of Rudi Kronberger - in mind, for three years Louisa and her team tried various techniques including wild fermentation, oxidative handling, and fermentation on juice solids. Says Rose, 'Although the wines were interesting, they did not quite have that something special we were looking for. In 2007 we made the wine using much more conservative riesling techniques: reductive fruit handling, juice settling and cool fermentation with inoculated yeast.'
She concludes, 'It is exactly what we were trying to achieve in making a wine with vibrant fruit flavours and a succulent, mouth-watering palate.' Prima was born.
In 1961 Yalumba decided to develop Pewsey Vale, high in the Eden Valley, specifically to move production away from the much warmer valley floor. Heggies followed 10 years later, in 1971. It was around this time that Yalumba started trials with Stelvin screwcaps; by the end of the '70s the intention was to bottle all Pewsey Vale under screwcaps. However, the market refused to accept the closure, associating it with poor quality wine.
It developed its own vine nurseries to propagate new varieties (viognier) and new clones (the Professor Bernard selections of chardonnay and pinot noir from Burgundy). It pioneered a radically new system of evaluating the juice of unfermented grapes, and - at the other end of the cycle - began its fabled Museum Tastings every two years, unequalled by another other company before or since.
Against this background, it had hastened slowly (and behind others) in the development of what I loosely call a Mosel style riesling: one with alcohol of less than 10?, and the unfermented sugar balanced by higher than normal acidity.
Amongst others, my database records three superb vintages from Bellarmine in Pemberton, WA; Delatite, two (the '06 Sylvia with 9? and 22 grammes of sugar, quite beautiful); '06 Macforbes (exceptional Strathbogie Ranges, 9? and 16 grammes of sugar); '06 Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Riesling No. 2; '04 Poacher's Ridge Late Harvest Riesling; '06 Frogmore Creek FGR Riesling, and the earlier Wellington FGR Rieslings by Andrew Hood (both Tasmanian), and deliberately didn't trademark the FGR, which doesn't stand for what you might think, but 40 grammes residual (sugar).
To be fair, Yalumba winemaker Louisa Rose has been on the case for some time. She says that in 1997 she tasted a museum selection of the Pewsey Vale Rieslings from the '60s to the '90s, and was fascinated by a 1979 Spatlese Riesling. 'At 10? alcohol and 20g/l of sugar, with 18 years of bottle age (under Stelvin) the wine was still looking fresh and balanced, without obvious sugar but gorgeous fruit intensity,' she observed.
With encouragement from commander-in-chief Robert Hill Smith, a programme was commenced in 2004 to 'make a wine with hallmarks of what we know Pewsey Vale Riesling is, yet with lower alcohol and a fine balance of natural acid and residual fruit sugar.'
Innovation always involves looking outside the square, and is not always successful. Instead of selecting a parcel of grapes, they decided to pick a single row from each of the 25 blocks on the Pewsey Vale vineyard. Instead of complaining, the viticultural crew were delighted to have an accurate measure of the overall yield three to four weeks out from normal harvest. 'Looking for the first hint of citrus flavours in the grapes,' explains Louisa 'we typically picked at around 10? baume.'
Doubtless with German practices - or the ghost of Rudi Kronberger - in mind, for three years Louisa and her team tried various techniques including wild fermentation, oxidative handling, and fermentation on juice solids. Says Rose, 'Although the wines were interesting, they did not quite have that something special we were looking for. In 2007 we made the wine using much more conservative riesling techniques: reductive fruit handling, juice settling and cool fermentation with inoculated yeast.'
She concludes, 'It is exactly what we were trying to achieve in making a wine with vibrant fruit flavours and a succulent, mouth-watering palate.' Prima was born.
From the Region
The 2007 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Prima Riesling (96 points, $24.95) is like a stealth bomber, but without bombs on board, because the alcohol is only 9.5%. The stealth comes from the realisation you have consumed a bottle when you go to pour what you think is a second (or perhaps third) glass. The only equivalent I can think of is a bottle of chilled, fresh Spanish manzanilla sherry, which I have banned from my cellar on the grounds of addiction. Prima has a magical balance of sweetness and acidity, the sweetness apparent in the intense lime juice of the mid-palate, but washed away by the crisp acidity of the finish - making another sip - nay mouthful - essential. And so it goes. For the record, it has 22g/l of residual grape sugar, and 7.7g/l of acid to go with its alcohol. And the 2008 Prima is already underway.
www.pewseyvale.com
James's articles appear every week in The Australian
The 2007 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Prima Riesling (96 points, $24.95) is like a stealth bomber, but without bombs on board, because the alcohol is only 9.5%. The stealth comes from the realisation you have consumed a bottle when you go to pour what you think is a second (or perhaps third) glass. The only equivalent I can think of is a bottle of chilled, fresh Spanish manzanilla sherry, which I have banned from my cellar on the grounds of addiction. Prima has a magical balance of sweetness and acidity, the sweetness apparent in the intense lime juice of the mid-palate, but washed away by the crisp acidity of the finish - making another sip - nay mouthful - essential. And so it goes. For the record, it has 22g/l of residual grape sugar, and 7.7g/l of acid to go with its alcohol. And the 2008 Prima is already underway.
www.pewseyvale.com
James's articles appear every week in The Australian
