Australian Nebbiolo.
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it
Edgar Albert Guest
I’ve lost count of the number of
times I’ve read or heard that Nebbiolo isn’t really worth pursuing outside of Piedmont in Northern Italy.
The theory goes that there exists such a unique synergy between grape and
terroir there, that nowhere else will be able to produce wine worthy of this
King of grapes.
Well I’ve tasted enough good
Australian Nebbiolo over the past 5 years or so to state emphatically that this
is not the case. SC Pannell, Luke Lambert, Coriole, and Pizzini are all
examples of wineries that have produced Nebbiolos that would sit comfortably in a line-up
of Langhe Nebbiolo, albeit that the flavour and texture profiles might be
somewhat different from a wine from Piedmont. The only question to my mind is
whether Australia will end up producing profound, long lasting Nebbiolo such as
one gets with top Barolo and Barbaresco. This is as yet unanswered. I am,
however, increasingly of the view that Australian Nebbiolo is like Australian
Pinot Noir of twenty years ago or so. Another decade or two will likely see a handful
of vineyards and wineries making great Nebbiolo.
To the wine at hand, the 2012 Star
Lane Nebbiolo. Somewhat pale and translucent in colour as per the variety. The
nose is initially somewhat closed but it opened up over the course of a couple
of days to reveal cherry, tar, and a note of orange peel. There’s nice fruit on
the palate, but all within a medium bodied Nebbiolo frame. That orange peel
note, along with some appealing bittnerness puts me in the mind of a Negroni.
No bad thing. Oak is there but unobtrusive. The overall balance of the wine is
excellent and it finishes with proper, drying tannin and a lovely earthiness. On day one I had it at 3.5 Stars, but my last
glass on day 2 was impressive enough to give it a nudge. 4 Stars, and a wine
that needs a few years in the cellar yet.
Rated: 4 Stars
RRP: $55
Closure: Diam
Drink: 2016-2022
Website: www.starlanewinery.com.au
Red
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