The Next Frontier of Australian Wines?

This article was originally published on the Wine Communicators of Australia Blog - http://blog.winecommunicators.com.au/

The Australian wine industry Catch 22: To be unable to innovate leads to wine-making and wine industry stagnation. However, if we stop focusing on what we do well and concentrate on diversifying using alternative varieties that have their own history in their home country, Australia may lose its wine individuality and become even more of a globalised, homogenous wine producing nation. Can a middle ground be reached and if so, has it already occurred?


The next frontier of Australian wine is one where wine makers and wineries ply their trade from a position of self confidence, not self doubt, and advertise this fact in an innovative and non-traditional way. There are positive signs already, though structural and historical factors prevent Australia from realising its wine making potential.

The Australian wine industry at the moment is like a city that has reached its geographical limits and is suffering growing pains: important far reaching decisions need to be made.

Does Australian wine expand into new territory (new markets, new varieties, new styles), does it reinvigorate or consolidate what it already has (previously successful wine styles, varieties, markets) or does it try to strike a balance between the two? Regardless of the choices made by the wine industry, it will not succeed if these decisions are not made in a self confident and innovative way.

What is meant by ‘self confidence’ aside from basic definitions? – self confidence on the new Australian wine frontier is the confidence to make some mistakes in the short term trying to push the boundaries of wine excellence with the aim or aspiration to hit the highs in the long term. Take risks, try new things, have the courage to maintain and improve on traditional methods. This is has all been said before, but most importantly, the wine industry must have the self-confidence to stick with it.

In harnessing the emerging self confidence in Australian wine, the new wine information paradigm must be fully utilised. The wine maker, winery, vineyard or vintage narrative, combined with new media-assisted word of mouth is one of the key methods the Australian wine industry should use to forge a new frontier. The era of the hegemonic wine critic passing down wine style commandments from on high is coming to an end: Information is becoming more diffuse, readily accessible, and generic yet ironically also more niche. Wine consumer sub cultures, can now access more than enough information to enable them to make commercial decisions on the products they want to consume. The more innovative, versatile, agile, unique and quirky Australian wine becomes (breaking from the critter wine stereotype in the process); the easier it will be to promote this innovation using the new information paradigm.

I smile when I see an Australian winery taking a risk. If the risk works they are praised, if it fails, they wear some criticism. I applaud the wine risk takers and the innovators. In the brave new wine world, the more risk takers and skilled story tellers Australia can produce, the better-off Australian wine will be. The new frontier awaits.

2007 Mollydooker Two Left Feet Shiraz Cabernet Merlot

Edit: After reading a set of reviews posted by Andrew Graham on his Australian Wine Review blog (see the reviews and comments HERE), I did a quick browse of my own scores for certain wines. Looking at this review, it is painfully obvious that I over-rated it. At RedtoBrown, we have tended to post reviews of wines we rate above 85. For me personally, I do not want to spend my (increasingly limited) spare blogging time savaging a wine when I can praise, or critically asses a much more interesting, challenging wine (or try and produce some wine satire that invariably misses the mark, while drinking an interesting wine :-) ).

Nevertheless, I have written up notes on a few wines that I did not enjoy, partially to discuss the style of wine in question or query the judgement of the winery/corporation in releasing certain wines (see the Rosemount Botannicals post  (LINK) for arguably my most strident, negative review).

I did not enjoy this wine. It did not grow on me. It is made in a style I am not a fan of (a style foreign wine drinkers and critics think of when discussing Australian red wines). Looking back on the tasting notes, and my thoughts on the 2 bottles I tried 6 months apart, a rating of 86 points/3 stars is wildly inaccurate, and has to be addressed. The new, more accurate (in my view) score is below. Apologies for the flip flop; I do not have the time or desire to re-taste some wines I have my doubts on (and largely, I am happy with the calls made on most of the wine notes posted), but this one had to be addressed.

PS - thanks to Andrew Graham for leading the way in posting notes that are an honest view of what ones palate is telling them and not a complex calculation of fashion, wine trends, expectation and cliches.


I will have to come out first by stating that as an Australian, I had never heard of the slang term ‘mollydooker’ being used to describe left handed people until the winery of the same name stormed onto the scene in a rush of Parker points around 2005. If forced to offer up an Australian slang term for a left hander, ‘cackhanded’ would be my pick. Though not a national or personal emergency if it happened, the winery may be partly responsible for convincing Americans that we walk around our outback towns calling left handed people mollydookers.

In much the same way, Parkerised wines like the Mollydooker Two Left Feet have for some time been convincing Americans that Australia makes two styles of wine – the very cheap critter variety (Yellowtail, Koala Blue, random labels most Aussies will have never heard of) and the 90+ pointed Robert Parker blockbuster fruit bombs. Unlike the use or misuse of Australian slang, this perception, whether true or imagined, is definitely not the reality, and is not healthy for the Australian wine industry.

To set the scene, the wine being reviewed, the Two Left Feet is black-purple in colour. Following a ‘Mollydooker shake’ as instructed, its sweet nose of liqueur black fruit and tobacco enmeshes with spirity, pure alcohol fumes. There are porty black fruit flavours on the front palate, leading to bitter dark chocolate (both from heavy oak and fruit) on the middle and back palate, finishing in a crescendo of more bitter dark chocolate, porty black and some blue fruit, salty hard liquorice and a hit of powerful alcohol heat. The wine is not structurally out of control, though the alcohol is out of balance with everything else.

On day two, with ample time in the decanter, the flavour profile had not budged – if anything, the alcohol was more prominent. 2007 was a difficult vintage in the McLaren Vale, which would explain the harsh, bitter tannins evident (quite common in many of the MV Shiraz and Cabernet I have tried from that vintage), and might also explain the very high alcohol level that dominates the wine. However, this wine has obviously been made in a certain style regardless of vintage conditions, and it shows in the glass.

On reflection, the 07 Mollydooker Two Left Feet fits the pantomime villain description you see in wine forums criticising the style of Australian wines highly rated by Robert Parker and Wine Advocate. Unlike some of the Australian wines Parker rates highly, this wine conforms to many of the stereotypes: high alcohol clearly evident (16%abv, but more like 18%), porty, liqueur black fruit, difficult if not impossible to match with any food and too much to drink by itself (or to have more than one glass in one sitting). Yet this style of wine still sells in America, albeit in reduced quantities and for reduced prices.

However, there is hope. The way Australian Chardonnay has evolved since the ‘Sunshine in a glass / Dolly Parton’ era shows that the style of wine being made by wineries previously blessed with ‘Parker points’ could evolve in time, turning down the alcohol levels by several degrees, selecting fruit that is less over-ripe, and reining in the use of new (mostly American) oak.

Furthermore, the introduction of Lisa Perrotti Brown as the Asian/Australian rep for Wine Advocate (and noting her relatively high scores given to some Hunter Valley Reds early last year) suggests that such a move may actually be rewarded and not punished by Wine Advocate in the future.

Whether the aforementioned hope is realised, and whether wines made in the style of the Two Left Feet evolve accordingly remains to be seen. However, in light of the milieu the Australian wine industry finds itself in, it would be of assistance if this was the case.

Rating:
77 points (formerly 3 stars, 86 points)

ABV:16%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/