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Despite my best efforts to keep the Top 100 tasting within reasonable bounds by shortlisting the number of producers invited to enter, 1022 wines were submitted, more than ever before. Having worked my way through those wines over seven continuous days of tasting, I came up with a shortlist of 208 table wines worthy of inclusion, but with only 80 places available; 20 Australian sparkling wines, with eight to be chosen; and 45 wonderful Champagnes vying for 12 spots. I cannot remember a more difficult final selection; the sales and marketing teams (or, simply, proprietors) responsible for the 128 table wines which missed out would be grinding their teeth if they knew the hair's breadth which lay between selection and omission. For the statistics watchers, BRL Hardy has nine wines, Southcorp eight, Orlando Wyndham four and Beringer Blass an (unlucky) three. As in previous years, Southcorp elected not to submit any of its leading Penfolds red wines (not even the Bin Number reds), nor Yattarna Chardonnay.
Then there were the numerous small producers who, for various reasons, did not enter, while others (such as Shaw & Smith) were sabotaged by their freight companies. So there are numerous reasons why no conclusions should be drawn about absences from the Top 100. Next, there is the inevitable issue of points. Although I have not bothered with the exercise, I suspect the points are generally higher than in previous years. There is no mathematical science or objective precision in points: they are but a guide to be read in conjunction with the tasting note descriptions, the relative ranking being of the greatest relevance. Continuing on this theme, the 36 white wines are made up with chardonnay and riesling each claiming 11 spots, sauvignon blanc and semillon sauvignon blanc blends eight, semillon four, and others two. On the red wine side, there are 14 shiraz, 12 cabernet sauvignon or cabernet dominant blends, 10 pinot noirs (continuing last year's strong showing by this variety), five shiraz dominant blends, a solitary merlot (disappointing) and two other blends.
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The 2002 vintage was an utterly exceptional one for riesling, so its success should come as no surprise. Moreover, seven of its wines fell in the under $20 section, compared to only three chardonnays. The answer is simple: riesling offers outstanding value for money. The most rapidly growing white wine sector is the sauvignon blanc and semillon sauvignon blanc blends, and it shows in the annual tonnage figures, which have more than doubled for each variety since 1996, while that of riesling has declined. The ABC club (Anything But chardonnay) has seemingly migrated to the former wines, leaving the riesling revival as shadowy as ever. In both the Under $20 Whites and Under $25 Reds the selection process was not unduly difficult, but in the higher priced brackets it was diabolically difficult, spectacularly so with the red wines.
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A number of pinot noirs from the great 2000 vintage (for this variety) are still available, and the Tasmanian 2001 vintage may yet prove to be of similar class to 2000. Then factor in the great success of 1999 in Western Australia, the Clare Valley and the Hunter Valley, and the sheer class of wines with those antecedents is not surprising. What is a little unexpected is the way many of the top red wines (other than pinot) of 2000, initially ungainly, have settle down in bottle. This is not to suggest they are ready for consumption, but I repeatedly found that tannins and/or oak, initially raising queries when the wine were first bottled, have already started to coalesce, promising a great future. The sparkling wine market (for Australian wines) is static, and has been so for some time. That for champagne is still suffering a major hangover from the new millennium celebrations, the emergence of a $30 (or $29.95) champagne a particularly vivid indication of the market. And on the subject of prices, I grew tired of the used car sales yard approach to pricing, particularly with that of one champagne at $99.99, which as a matter of law is $100 in any event. So in all cases where the price was quoted with cents of 95 or 99, I took an executive decision to round it upwards to the nearest whole dollar. The reality of the market place is, as ever, that the prices for all these wines will vary from one retailer to the next, with the usual suspects (the aggressive discounters) taking a few wines, slashing their price below cost, and using headlines to entice customers. I enjoyed tasting these wines, and hope you will do likewise. White wines under $20
White wines over $20
Red wines under $25
Red wines over $25
Sparkling wines and Champagne Previously published in The Weekend Australian 23-24 November 2002
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Nov 25 2002 | Author: James Halliday
