2004 Top 100 Introduction In my recently released 2005 Australian Wine Companion there were 377 new winery listings. The 2004 Companion had 240 new entries, the year before 180. It is a parabolic curve, and there is every indication it will continue through to next year at least. If an additional 400 wineries were to make their maiden appearance, it would mean 1200 have come into existence in the last four years, more than the total between 1840 and 2000. Small wonder, then, that 1258 wines were submitted this year, breaking the previous record by over 200. this, I might say, is despite the fact that I must necessarily restrict the invitations to enter the Top 100 to around 200 of the best-performed producers, and even then beg them to only submit a limited number of wines which they consider to be their very best. If I were not to so restrict the entries, it is certain 3000-plus wines would arrive on my doorstep, creating a logistical nightmare, and the necessity of tasting 150 wines a day for 20 consecutive days in a month which already has five wine show commitments ? an impossible situation. Enough of the mechanical stuff. The schedule may have been demanding, but this was the most memorable of all Top 100 tastings. The high point was the 2002 vintage, which right across south east Australia produced superb red wines in seemingly endless volumes. It was largely due to this vintage (with support from 2003) that I was able to turn the price clock back, and reinstate the $20 and under red wine section. (In recent years I had to increase it to $25). The outcome is a really strong group of reds $20 and under ($19.99 is $20 so far as I am concerned). There are also some great bargains in the $20-30 segment of the above $20 group, and indeed most of the way up the price scale to the rarefied heights of Hill of Grace and Grange. All of this is reflected in the number of very high scoring red wines, with 95 and 96 points far more frequently given than in prior years. You have to go back to the 1996 and ?98 vintages to find roughly similar outcomes. The message with the white wines is decidedly less cheerful when it comes to the 2004 vintage. This was a year in which big berries and big bunches resulted in high yields; the growing conditions were perfect, and there was a bounce-back after the drought-reduced 2003 vintage. Right across Australia the message has been much the same: well-made whites with nice structure and good length, but lacking positive varietal fruit flavours. I hope that those I have chosen from 2004 are the exceptions to prove the rule. The result has been a higher percentage than usual of older vintage whites chosen (1987 to 2003), in most instances sustained by the long march of the screwcap, used on 65 per cent of the selected white wines. It is of course true that the best chardonnays from 2004 are yet to be bottled and come onto the market, and may lead to some re-assessment. The most telling area is sauvignon blanc, one of the most rapidly growing sectors, but without a single representative in the above $20 category (although there are two semillon sauvignon blanc blends, one from 2004, the other from 2002). For every wine selected, there were another three or four of similar price and quality (except Hill of Grace and Grange). Often the choice was driven by a deliberate desire to provide a balance between big companies and small, between cool and warmer climate styles, and between varieties. No small-to-medium winery has more than two selected wines (although some could easily have three or four on pure quality terms), but some of the big five have significantly more, taking 20 of the 88 available Australian spots. It is a far from perfect system done on the back of the proverbial envelope, and on looking back it seems Orlando Wyndham and Beringer Blass are under-represented once all its brands are taken into account. Particularly in the case of Orlando and Beringer Blass nothing should be read into the absence of wines, although Beringer opted not to submit its best Wolf Blass wines (Platinum or Black Label). At the other end of the spectrum come the steadily increasing number of virtual wineries, which I used to call ?warehouse? wineries. Here grapes are purchased from independent growers, and made in a shared winery owned by a third party or group. The only capital investment is in the oak barrels, but there is a considerable amount of experience among the creators. Journeys End and Zonte?s Footstep are prime examples. So I present this year?s Top 100 with utmost confidence, and suggest it shows an industry well-equipped to deal with the ever-increasing challenges in its all-important export markets. Finally, I have added website addresses/phone numbers to help track down the hard-to-find wines; it is a condition of entry that the wines be available for sale in December, but some will be in limited supply. Key to closure abbreviation ? C Cork, S Screwcap, SY Synthetic, TT Twin-Top Cork Please select from the sections below:
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Jan 01 2005 | Author: James Halliday
