Beechworth gives of its wine bounty

The Victorian region produces some of Australia’s finest wines.

It is tasting season in the wine trade and one recent event in Sydney brought together many of Beechworth’s finest winemakers for the first time.

Looking around the room it was impressive that such a relatively small wine region could include so many fine producers. It is not something that they flaunt but, as a wine region, Beechworth is reputed to have the highest price per bottle value in Australia — and that is the mark of the quality of the output.

While some trade and media tastings can come across as overly corporate, with a lot of sharp suits and marketing types, the Beechworth Vignerons event was much more about family, connection to the land, and dirt under the fingernails. All the winemakers present celebrated the diversity in the room and were happy to recommend each others’ product. Here are four that I recommend to you.

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1. Castagna Growers’ Selection Harlequin 2014 ($35)
If we are talking about Beechworth wines, where better to start than with Castagna — a winery with a range that will keep the keenest oenophile occupied for hours (and probably days).

The 2014 Harlequin, for example, is a blend of roussanne, sauvignon blanc and semillon, with a touch of viognier, that is both fascinating and very drinkable (especially with food I would imagine).

Castagna Growers’ Selection Harlequin 2014.

You’ll find apple, stone fruits and melon on the palate, and there is plenty of honey and spice.

It manages to be fresh, but this wine is about the texture that comes from fermenting the juice on the grape skins.

It is a tad unusual, but is also absolutely worth searching out.
castagna.com.au
2. Sorrenberg Chardonnay 2015 ($58)
The Sorrenberg chardonnay was one of the wines of the tasting (as was its 2016 gamay, while I’m thinking about it).

It starts with a fairly restrained nose that does not give too much away: a bit of stone fruit and lightly tropical asides. The palate builds, again starting quietly with lemon, grapefruit, and a stony core before — boom! Three-quarters of the way over the palate a beautiful melange of fruit, spice, nut and something akin to marzipan roll over the tongue.

Sorrenberg Chardonnay.

There is lovely acid but it is a generous wine, too, with layers of complexity that are sure to develop further.

The body weight is perfect and there is a long finish. An outstanding wine.
sorrenberg.com

3. A. Rodda Aquila Addax Vineyard Tempranillo ($37)
After working for more than 10 years at Oakridge Wines in the Yarra Valley, Adrian Rodda moved to Beechworth where he sources grapes from one of the region’s oldest vineyards.

I mention Oakridge because it makes some of Australia’s best chardonnays, and the Rodda chardonnay is pretty good, too. However, I was also particularly impressed by his tempranillo, which first caught my attention with a beautifully fragrant nose. The palate is all about bright fruit — red berries, blueberry, a bit of plum perhaps — and freshness. There is spice, too, and enough tannin to suggest that it has a medium term future.

A. Rodda ‘Aquila Addax Vineyard’ Tempranillo.

It is hard not to drink it now though.
aroddawines.com.au

4. Giaconda Warner Vineyard  Shiraz 2015 ($79)
So much has been written about the Giaconda Estate chardonnay that I won’t add much more here, other than to say that the 2015 is excellent and you should buy some.

Its Warner Vineyard shiraz is equally deserving of praise. It is a wonderful wine that dances across the tongue with layer after layer of fruit and spice.

Giaconda Warner Vineyard Shiraz 2015.

It is almost racy in its herbal and peppery appeal but has beautiful, bright but soothing red and black fruit that balances the effect. There is mouth-watering acid to encourage consumption with food, but the tannins don’t have you screaming for red meat; rather, they sit comfortably on a fine structure that encourages belief in a long future.

giaconda.com.au