Wine reviews: Olivers, Taylors and Geoff Hardy fiano Wine reviews: Olivers, Taylors and Geoff Hardy fiano

This grape variety from Campania, southwest Italy, has the X-factor.

More than 130 grape varieties are being grown and made into wine in Australia and new varieties, usually called “alternatives”, are springing up every year; the most active and successful importer of new varieties is Kim Chalmers of Chalmers Wines. It’s all nerdy stuff because the average Australian wine consumer would be hard pressed to name more than 10 varieties and has little or no chance of recognising their respective tastes without the help of the label. Thus the odds against an obscure ancient white variety from Campania, southwest Italy, succeeding here when it had all but disappeared in Italy might have been longer than a three-legged horse winning the Melbourne Cup.

In 1945, the famous winemaker Antonio Mastroberardino hunted down single abandoned fiano vines dotted through the landscape and made 30 bottles. Fast-forward to 2014, and Ian D’Agata wrote in his 620-page masterwork Native Grapes of Italy (University of California Press): “I think fiano may well be Italy’s greatest native white grape … It can make a range of wines, from light to full bodied, dry to sweet, easygoing to very ageworthy ... and improve for 10 or more years.” His descriptors of fiano include hazelnut, green apple, pear, honey and steely mineral, developing a toasty, slightly herbal note with age.

When I looked at the 57 tasting notes for fianos (rated 92 points and above) in the Wine Companion database I made over the past three years, several things fell into place. First, that fiano has the X-factor of a distinctive texture and mouthfeel, perhaps due to its unusually thick skins. Second, flavours span savoury through to spice and honey, finishing with powerful, citrus-tinged acidity. Third, it is late ripening and flexible in the choice of climate. The bottom line? If you get a chance, buy a bottle.

2016 Olivers Taranga Vineyards McLaren Vale Fiano Bright welcoming straw-green. The bouquet has wild flower/bush/pine aromas; the palate follows suit with a strong, racy structure embracing savoury, fruity nuances of kaffir lime. A mouthfilling wine with attitude and natural acidity. 12.5% alc, screwcap 93 points, drink to 2020, $25 2016 Taylors TWP Taylors Winemaker’s Project Clare Valley Fiano The full straw colour with glints of green points to the savoury, wild grown flower elements on the bouquet, the palate loaded with savoury, brambly notes disputing floor space with lime zest, all surrounded by echoes of spice. Intriguing, with a flow to the mid-palate. 12.5% alc, screwcap 94 points, drink to 2020, $25 2016 Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy Adelaide Hills Fiano Bright, clear quartz green hue points to stainless steel fermentation at a relatively low temperature. Its bouquet and forepalate have greater flowery perfume and precision than most; power and length in finish and aftertaste and savoury acidity a varietal hallmark. 13% alc, screwcap 94 points, drink to 2020, $25