Thewinefora hotterfuturemight
comefromanancientgrapegrown
in Italy’s south, writesMAX ALLEN.
Great
southern
Sincethena fewotheradventurousAustralian
winemakershavejumpedonthebandwagon–people
suchasCraigIsbel,whomakeswinesintheBarossa
ValleyundertheIzwaylabelwithmateBrianConway.
Isbelsayshebecameinterestedinaglianicoasa
responsetoclimatechange:“Withwarmersummers
andmarginalharvestconditionsincreasing,it’s
essentialthatwinemakersfocusonthefuture,”he
says.“In2009,wewereinvitedbyoneofourkey
growerstoestablisha newvineyard.Theonecaveat
was that the varietyshouldripenata differenttime
toshiraz,astherewasa lotof
pressureonthegrowerat harvest
(lotsofdifferentgrapesallripening
at onceis oneoftheresultsofhotter
summers).Afterdrinkingsome
wonderfulexamplesfromItaly,
wesettledonplantingaglianico.”
Thevarietyhas,hesays,exceeded
hisexpectations:it ripenslaterand
giveswineswithloweralcoholand
highernaturalacid.Hecurrently
producestwowinesfromthe
grape:a richandtannicexpressionfrom 2017 called
Angelo,destinedfora longlifeinthecellar(much
likethetopTaurasiredsfromMastroberardino),as
wellasa juicy,freshyoungredfrom 2018 calledMates.
“A smallamountofSO2at bottlingis theonly
additionthat’sbeenmadetotheMates,”saysIsbel.
“It’swild-fermented,unfinedandunfiltered.And
I thinktheminimalwinemakingdisplayshowwell
thisvarietyworksinourregion.”
TheChalmersfamilyalsoproducea coupleof
different wines from aglianico grown at their vineyardIfaglianicomakes
wine thisgoodin
Italy’shot south,
imaginewhat
itcoulddoin
oursun-baked
and dry vineyards.I
t wasalmost 20 yearsagonow,butI canstill
clearlyrememberthefirsttimeI tastedwine
madefromtheancientItalianredgrape,aglianico.
It wasproducedbytheMastroberardino
familyfromgrapesgrowninthehillyTaurasiregion
ofCampania,nearNaples.Thewinehadallthedepth
andcomplexityofthebest– andfarmorefamous–
ChiantisandBarolosfromfurthernorth.Thiswas
a revelationforme.Herewasa grapethatAustralian
winemakersshouldbegrowing:if it makeswine
thisgoodinItaly’shotsouth,imaginewhatit
coulddoinoursun-bakedanddry
vineyardsDownUnder.
Iwasn’ttheonlyonethinking
alongtheselines.Aroundthe
sametime,theforward-thinking
Chalmersfamilyofgrapegrowers
nearMilduraimportedlotsof
later-ripening,heat-tolerant,
climate-appropriatesouthern
Mediterraneangrapesnotpreviously
grownhere–aglianicoamongthem- andstartedpropagatingthevines
andsellingthemtoothergrowers.
By themid-to-late2000sthefirstAustralianwines
fromthesevinesbegantoappear.I rememberbeing
veryexcitedbythesavourytanninsintheChalmers’
ownfirst 2004 vintageaglianico,andoverjoyed
whenthe 2008 CalabriaPrivateBinaglianicofrom
Griffith,incentralNSW,pickedupthetrophyfor
bestredat the 2010 AustralianAlternativeVarieties
WineShow:thelate-ripeninggrapefromCampania
clearlylovedbeinggrown in one of the country’s
hottest wine regions.
Right:aglianico
vinesonthe
borderof
Campania.44 GOURMET TRAVELLER