Last July was the Australian wine industry’s technical gabfest. People who grow grapes or make wine descend on Australia (this time Adelaide because this side of the industry is very South Australian-centric) to hear about the latest technologies.

I bumped into an old friend Don Buchanan, who made wine at Tisdall (now under French ownership) and before then at Arrowfield in the Upper Hunter Valley.

Don told me he was now working in Bali as technical adviser and enologist; so I asked him to send me some wines from Hatten. It was no surprise that Don’s wines were very drinkable and cuisine-wise quite fitting.

After all, good sound, careful Aussie-style winemaking will convert sound grapes into a decent drop anywhere in the world.

Don took over in 2008 from founding French winemaker Vincent Desplat who joined the project inauguration in 1994.

Belgia grapes on pergolas

And these Balinese grapes, belgia (a variant of muscat of alexandria and alphonse-lavalee-which I know as ribier) are grown increasingly in the north of the island in a rain shadow between two volcanoes.

The varieties are essentially big, round, juicy eating (table) grapes which supply the domestic fruit market needs, now converted across to wine production because of a need.

This has been and is still occurring in Thailand and India where the start-up grape supply is solely table grape, now driven by a wine thirsty middle class, but wine grape varieties need introducing and propagation.

Often there are complications with these introductions as the climate and varietal needs may not coincide. Some varieties cannot handle the tropical conditions. In Bali the vines are grown on a high pergola trellis, and hang down, so lack of sun and high humidity must be a problem to overcome.

The up side is that the vines keep growing year round, so they are pruned after harvest, then another crop results.

Hatten’s vineyards are at 8o latitude. Don reports: “We have 3 existing vineyards of our own; Sanggalang is the oldest, Ume Anyar 1 and 2. In total 11.5 ha are producing.

“I am now planting a new 5 ha vineyard with an Ozi style trellis and management system to use as a training ground for our Bali farmers. We will use rootstocks and a range of vinifera varieties from Oz.

“We also have 7 contracted growers with another 12 ha producing and more coming on line. In addition we have purchase agreements with 3 other major growers”.

The magnet to make wine in Bali of course is for all those Caucasian tourists whose natural diet is table wine; coupled with a diverse, spicy, highly-flavoured range of plates naturally demanding off-dry, fruity, lowish alcohol wine as the standard pairing drink.

Hatten makes this range of desirable styles very comprehensively. I tasted five wines.

Hatten Aga White NV Anggur Putih 88 (11%); USD 14, pale straw/gold, made from belgia and muscat grapes, fresh but strong nose, crunchy palate and acid kept high, 7.5 g/L sweetness; drink with medium and high heat chilli levels.

Hatten Alexandria NV Anggur Putih 87 (10.5%); USD 14, lovely musk aromas, remarkably light body which means easily sold and drunk very chilled, again muscat based, 25 g/L sweetness; drink with very hot foods.

Hatten Anggur Rose NV 88 (11%); USD 14, salmon-pink, sea-salt and oyster shell aromas which caused interest, fruity and fresh, bone dry, clean and tingly acid which is high, no sweetness, drink with fish and oily dishes for paired balance. Made from the alphonse lavalee red grape which creates this seaside aromas.

Hatten Sparkling White and Rose

Hatten Tunjung Sparkling White NV 89 (11.5%); USD 14, pale but lots of greens, belgia grapes showing good fruitiness and less flowers, some yeast, quite dry though 25 g/L sweetness, has a long tail of acidity for food enjoyment, even hot and spicy is suitable despite the bubbles.

Hatten Jepun Sparkling Rose NV 90 (11.5%); USD 14; salmon, tons of salty/oyster shell aromas, lots of red grape character, less yeast, great palate, powerful, dry from tannin yet sweetness is 35 g/L; easy to assimilate with local fare, and serve icy cold for best effects. Both sparklings are made by the traditional method-in bottle, not externally fizzed.

Through social media I met a man in the telco industry based in Jakarta who first pointed me to the taste quality of the Jepun Rose thus:

“They do two sparkling wines, Jepun (frangipani flower) rose and Tunjung (means waterlily) white. It’s important to set the expectations beforehand, the wines are from grapes grown in Bali after all.

Sparkling the wine-Balinese style

In August this year Penfolds Wines unearthed a half bottle (369 mls, originally 13 ounces) of 1903 St Henri Claret in Brisbane during their annual re-corking series.

This was the oldest known vintage of this venerable style once termed “Australian Claret” in a generic sense, although it is a long time now since Australian makers and Penfolds in particular dropped generic naming for varietal label description.

A private Queensland St Henri collector and passionate drinker of these substantial red wines conducted a St Henri retrospective for 24 eager palates recently; spanning 1985 to 2004 (1986 missing, presumed drunk).

This writer was master of ceremonies and responsible for bottle preparation and service. Three bottles of each vintage were provided.

The inaugural St Henri “Claret” was made at the Auldana Cellars around the 1890s, with the vineyard adjacent to the famous Magill vineyard which spawned the first Granges in the 1950s.

The Penfolds family purchased Auldana Cellars and hence the St Henri brand in 1943 with the first St Henri emerging commercially in 1957.

Though half bottles of experimental St Henri trickled out to those close to the company since 1953 (two years after Grange samples were peddled likewise).

Penfolds Rewards of Patience cellar report now in its sixth edition – 2008, (first in 1985) chronicles tastings of all released St Henri vintages. This is the most recent retrospective tasting of contemporary vintages.

Flight 2004-2000 served with house pate, cornichons and mustard; 2004 (90, 14.5%), juicy fruit, drying, grippy tannin; 2003 (86, 14.5%), light colour, light fruit, trace of aging; 2002 (91,14.5%), jammy and spiced, leafy, minted, dry talc tannin; 2001 (93, 14.5%), very jammy, syrupy, rich in spiced fruits, very good; 2000 (85, 13.5%), colour fading, quite feral and dank, herbal, tough tannins.

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz vertical 1985-2004

As winemaker Peter Gago says, “Not so long back this wine was known and labelled as St Henri Claret,” so it is a style not curtailed by the grape blend.But Peter does qualify that by saying the wine is always Shiraz dominant (a lot of Barossa) as with the 1994 -labelled as Shiraz Cabernet with the latter at 15%.

Barossa and like warm region Shiraz hold their primary fruit nose for 4-7 years, depending on the harvest conditions. The fruit attributes to enjoy are berry, blackberry, mocha, licorice, jam, juicy fruits while any cooked aromas from hot seasons will appear as stewed prune or tar).

Flight 1999-1995 served with sage/proscuitto wrapped quail on mushroom risotto; 1999 (90, 14%), sweet, cedar, lovely juiciness; 1998 (94, 14%), layer on layer of flavour, licorice; 1997 (89, 14%), aging nose, leather, green, hot;1996 (94, 14%), mature, tar, juicy, licorice, soft; 1995 (89, 13.5%), earthy, burnt, very tarry now.

Australian red wine making pre the mid-50s when small barrels were slowly introduced, occurred with storage in 2000-5000 litre oak barrels (rounds or ovals depending on their French or Italian origin). New oak uptake was not a feature, but tannin softening over 18-24 months was normal.

Peter Gago reports that the style has never changed nor the wine making, nor the oak maturation. So the Auldana Cellars process of 1890 for red wine aging is the St Henri Shiraz aging process for the 2010 vintage; in 1460 to 2000 litre, old vats (50 years+).

Flight 1994-1990 served with waygu slices topped with caramelised onion and tomato relish; 1994 (91, 13.5%), leathery, full fruit, juicy tannins, licorice; 1993 (89, 13.5%), aging, just crimson, syrupy, very soft and easy; 1992 (90, 13.5%), jammy, sweet, lively palate; 1991 (94, 13.5%), rich and ultra-ripe, jam, great freshness, soft and pliant; 1990 (93, 13.5%), cedary, licorice, leafy, earthy, touch feral now. 1994 was labelled Shiraz Cabernet as was 1992.

Wines at this stage have essentially lost primary fruit and have developed or are developing aromas and flavours that become the backbone of the wine.

The second component of course is how the tannins are tracking. By virtue of its name this wine starts life high in tannin.

And it would be expected during different phases of the wine making over the decades that very tannic pressings components would be added, depending on the winemaker responsible.

Although Australian red wine making has gone through some “softness” phases, and red wine re-modelling, St Henri seems to be left alone of late, and hefty tannins included and allowed to age gently in large oak, then wine is sent to bottling.

My pointings suggest: greater than 90; wine alive and on a long maturing span, 15-30 years; less than 90, wine softened or softening fast (good attribute) but the developed fruit structure will not hold on for the 30 years, expect a shelf life of 10-15 years from such vintage.

Flight 1989-1987,1985, 1971 served with lamb shank, white bean minestrone and ricotta dumpling on a cool and cloudy afternoon; 1989 (90, 13.5%), crimson, sweet cedar, quite jammy, then licorice and soft; 1988 (89, 13.5%), quite mature, very dry, now soft, not silk; 1987 (88, 13%), muddy colour, herbal, very dried, patchy, hollowing; 1985 (92, 12.5%), very juicy-sweet nose, drying but classy; 1971 (90), colour browns and crimson, tar and roses nose, alive, very bright licorice and tar aged fruit, classily soft tannins holding very well.

Penfolds St Henri "Claret" pre-1989

Recorking: 1989 (2 bottles) re-corked at a 2010 clinic earlier in the year; 1988 (1 bottle) 2010 clinic, (1 bottle) 2006 clinic [2006 topped bottle not as fresh but the flavour differences were marginal; participants told which bottle they tasted]; 1987 (1 bottle) 2006 clinic [the aging process had overtaken the freshening, both wines of similar character]; 1985 (1 bottle) 2006 clinic, (1 bottle) 2002 clinic [both wines approximately similar and tasters told which was their bottle].Cork taint, oxidation or wine deterioration was the main focus of the wine preparation. Bottles of 1999 and 1993 were cork tainted and replaced with fresh, untainted bottles. The TCA incidence rate was 4.5% but since 2005 this disappears with the use of screw cap. From 1996 the bottles are laser-etched and from 1997 the corks branded as St Henri with vintage.

The youngest vintages were decanted first and served first within three hours of opening, while older wines had similar breathing times with cork replaced, while extended breathing was deemed not warranted.

All wines from 1989 and older were labelled Claret.

A wonderful private tasting

Of the older wines it was easy to see the ones holding their expected aging trajectory from fruit strength while lesser years decline that strength, concurrently drying out as the tannins show and there is less to taste (1987, 1988, 1993 etc).The wines of the tasting to die for by Peter Gago’s advice were 1971, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, while at this tasting we include 1991.

There was a feeling of anticipation visiting Angelo Gaja in his home hill town of Barbaresco. Having admired his wines for over 30 years meant the final day. After all he is known as Mr Piedmont and Mr Barbaresco or this is how I would imagine it to be.

The company had also celebrated 150 years of establishment last year, yet the past three decades have really pasted the word GAJA on the foreheads of Italian wine lovers.

Harvest had just finished; no more nebbiolo for 2010, just long days of skin contact on the fermenting grapes and skins, malo-lactics and transfer to barrels underground (where it is now warmer) for the 2-3 year process to bottle.

Reflections of the 2010 vintage are positive. Except for the 30 percent loss of grapes from hail in June in Serrulunga vineyards, the crops have weathered the season well.

Some rains certainly fell during the ripening stages, but good grapes have resulted and the overall general result today is one of very good wine but not as concentrated as the highly pointed vintages of recent years. That was the impression Angelo Gaja gave me.

It seemed a bit surreal to talk about 2010 after 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 all so good, 2008 also outstanding, and 2009 not far behind. A stellar run for Piemonte, in part attributed to climate fluctuation.

During my drives around vineyards in the Barbaresco area most vineyards had harvested by the end of the first week of October; some vineyards were still exposing their fruit, but some light rain, the usual fog and lowering day temperatures curtailed any further delays.

“We first started to get an inkling about climate change with the 1997 harvest. There were four or five very hot days. By 2003 we had 10 very hot days during the harvest. Now by 2010 this confirms that we have to deal with this permanent change and understand what leads to concentration in our grapes. Vines dry grown can be both hungry and angry in these conditions,” Angelo explains.

He continues by describing the nebbiolo vine growing in Piemonte and the comparisons made with New World vineyards where applied irrigation becomes automatic.

“Water can have its problems, it’s important to be available. In 2010 we had good harmony, with grape colour well-formed, wines not highly concentrated but in balance. For over 200 years we have had the clay maintain the water supply in our soils, usual rain is 650-800 mm per year. In 2003 that fell to under 400 mm. With the slope of the hills the excess water runs off.” One by-product of global warming is a change in Gaja blends of nebbiolo to now include barbera, the grape carrying higher acidity than “neb”. The three single vineyard wines in Barbaresco now carry five percent barbera. In the La Morra, in the low part of the hill, in the Conteisa vineyard eight percent is used, and at Sperss high on the hill, six percent is blended.

I tasted three wines; one an international chardonnay, one Barbaresco, one Barolo.

Gaja Rossj Bass 2009 Langhe DOC is Chardonnay (90), USD 70, 14.5%, a monster chardonnay to smell from the charry oak intensity, though pale coloured, yet on palate great minerality and slatey acidity, a wine style to stand up to some time in bottle.

Gaja Barbaresco 2007, DOCG is Nebbiolo (93), USD 160,14%, really fine wine, usual cherry, brick colour, some flowers though not much, more an expression of aromatic nebbiolo, a background of oak cedar, then to the important part, the palate. This wine has great palate freshness for drinking now, long, fine tannins, fine acid and flavour sweetness. Drink now until 2012 as a young wine.

Gaja Sperss 1999, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC (96), USD 238, 14%, showing the tell-tale clear-orange edge of nebbiolo, brick and black at the depth; nose shows progressing maturity in the herbs, truffle, sweaty, still with aromatics and signs from barrel aging, palate superb, powdery and silky tannins, lovely maturity (drink 2015-2020 no trouble), yet very fresh, long final flavours, six per cent barbera.

Returning to the 1997 vintage, the first to herald that climate change was occurring, Angelo had some curt words for the scribes making predictions of vintages, 1997 in particular.

“1997 had concentration, from the hot and dry year, it was a small crop. The US writers were in conflict with the Europeans. The US scribes welcomed Sori San Lorenzo, the wine was bigger but approachable being the high points while the Europeans said it would not last. It was unusual but it did age well, and is looking very good now. The beauty of such a wine is that it is not aging quickly, unlike some Montalcino wine.”

Gaja has marvellous cellars; mainly under the Barbaresco town, and significant production from 100 hectares. The name was originally Spanish, from past conquistadores, and a slice of that bloodline has been retained in branding.

In 1977 Gaja established their own distribution in Italy, a very smart move. www.teraltowines.com/wines/italy/gaja