THE WINE FRONT

Winemaker interview by Adam Catford

Name:
Troy Kalleske.

Age:
29

Where you currently make wine:
Kalleske Wines, Greenock , Barossa Valley , SA.

Where you’ve made wine in the past:
Veritas (Rolf Binder), Penfolds, Seppelt Great Western, Lindemans Karadoc, Kendall-Jackson Sonoma USA , Miranda Barossa.

Most significant wine you’ve ever drunk:
Penfolds 1962 Bin 60A

How was it?
I had the 1962 Bin 60A in 2006. It was truly amazing ... and of course I have to say that because it is regarded as Australia ’s best ever wine! But the wine really did actually live up to its reputation. It wasn’t just good because it was meant to be ‘good’. It was a beautiful nose of aged red wine – surprisingly intense aromas for its age – plenty of sweet leather, boot polish, tobacco and still with a hint of black fruit. The texture of the palate was simply stunning. Harmonious, very velvety tannins and still a mouth filling wine with remarkable richness for its age. It was also lengthy to finish, a dry finish, but very persistent.

Have you tried the 2004 version?
Nope, I’ve never tried the 2004 version. I’d certainly like to give it a try at some stage. Would of course be great to see it while young and again in 40 odd years time!

Wine you’re most proud of having been associated with the making of?
Kalleske Old Vine Grenache

Is there any wine you’ve been associated with the making of that, if you had your time again, you’d treat/make differently?
Not really.

In your opinion, which wine style/grape variety does Australia and New Zealand , respectively, do best?
Australia : Grenache. New Zealand : Sauvignon Blanc.

Other than the wineries you have worked with, which Australian/NZ winery is best represented in your personal cellar?
Burge Family

Favourite wine region (Australia):
Barossa of course!

Favourite wine region (world-wide):
At this stage I really haven’t a firm favourite, but do admire some of the interesting wines from Spain.

Favourite movie:
Really don’t have one, but thought Borat was damn funny!

Favourite book (general):
The Da Vinci Code.

Favourite wine-related book:
Making Good Wine by Bryce Rankine (so practical, especially when starting off as a winemaker). Wine Hunter by Campbell Mattinson was also a great read.

Desert-island food-wine match:
A desert island … something refreshing I suppose … Rockmelon wrapped in Lachschinken and washed down with a fresh Tassie Riesling.

How do you take your coffee?
Strong, White, No sugar

Your opinion on the ‘high alcohol wines can’t be in balance’ view?
Disagree with it. If there is enough other stuff going on in the wine, a high alcohol wine can easily be in balance.

What do you most detest about the wine industry?
A few too many people have high opinions of themselves.

What do you most love about the wine industry?
The great sharing of knowledge between everyone.

Any comments you would like to add/make in relation to the state of the wine industry here or globally?
Whilst there’s been some recent tough times, I think the future is bright, especially for smaller, authentic producers. As the big companies (both wineries & retailers) continue to consolidate (both in Aus and overseas) it really gives us smaller producers a strong point of difference as we make genuine regional and subregional wines of real interest to consumers and fine retailers.

The sea of commercial wine seems to create an opportunity for the creative, quality small maker. The raft of these generic wines meets the vast majority of wine drinkers' needs (90%+) and the small proportion of oenophiles who want more out of their wine (2% +) is where the small quality outfits fill the space. It actually seems a good marriage, but the wine press are very critical of the big volume commercial wine companies. What are your thoughts?
Totally agree with your point about the big commercial wines giving us smaller makers a great opportunity. You’re right, somewhere from 1-10% do want something more. It doesn’t really matter what the figure is, but importantly those people are out there, they need to be looked after and us smaller guys are in prime position to do it. There is room in the world for both the big volume generic wines which the big boys do well and also for the small volume creative/interesting/unique styles from the quality boutique producer. I guess it’s like cars, some people are happy with a Commodore or Excel, whereas a small part of the market wants more, something different, like a Jaguar or Rolls Royce. You’re right, it is actually a good marriage.

Finally, the 2007 vintage is being described as a disaster. How did you fare ?
The ‘07 vintage is now all in, as of last week. Overall I am generally happy and at this stage would class it as a good vintage. Although after malo, as the wines really come together, I’m sure I’ll upgrade this to very good. Yields for me were down 20-50% depending on the block, probably about 30% overall. So this isn’t too bad considering some of the stories I’ve heard.