THE WINE FRONT

By Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Editor.

It's almost hard to believe that the Rutherglen wine region produces more world-acclaimed wines than any other Australian region. Especially when, if you want to be totally honest, you know that it also produces more wines than anywhere else that don’t quite make it up to modern standards. It receives the highest of high praise from the highest of high wine judges (most notably US critic Robert Parker Jnr, who routinely hands out ratings of 100/100 for the region’s fortified wines), and yet in its own country it also struggles against a general perception of daggy uncoolness.

It is tackling this dagginess head on – by promoting a group of Rutherglen winefolk under the Young Bloods of Rutherglen banner – and yet when you tour the region, you quickly notice that a great deal of its fans are, how should we put it, “middle-age challenged”. What is more, other than during major festivals, cellar door trade at many of the region’s wineries still show a heavy reliance on customers turning up with their empty plastic containers, asking for them to be filled with bulk muscat. Nice trade if you can get it, but a trade on the wane, and certainly not what you’d want to build your gleaming modern future on.

The problem is that great fortified wine – perhaps the greatest in the world – is a wonderful asset for a region to have, but it’s in limited supply (you can’t just whip up a new batch of 8o year old muscat to feed demand) and anyway, wine drinkers don’t tend to drink through a great deal of it. Even if you love the stuff you probably struggle to get through half a dozen bottles of rich, syrupy-sweet, high-alcohol fortified wines each year, as opposed to table wine drinkers, who get through half a dozen bottles in a week.

That fact – that fortified wine isn’t the winedrinker’s staple – puts pressures on Rutherglen’s table wines, because for it to flourish as a wine region, table wine is what the region needs to sell. It is in this area that Rutherglen has often been found wanting.

Not that the situation is all that bad – because there are some excellent table wines coming out of the area, and more importantly, a steadily increasing number of them. Even better: unlike a lot of regions, Rutherglen seems well aware of both its limitations, and also of where it is at. It is a wonderfully grounded, unassuming region. Few regions boast so many wines at such low prices. An example: a large number of the reds and whites for sale at the celebrated Chambers Rosewood winery sell for between $6 and $15 per bottle. Another: the flagship ‘Quartz Vein’ range at the Cofield winery sells for $28. Factor in the superb value of, respectively, the Morris and Warrabilla reds, and you see that this region has a lot to offer.

Stephen Chambers at the Chambers Rosewood winery puts it well. “Our fortified are great, and we are struggling to keep up with demand for them, but our table wines need a lot of work. We recognise that. I would like to add though that a lot of people who have ideas on the quality of Rutherglen wine may not have tasted much from the area in the past 15 years – and for instance, Rutherglen as a winemaking area was fairly slow to adopt refrigeration. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that the first refrigeration came here.” So in terms of modern winemaking techniques, ironically for such an historic region, it’s all relatively new to the area. It is learning.

And nowhere are modern winemaking techniques more necessary than at Rutherglen – at least in terms of refrigeration (as Mandy Jones at the Jones Winery says: “I’m lucky having a brother who’s a refrigeration expert”). This is a hot place. Rutherglen is in north-east Victoria , a three-and-a-bit hour drive inland from Melbourne , on the New South Wales/Victorian border. It flanks the Murray River , a fact which gives the region a charming feel of Australiana. Indeed, in terms of simply wiling away time, Rutherglen is a great spot: that river gives the area a calmness unique to the wine regions of Australia .

A benefit of that heat, of course, is that there’s no problem getting grapes ripe. This is a fact which has not been lost on one of the region’s table wine stars, Andrew Sutherland-Smith at Warrabilla Wines. He routinely produces wines at above 16 percent alcohol, sometimes above 17. He even reckons he’d like to produce a table wine at 18 percent alcohol.

“That’s what I like,” he says, “I like rich fruit, chocolate, bitumen and tar flavours in my wines – and I reckon that a lot of the best wines of the world have those flavours. There are a lot of people arguing against ripe shiraz and sweet oak at the moment, but I just think – come on, what are you thinking? That’s Australian shiraz at its best! We’re a long way from the Rhone and from Rhone soils here. We should be making the best quality Australian shiraz that we can.

“And you know, I reckon that Rutherglen can get up there,” he continues. “I’d love to see a Rutherglen wine win the Jimmy Watson – but to do that, someone’s going to have to take a crack at it. Someone’s going to have to take a crack at making a wine at that level.”

The Warrabilla Wines are certainly heading in that direction, and despite the shock value of their alcohol levels, the Warrabilla wines clearly show what the area is capable of. Crop your vines appropriately, bring out the natural expression of your land and climate, and you can make excellent table wine in Rutherglen.

Andrew Buller knows all about that. He produces fortified wines that rate perfect scores from Robert Parker – but, importantly, he’s also taking a hearty crack at making quality table wine. His 2002 Bullers Calliope Shiraz has slayed many a crowd, picking up top awards at publicly-voted wine shows – the best awards to win. True to the spirit of the region, this wine was sold at $35, which is significantly below what it would have fetched had it come from the Barossa. “I reckon these days,” Andrew Buller says, “if you think your wine is worth $50, then offer it as $40, and in the process make a lot of friends. At $25 a wine has to be damn good, and anywhere over $30 then you’re starting to rip my arms off – so it better be damn good.” The 2002 Bullers Calliope was damn good, at a damn good price, and it flew out the door – it was the top selling wine at the 2004 Rutherglen Winery Walkabout weekend, an honour which usually goes to a wine at the $10 level. “People tasted it and went, Wow, I want some of that.”

The reds of Warrabilla, and the Calliope table wines of Buller (a shiraz and a durif) are a beacon for the area, in that they show it what is possible. Great heed should be accorded them – for their uniqueness, their commitment to quality, for the fact that, as wines, they seem to know their own mind, they seem sure of what they want to be. They are by no means the only good table wines in the area – there are some excellent table wines now coming out of St Leonards, Morris, Jones, Anderson (off the cellar block, which yields low and is producing wine of terrific richness and depth), All Saints and Cofield, but many of the region’s table wines need an injection of ambition: smarter use of better oak, lower yields, a greater sense of their own unique personality.

All of which the region’s fortified wines do brilliantly – they wear their uniqueness on their sleeve, both in their look and taste but also in the way they are made. The standard definition of wine is that it is “fermented grape juice”, so it might surprise you that some of Rutherglen’s magnificent tokays are not fermented at all – the super-ripe grapes are pressed off and fortified with neutral spirit, to capture their natural, fresh flavour as well as maintain sugars. Muscat is different, it is always fermented, but then only for a short time – for long enough to convert a couple of degrees of sugar into alcohol. This kind of uniqueness in the making has led to a uniqueness in the finished, wonderful, product. Long shall it stay so. For whatever happens in the wine rooms of Rutherglen, the gift of its fortifieds, at least, will always be adored. It largely remains to be seen as to whether its table wines can follow suit.

A great general resource for touring the Rutherglen region is: the Rutherglen Wine Experience and Visitor Information Centre, 57 Main Street , Rutherglen, (02) 6033 6300, www.rutherglenvic.com

Best cellar doors

Jones Winery and Vineyard
61 Jones Road , Rutherglen
(02) 6032 8496, wwwjoneswinery.com.au
Let’s call it a stylised tin shed – and a legitimate, historic, looks like it might fall down at any moment one too. It’s been beautifully tarted up though, and the use of quality glassware gives the wines every chance to strut there stuff. A favourite. And I dare you not to love the ‘Apero’ White Port.

Morris
Mia Mia Road , Rutherglen
(02) 6026 7303
The area’s old champion – even if it is a bit of a hike out of town. The wines, both table, and fortified, are excellent, and the big old vats visible through the looking glass provide a glimpse of how the magic is worked. They’ve recently spruced up the cellar door – but don’t worry, it’s all still as gloriously unassuming as it ever was.

Rutherglen Estates
Drummond Street , Rutherglen
(02) 6032 7999, www.rutherglenestates.com.au
One of the few “modern” cellar doors in the area, it’s bright and inviting and the glassware is good too – always a boon. Table wines are the focus rather than fortifieds (it is a modern winery after all) and they’re all good, at sensible prices. Having said that, there is one exception: a fortified viognier ($20), which is lipsmackingly delicious.

Campbell ’s Winery
Murray Valley Highway , Rutherglen
(02) 6032 9458, www.campbellswines.com.au
It’s a place that always smells of the sweet, cedary, homeliness of new and old wooden barrels. And if you're looking for great fortifieds, you'll certainly find them here. Bobbie Burns shiraz offers a lot of satisfactory wine moments and it's not the only wine produced here that chug-a-lugs beautifully at a BBQ. Good value all around. Though, on the table wine front, BBQ-wine standard is about as high as it reaches.

All Saints Estates
All Saints Road, Wahgunyah
(02) 6035 2222, www.allsaintswine.com.au
A visit to the Rutherglen area is not complete without a stop at All Saints. It’s not just that the historic faux-castle building has to be seen to be believed, and nor that the grounds here are as expansive as they are meticulous – though this is all part of it. It’s the large-but-cosy cellar door, the chance to eat at a (fairly) good restaurant, the range of wines that span from a highly credible marsanne to sparkling reds to beefy shiraz to, of course, top-of-the-line muscat and tokay. You name it, it’s here – and it’s every bit the face of the area. (This winery is also on the steady improve).

St Leonards
St Leonards Road , Wahgunyah
(02) 6033 1004, www.stleonardswine.com.au
It backs onto the mighty Murray River and as a result has always been the scene of the Rutherglen area’s more serene moments – it’s a place you just want to kick back and relax at. The tasting area has been rejuvenated in recent times, as indeed have the wines, though the pairing of this with a visit to nearby All Saints is still a great duo. Regular Sunday afternoon live music adds to its lure. As does the winery’s Lazy Grape Café.

Stanton and Killeen Vineyard
Jacks Road off Murray Valley Highway , Rutherglen
(02) 6032 9457, www.stantonandkilleenwines.com.au
You still see plenty of folk coming in here to fill up their containers with bulk fortified, as has been the way for as long as anyone can remember. It’s an open, friendly, uncomplicated cellar door – though if you’re hoping to try the winery’s specialty, vintage port, you’re likely to go away disappointed; it’s on strict allocation to a waiting list. The durif can be good though. As too, naturally, is the tokay.

Warrabilla
Murray Valley Highway, Rutherglen
(02) 6035 7242, www.warrabillawines.com.au
It’s a bit of a hike out of town but it’s every bit worth it. Not that the cellar door itself is much to speak off – just a big, ordinary shed. But the wines! This is where the big bruisers live, the wines that pack a great amount of punch into an eminently affordable package. Reds, reds, and more reds: this is where a swag of the region’s best table reds reside.

R. L Buller and Son
Three Chain Road, Rutherglen
(02) 6032 9660, www.buller.com.au
One of the commanding figures of the area, and rightly so. Big, flavoursome, cellarworthy durif. Sweet-fruited, high-octane shiraz. And fortifieds that rival any on the planet. It’s a recipe for a ripper cellar door stop, made all the more worthy by the fact that there’s often a museum release or two to be found, and at a price that won’t break you. A traditional place with a modern brain.

Pfeiffer Wines
Distillery Road, Wahgunyah
(02) 6033 2805, www.pfeifferwines.com.au
It’s one of the more charming places on earth, nestled as it is amid the tree-strewn banks of the Murray River (or a branch thereof). Quintessentially Australian. Old cellars, the famous old Sunday bridge over the river (well, it was old, it was recently upgraded – but still looks wooden and lovely – and you can still picnic on it), and a range of wines crafted by traditional methods.

Chambers Rosewood Winery
Barkly Street, Rutherglen
(02) 6032 8641
You won’t find any frills or fancies here. Indeed, as you help yourself to the large range of sweet whites, sweet reds, dry whites, dry reds, sherries and fortifieds you might notice that behind you winery staff are putting labels on bottles or, of course, folk are lining up for their fill of bulk fortified. Chambers is one of the originals of the area and while there is nothing too wrong, or too right, about its table wines (for now; things are on the improve – try the Gouais), its fortified wines are second to none.

Drinkmoor Wines
All Saints Road, Wahgunyah
(02) 02 6033 5544, www.drinkmoorwines.com
With a name like that, it couldn’t be anything other than a fun place – and it is. What’s more, the wines are fresh, fruity and (in their own words) “shamelessly gluggable”. It’s also a good place to pick up something different, like a bottle of petit verdot or an ‘al dente white’ (a young, juicy, oh-so-easy-to-drink white).

Wines to try

Let’s face it, the fortified wines of the Rutherglen region – those wonderful muscats and tokays – are the beating heart of the place, and the wines that make the region famous. Running through reviews of them all would prove little, though recording the names of the truly great fortified wine producers of the region is essentially. You can simply not go past the fortified wines then of: Morris, Chambers Rosewood, All Saints, Buller, Campbells, and Stanton and Killeen. They are all national, and world, wine treasures.

2003 Anderson Durif, A$29.50
A big, black, inky dry red with black cherry, chocolate and iodine washing through the palate. In many ways, this is the wine that announces Anderson as a maker of top quality Rutherglen table reds. Made off Howard Anderson’s own vineyard (rather than bought in grapes, as has often been the case in the past) it’s a bolter of a wine.

1998 Anderson Sparkling Shiraz A$27
Howard Anderson spent a good whack of time making wine at Seppelt Great Western, and the legacy is a great love, and winemaking knowledge, of sparkling red wine. This is his own version, and fittingly it has a loyal, underground following of devotees. Two boittles tried: one was gamy/mousey to the point of distraction, the other brimful of fresh berries, mushrooms, and a dart of licorice. The second bottle looked in fine form.

2002 Bullers Calliope Shiraz A$35
A love it or hate it style – some reckon it tastes like liquid furniture, while others think it’s terrifically sweet, ripe and buxom, with varnishy coffee-liqueur-like flavours raging around the glass. Taste it and one thing’s for sure: you will have an opinion. In its style, it is of high quality.

1999 Cofield Sparkling Shiraz, A$30
A sparkling red that would hold its head in any company. It’s a pound of rich, ripe, choc-berry flavour, and the more you drink it the more stuffing you see that it has. It drinks well young and old. It deserves greater recognition.

2001 Cofield Quartz Vein Durif, A$28
Durif is one of the area’s best perfomers. It’s renowned as a big and tannic red and this is no exception – though the tannins here seem to have a softness even in their assertiveness. Like all good durif, this will cellar well, though it has an admirable drinkability even now: all those chocolatey rum-and-raison flavours slips down easy.

2002 Cofield Quartz Vein Malbec, A$28
Fragrant. Floral. Riddled with spiced plums and blessed with an easy, open, juicy loveliness. Some porty flavours. Easy to like.

Morris Old Premium Tokay, A$62
This is quite spectacular – and, all things considered, a bargain. Plum pudding, dark earth, malt and toffee and old black tea. Super-unctuous and super-satisfying, its quality is remarkable. It is worth every cent, and then some.

1998 Morris Vintage Port A$16
What a bargain. A wine that will develop in the cellar for five years – or ten if you wish. Full of leather, raisons, black chocolate and drying spirit. It’s rich and generous and fully in the Australian style.

1999 Stanton and Killeen Vintage Port A$29
Something else. A class act. So dry, so persistent, so spicy and, almost, reserved. It’s a great pity that demand now exceeds supply of this, as everyone should get to taste this – it’s such a successful wine in all respects. A massive bargain for the lucky few.

2002 Campbell’s Winery Bobby Burns Shiraz, A$19
Few wines sum up the area better than this one does – and on retail shelves in Australia, it’s probably Rutherglen’s most prominent table wine. In recent years it hasn’t quite done the area justice, but this 2002 release is a cracker: medium-bodied but ripe and open, with mouthfilling choc-berry flavour of good measure.

2002 Warrabilla Parola’s Limited Release Durif, A$30
Everyone talks about the alcohol – it’s way over 16 percent – but the more pertinent point is the sheer quality of this. Choc-cherry flavoured with reefs of tannin and dunks of dry, acidic licorice, it fills your mouth with tannin and flavour and finishes long and balanced. Amazingly, no real alcohol heat.

2002 Warrabilla Parola’s Limited Release Shiraz, A$30
There’s too much American oak in this wine but the push of raisoned plums, spice and sap gives the wine a fruit-sweet voluptuousness that comes across as warm and malty and absolutely more-ish. Powerful. Persistent.

2002 Jones The Winemaker Marsanne, A$20
Mandy Jones is a smart-cookie winemaker who knows how to push the boundaries on a wine while still keeping it fault free. This wine is a great example. Made off a vineyard in the Indigo Valley – part of the Rutherglen region – it’s honeyed, salty, floral, almost chalky; in short, it’s full of interest. A very good wine.

2002 Jones Winery and Vineyard LJ Shiraz, A$40
Worryingly strong toasty oak aromas come to little on the palate, which is an uncluttered flood of blackberried/mulberried fruit. Long, roping tannins. Made off a pair of vineyards whose vines are 30 and 100 years old respectively. Smart wine.

2004 St Leonards Dry Orange Muscat, A$16.50
A table wine. And a terribly beautiful one too. It smells sweet and musky but what it really is is fruity, with spicy blossomy flavours galore. It hits and runs along your tongue, and entrances. A more perfect summer wine you never would see.

2002 St Leonards Shiraz Viognier, A$25
I’d love it to be five bucks cheaper but it’s a highly gluggable wine of plentiful quality, with thick chocolate and blackberry flavour lifted by trademark viognier stone-fruit aromatics. More please.

Where to eat

Breakfast: Forks and Corks, 82 Main Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 7662. Not terribly imaginative but the best option for breakfast, and a good ‘space’ to gear yourself for the day ahead. Good coffee, hearty serves.

Café: Pickled Sister Café, Distillery Road, Wahgunyah, (02) 6033 2377, pickled_sister@hotkey.net.au. It probably hasn’t got the energy that it once had but the food is still excellent, with heaps of local produce put to excellent effect. Be warned: serves are sizeable. Which when you’ve just ordered north-east (Victoria) venison rolled in alpine chestnuts, or muscat honey-glazed duck rarely seems a problem The Pickled Sister Café is on the same site as the Cofield Winery – an irresistible pairing.

Winery restaurant: The Terrace Restaurant, All Saints Estate, (02) 6035 2209, mail@allsaintswine.com.au. Lovely setting, looking out upon the grounds, and beyond them to rows of vines. Chef Peter Quinn takes liberal advantage of the rush of local produce: Hume Weir trout, Milawa free range chicken, Murray cod and locally-farmed venison among them. Mains aren’t cheap ($25-$35) but quality is good: at a recent visit a dish of boned whole trout filled with ciabatta, basil, tomato and pancetta ($26) was excellent.

Special dinner: Tuileries Restaurant, 15 Drummond Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 9033, www.tuileriesrutherglen.com.au. Open every night, which in a winery town where most things close down at night can be very helpful to know. Entrees hover around $15-$17, mains $24-$28. And the fair is ambitious: duck saltimbocca with sage and proscuitto on pearl barley, celeriac, sweet potato and rosemary risotto a good example. Good place.

Casual but good: Beamonts Café, 84 Main Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 7428. Beautifully decked out and with food to match, this is the casual dining space you wish you could take home with you. A must visit. This is my pick of the Rutherglen eateries.

Coffee:  The Black Dog Bakery/Café, 126 Main Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 7067 is relatively new, and excellent, though resisting the display of cakes as you order your coffee is difficult. On the same theme, if you’re one of the many people who, after tasting/drinking an inordinate amount of big red wine suddenly find yourself with an irresistible urge for a good old-fashioned Aussie pie, then make a bee-line for Parker Pies and Pastries, 88 Main Street Rutherglen, (02) 6032 9605). They’re renowned. Otherwise - again, Beaumonts is probably your best bet for coffee.

Gourmet goodies: Esca on Argyle, 145 Main Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6052 8899, escaonargyle@bigpond.com has a fantastic range, from north-east kabana and smoked venison to juices, sodas, organic herbal teas, breads, nuts, marmalades and gourmet jellies.

Best beers: The Rutherglen area is blessed with a couple of micro-breweries: Bintara Brewery, Drummond Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 7517 is in the same complex that houses Rutherglen Estates and Tuileries, and holds tastings between 11am and 6pm daily. The Buffalo Beer Brewery, at Boorhama on the Rutherglen to Yarrawonga Road, (03) 5726 9215, is open from 10am–8.30pm weekdays, 10am–11.30pm weekends, and has a range of beers for a range of tastes and seasons.

Where to stay

Bank Inn, 80 Main Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 7231, www.bankinn.visitrutherglen.com.au. Central location. Beautifully restored 100 (plus) year old building. Rooms with spas and, particularly handy for breakfast, an in-house chef.

Carlyle House, 147 High Street, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 8444, www.carlylehouse.com.au. If you fancy staying at a house rather than a room/unit, this is a beauty. King sized beds, log fires, 4.5 stars worth of a relaxation.

Tuileries, Drummond Street Rutherglen, (02) 6032 9033, www.tuileriesrutherglen.com.au. You get access to a heated pool and tennis court – plus views over vineyards. Close-by to the brewery and restaurants (though the brewery doesn’t go late) and the heart of Rutherglen. Two bedroom units are also available.

The Still House at Terravinia Vineyard, 1819 Gooramadda Road, Rutherglen, (02) 6026 5353, www.terravinia.com. Not quite as central – which can be a good thing. Overlooks a branch of the Murray River, and of course the Terravinia vineyard. Quiet, peaceful, self-contained.

Mount Ophir Estate, Stillards Lane, Rutherglen, (02) 6032 8920, www.mount-ophir.com. Set on 140 acres, with a range of accommodation options available. Self-contained house or terrifically cosy little loft-house, with organic produce available too. It’s not the most luxurious, but there’s a strong sense of idyll here.

The House at Mount Prior, 1790 Howlong Road, Rutherglen, (02) 6026 5256, www.houseatmountprior.com. While it may not be as immaculate as it once was, this is still considered the choice accommodation of the area. A striking, historic building, with beautiful views of the surrounding area. Super-Victorian, in all ways.