WHEN two of the wine world's top red varietal prizes went to Clare Valley drops this winter, the region's winemakers couldn't wipe the smiles from their faces. And justifiably so.
But the dual gold medal haul from the London Wine and Spirit Challenge – to Knappstein's 2000 Enterprise Cabernet for the best cabernet in the world and best Australian dry red, and Kilikanoon's 2001 Oracle Shiraz for the best shiraz/syrah – pose two questions for the valley. Which red variety will the Clare hang its hat on? And will the cabernet's multiple gongs help turn the shiraz tide?
Enterprise maker Andrew Hardy – and a gang of Clare colleagues who have begun planning how to revive cabernet's fortunes – hope the win will give the noble variety more recognition. While Clare shiraz has built a formidable reputation in the marketplace, the region's winemakers, Hardy argues, have for decades considered cabernet to be better. "It's been the shiraz phenomenon that's changed that," says Hardy, "and it's got a lot to do with how easy shiraz is to drink."
The Australian shiraz craze has seen a huge surge in the variety's popularity domestically and overseas. Here, drinkers have sought a more flavoursome, fruit-packed wine, argues winning Kilikanoon winemaker Kevin Mitchell. He believes the shiraz boom has helped the variety become the better recognised red from the Clare: "I think shiraz now has overtaken it (cabernet) – and most people now will say Clare makes excellent rieslings and bloody good shiraz."
Oracle is exactly the kind of red, he says, that has led the shiraz wave, and an example of the best reds that he makes from the warmer districts south of Watervale. Kilikanoon also produces a cabernet, and Mitchell believes that it, too, has its place.
"It's a great variety for Clare and probably suits the cooler parts of the valley," he says. "The fact that both of us got gold is not only brilliant for our companies but brilliant for the valley as a whole." Andrew Hardy is hopeful the Enterprise's win will help cabernet's profile in the valley. The Enterprise has been made for 30 years from the same vineyard on the eastern ranges of the central Clare Valley, from low-yielding vines and with a small amount of malbec added. "Year in, year out, I feel the cabernets have been our better wines," Hardy says.
"And when you look at line-ups of varieties from across the regions, the Clare's cabernets have always been distinctive, whereas our shirazes could be from any number of regions." While both winemakers have their favourites, there's a genuine thrill that the Clare's reds have been recognised alongside its famed rieslings. With the possible exception of Margaret River, there's no other Australian region, Hardy suggests, with three varieties that go "crazy". "Clare is unique that way," he adds. "But I think we have sold ourselves short on cabernet and I think we need to fix that."
Regions: Clare's new tune
By TONY LOVE
15 Sep 2004
