Landmark Australian Wines

Less than a decade ago, Australia wine was the darling of this market and dozens of delicious shiraz produced by mostly family-run wineries, and a few larger brands, were at every house party in Vancouver.

How things have changed. Malbec has replaced shiraz as the go-to party red but both -at least those labels boasting kangaroos, billabongs, llamas and tango dancers -are under siege from blended reds and what looks to be a consumer return to more identifiable (by origin) wines, made by family owned producers.

It's safe to say the ongoing demise of the Australian wine sector, in the trendsetting Vancouver wine market, is coming to an end but there can be no underestimating the amount of work that needs to be done going forward to restore the image of Down Under wines.

Last month, I attended one such initiative in Los Angeles, the first A+ Australia Wine Landmark Australia tasting held outside Australia. It was put on by Wine Australia with the help of yet another Vancouver wine nut, former local sommelier Mark Davidson, who is working with North America Wine Australia educating up and coming wine buyers and sommeliers across the U.S. and Canada.

The Australian-born Davidson is part of a strike force of Aussies committed to rebuilding the image of Down Under wines by holding small select Landmark tastings designed to take influential buyers, servers and media deeper into the milieu of Australian wine.

Landmark Australia is a new initiative from Down Under producers. They describe it as "wines, vineyards and producers with an individual expression distinctly different from any other." Of course, talk is cheap in the wine business, so to actually produce such wines Australia producers are reviewing "every aspect of production, from where it is grown and when and how it is harvested, through to the philosophy of the winemaker to allow the character of the fruit, region and/or site to show through."

The plan is to launch surgical like strikes into certain cities to begin a new dialogue, or what I term the post-Yellow Tail conversation. There is no definitive list of great wines but rather a selection of handmade wines hailing from a recognizable piece of dirt. It's wine with a story and a flavour to match it.

The success of Yellow Tail and the greed it inspired among retailers and other producers turned a one-brand wonder into a category of bland, mostly sweet (and a bit sour) varietal wine that has left the modern West Coast wine shopper with no real reason to enter the Australian wine section of most wine shops.

Enter A+ Australia Wine. Most of the wines I tasted were sent by wineries that can't even get their wines listed in American wine stores, yet it is the little guys, that are trying to restart the category and restore their image. We can only wish them luck and hope that wine buyers come to their senses.

As A+ Australia Wine would say, the goal is to refresh Australia's market position by telling the wine story that needs to be told.

We begin our update with McWilliam's Hanwood Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Expect gobs of black fruit and cassis pushing to the fore palate and mixing with mocha, black fruit flavours and a strong streak of cedar. The tannins are soft; the texture round and smooth in what is an easy-drinking red for grilled beef.

Butter, ripe peach, honey, melon and perfumed aromas mark the nose of the Yellow Tail Chardonnay Reserve 2009. The palate is fresh, juicy and delicate and just off-dry with honey, orange, melon and ripe peach flavours. Plenty of fruit with fresh acidity is a nice improvement in style.

McLaren Vale, just outside of Adelaide, is home to the Pirramimma Shiraz 2006. The nose is warm and peppery with savoury, lifted pruney notes and hints of cooked blackberry. The palate is fresh, with light tannins and more pruney, blackberry jam, with cola, bitter chocolate, vanilla, floral, liquorice flavours and a touch of bacon. The fruit is full, if somewhat cooked, but with a slightly acidic finish.

The Sandalford Shiraz 2008 takes us west to Margaret River with its peppery, gamy, meaty, liquorice root nose flecked with black cherry, black plum, vanilla, and coffee and tobacco aromas. On the palate are plenty of blueberries, black cherry, coffee, vanilla, chocolate and candied fruit flavours. A fun, fruity style shiraz for consumers. Solid value.

The Clare Valley is home to the Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2008 and its smoky, curry, peppery, meaty nose with underlying liquorice, blueberry, and blackberry aromas. The palate is ripe and round with light tannins and mixes blueberry, black cherry, liquorice, tobacco and chocolate flavours. A full-blown red made for big hearty winter dishes.

Finally a delightful diversion is the Josef Chromy Pinot Noir 2009 from Tasmania with its complex nose of cherry jam, spicy, celery salt and smoke with a wisp of barnyard and dried herb aromas. The palate is dry and supple with juicy acidity and more celery salt, cherry, smoky rhubarb and vanilla spiked with orange peel flavours. Fine fruit and intensity for current drinking.

Price: $15

UPC: 085000011782

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Easy-drinking red for grilled beef.

Good value.

Yellow Tail Chardonnay Reserve 2009, South Eastern Australia

Price: $16

UPC: 00839743000196

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Lots of fruit and fresh acidity in a much-improved style.

Pirramimma Shiraz 2006, McLaren Vale, South Australia

Price: $30

UPC: 9315785000529

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Blackberry jam, cola and bitter chocolate/liquorice flavours.

Sandalford Shiraz 2008, Margaret River, Western Australia

Price: $20

UPC: 0093121755513010

Score: 88/100

Remarks: A fun, fruity style for consumers. Solid value.

Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz 2008, Clare Valley, South Australia

Price: $29

UPC: 9314487457013

Score: 89/100

Remarks: Blueberry, black cherry, liquorice, curry, chocolate flavours.

Josef Chromy Pinot Noir 2009, Tasmania, South Australia

Price: $30

UPC: 9339091000820

Score: 89/100

Remarks: Good fruit and intensity for current drinking. Solid value.