Rounding Up Australian Reds

Last year Americans bought Merlot as if it were a cure for heart disease--which some scientists say may not be far from the truth. As a result, Australian wine makers are beginning to see a potential gold mine in the American market even though they make hardly any Merlot.

Here’s their thinking: After numerous medical reports that moderate consumption of red wine could reduce heart disease by as much as 50%, U.S. sales of Merlot nearly doubled in 1992. But why Merlot rather than Cabernet Sauvignon? The theory is that Americans like Merlot because it’s softer than so much domestic Cabernet Sauvignon, which is astringent when young.

This is where Australian red wine comes in: Most of it is made to be soft and approachable when young.

“The quality that people--almost across the board--like in Australian red wine is its soft, round tannin, which is what Americans have come to expect in Merlot,” says John Gay, U.S. representative for Rosemount Estate of Australia.

John Duval, head winemaker for Penfolds, the largest Australian winery, says: “Because of the lower tannins we have in our wines, we have the best of both worlds. We have the richness of fruit and a level of tannin that stands the wine in good stead for cellaring.”

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The softness of Australian red wine is due mainly to the way it is handled in the winery. After fermentation is over, American wine makers may leave the grape skins with the red wine for days, sometimes weeks, in order to extract more flavor. They get added flavor, all right, but along with it they can gain a lot of astringent tannin. In Australia, by contrast, grape skins are usually removed even before fermentation is complete.

During a tour of Australia last year, I tasted about 200 randomly selected red wines from five wine-growing regions. Most of the wines were far more approachable than any similar number of California wines.

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But do Australian wines age well? Difficult to say. A few clearly do, but Australian prices are so attractive (no more than $18 for even the very best of the wines I tasted), I feel the wines are excellent values and worth a gamble in the cellar for those so inclined.

Tasting through a few Australian red wines currently available in this country, I judged them all to be relative bargains, even those priced at the upper end of the price scale.

Tasting notes, in order of preference:

1989 Penfolds Cabernet/Shiraz “Bin 389” ($17)--The Cabernet aroma of herbal tea and currants is given added depth with the chocolate and anise of the Shiraz, which makes up about 40% of the blend. This wine has a minty aftertaste from the Cabernet, but the fruit in the taste gives it verve. A rich, powerful wine, tasty now, but it should age very well.

1992 Rosemount Estate Shiraz ($9)--Deeply rich fruit and toast-spice complexity. A remarkable value for a wine this concentrated, yet graceful in texture. Occasionally discounted to below $7.

1990 Penfolds Shiraz/Cabernet “Koonunga Hill” ($9)--Berry and spice notes up front, delicate herbs in the background and a lush, rich, fruity taste. A most complete wine with cellaring potential. You may find the 1991 vintage, but I prefer the 1990.

1990 Koala Ridge Cabernet ($9)--Herbal scent wrapped around mature cherry and plum notes. A tasty, soft and appealing wine with a load of flavor for the money.

1991 Orlando Cabernet “Jacob’s Creek” ($7)--A delightful, perfectly honed Cabernet aroma of herbs and cherries and a soft, fresh, crisp finish. This Cab and the rest of its line (which includes an excellent Chardonnay) are the best-selling wines in England, representing 13% of all Australian wine sold there. On the other hand, I was not enamored of the Jacob’s Creek Merlot, which lacks focus.

1991 Leasingham “Hutt Creek” ($6.50)--One of the brands of large BRL Hardy, this wine (65% Shiraz, 35% Cabernet) offers generous chocolate and berry tastes and a soft, almost sweet aftertaste.

Two more wines, highly recommended--but not for everyone because of price:

1989 Penfolds “Bin 707” ($35)--This is Penfolds’ top-of-the-line Cabernet, a wine that would be designated “reserve” here. The wine is virtually unknown in this country because of poor marketing efforts in the past. The wine is amazingly generous in fruit and richness, offering a hint of vanilla in the aroma and fruity-berry-spice in the finish. A great wine, worth trying.

1988 Penfolds “Grange Hermitage” ($100)--A blockbuster wine with black currant and jam notes, huge fruit in the mouth, great acidity and wonderful generosity despite a tannic finish. Atypical of Australian red wines but built for long-term aging, with a track record second to none. Once difficult to find in California, this wine will be a bit easier to find now that Penfolds has a California office.

Also tasted from Down Under:

1992 Hillstowe Pinot Noir “Hoddle’s” ($12)--One of the finest Pinot Noirs I have tasted from Australia. The fruit comes from the cool Yarra Valley, and the aroma is strikingly fruity and aromatic as pipe tobacco.

1993 Penfolds Dry Riesling “Bin 202” ($7)--Wonderful fruit, like lime and green apple, and a complex, mouthwatering aftertaste. A great alternative to Chardonnay.

Wine of the Week

1993 Morton Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($10)-- A pure classic. This wine from the Hawkes Bay area of New Zealand is about as perfect an example of the varietal as you can find. The wine was still on the vine, as grapes, as recently as May; it was harvested and fermented cool in stainless-steel tanks and bottled. The aroma is of new-mown hay, herbs and green apples, with pears and melons hiding in the background. The wine is totally dry, but has so much fruit you’d swear there was a trace of sugar.