Berkmann hosts Australian Wine Tasting: A showcase of premium offerings

By James Bayley

Published: 18 September, 2024

Yesterday (17 September), Berkmann hosted a distinguished wine tasting event at Woods Quay, featuring four esteemed Australian wineries. The event, Berkmann's first tasting “not on dry land,” marked a significant moment for the supplier, as it brought together four leading winemakers in a collaborative, flighted tasting by grape variety. This gathering exemplified the spirit of Australia’s premium wine industry, challenging the misconception that Australian wine is only synonymous with mass-produced, budget-friendly offerings.

The tasting included some of Australia’s dominant grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Representing the participating wineries were Sarah Crowe of Yarra Yering, Ray Nadeson of Lethbridge, Andrew Watson of Woodlands and Leigh Woodrow of Langmeil. The event sought to highlight the quality and sophistication of Australia’s top-tier wines, juxtaposed against their Old World counterparts in a playful blind tasting.

Crowe, general manager and winemaker at Yarra Yering, spoke about the history of the winery, which was founded in 1969 by Dr Bailey Carrodus. “When Dr Bailey Carrodus, our founder, came and bought the land in 1969, there were no other wineries in the Yarra Valley at that time,” she explained. “There had been, but not on a commercial scale for 50 years, when he came and planted the vines.”

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Andrew Watson, commercial director at Woodlands, also highlighted the pioneering nature of his winery, which was among the first five in Margaret River. “It’s a great time to visit the region because many of the pioneers, who first planted the vineyards, are still around, which is quite uncommon in most wine regions,” he said.

The Chardonnay flight, one of the event’s highlights, began with Yarra Yering’s 2020 Chardonnay. “2020 was a cool vintage for us, and I also stopped doing malolactic fermentation on our Chardonnay from the 2016 vintage,” Crowe said. “So I was a bit nervous about not doing malo in 2020 because it was so cool, but revisiting the wine I’m glad we didn’t, because the wine still has that freshness and a lovely acid backbone.”

The next offering was Woodlands Brook Chardonnay 2020, which showcased a distinctly different regional character. “There’s a freshness that comes with Margaret River Chardonnay, there’s definitely salt in the air,” remarked Watson. “This Chardonnay is a briny, intense, but not overly-intense, complex wine.”

The final wine in the Chardonnay flight was Lethbridge’s Allegra Chardonnay 2016. Owner and winemaker Ray Nadeson explained the careful crafting of this vintage. “If I didn’t let this wine go through malolactic, it would be undrinkable, it would taste like battery acid,” Nadeson admitted. The wine was aged in 100% new oak, but he assured, “I hope you don’t notice that,” emphasising the role of oak in enhancing, rather than overpowering, the wine's flavours.

A blind tasting added a playful twist to the proceedings, with a French Meursault included for comparison. Priced at £930, this Burgundy served as a stark contrast to the more affordable Australian offerings, with Yarra Yering and Lethbridge each priced at £60 and Woodlands Brook at £27. The exercise highlighted not only the diverse flavour profiles but also the exceptional value of Australia’s premium wines.

The event offered a rare glimpse into the breadth of Australia's high-end wine production, reinforcing that the country’s wines stand tall alongside their Old World peers. With the quality and individuality showcased by these wineries, Berkmann’s tasting succeeded in celebrating the very best of Australian winemaking.

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